Category: Uncategorized

Doing Lecture Capture Right

Lecture capture has been receiving a lot of attention in the news this year, as colleges attempt to expand online and blended course offerings or make instruction to more students in remote locations. The impact on student learning of removing the ‘face-to-face’ dynamic remains a continuing concern for educators. A few institutions have recently made quite costly investments to compensate for this; Madison Area Technical College, for example, is provided synchronous lecture capture to students in remote classrooms by installing large, high definition screens in both classrooms — effectively providing a life-size, two-way videoconference, visually fusing the two classrooms. Most institutions, however, are taking a much less intensive approach to video capture, and a recent study by a professor of education and social policy at Northwestern University indicates that although video capture does not lag far behind live instruction, there is still a gap in student learning, particularly for Hispanic, male, and low-achieving students. It’s a Question of Quality Not all approaches to lecture capture are equal. The key takeaway from the Northwestern University study is that it’s critical to invest very thoughtfully in the quality of your video lectures. Providing high quality lecture capture is not as simple as just […]

Training and Preparing Your Faculty for Teaching Online

This year we have seen a growing proliferation of proposed online degree programs, as more institutions feel the pressure of needing to increase enrollment and revenue without also increasing expenditures in physical infrastructure. Most recently, Indiana has launched an online-only university to serve rural adults, and the University of California has decided to invest between $5 and $6 million in piloting online programs in preparation for offering online undergraduate degrees. These announcements coincide with the distribution of research studies that continue to raise questions regarding how to ensure the quality of instruction offered in some online programs and courses. This week saw a paper, for instance, questioning the quality of instruction offered in video lectures. These ongoing concerns suggest the need to place more priority on training and preparing faculty for teaching online. In a recent interview with Academic Impressions, Charles D. Dziuban, director of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Central Florida, offered strategies for ensuring that: You have hired adequate faculty for your online degree program The faculty are the right fit for the online program You are delivering the training and faculty development needed Two Options Dziuban notes that you really have two options in faculty selection for an […]

Connecting Undergraduates with Careers

Even as the demand for career services from students and recent graduates is rising, many career services centers are seeing their budgets cut. Yet this is a critical moment; there is evidence of increased hiring in some sectors, and many companies are again looking for interns. A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows that hiring of college interns is expected to increase 3% this year after a stark 20% drop last year. Christian Garcia, director of the University of Miami’s Toppel Career Center, and Flora Riley, executive director of career services at Clemson University, offer practical strategies for connecting your students and graduates with employers — on an ever-tightening budget. We asked Garcia and Riley: How to get the most out of limited resources How to connect students in traditionally “harder to sell” majors (the humanities and the social sciences) with careers First, Do a Strategic Audit of Your Services “Do an analysis, get input from students, employers, faculty, even from your own staff — see what services are most critical. You need to invest what resources you have as wisely as possible.” Flora Riley, Clemson U You need to know where you are most effective so that you […]

Connecting Young Alumni with Careers

With a shaky job market, many alumni offices are seeing rising demand from recent graduates and young alumni for networking and career help — just as many undergraduate career offices are seeing rising demand for their services from students nearing graduation. We asked Matthew Donato, senior associate director of alumni career services for the University of Chicago Alumni Association, for advice on what alumni relations professionals can do better to help their young alumni connect with career opportunities. Online Tools “Particularly for young alumni, offer a strong set of online resources. Our young alumni expect to have these resources at their fingertips, whenever they want them.” Matthew Donato, U of Chicago This means a website where young alumni can log in and find tools that might include: Help with cover letter/resume writing Tools for improving interview skills Critique of practice interviews A networking tool to find professional contacts in the young alumni community Donato recommends cultivating an alumni careers network on LinkedIn. “Facebook often supports more social networking than professional networking,” Donato advises. “Also, look to tools such as Twitter that you can use to provide advice and market some of your services to young alumni in a more transactional but […]

Connecting Returning Adults with Careers

The majority of career services programming targets either traditional-aged students approaching graduation or young alumni. However, the recession has driven increased enrollment by returning adults who have already spent some time in the workforce but who may now have been displaced from their jobs or who are hoping to boost their career with some further education. We asked Lisa Andrews, director of career services for the University of Maryland University College, for tips on providing effective career advising for this growing student population. What Services They Need Most Andrews notes that the mock interview is critical. For many of your returning adult students, it may have been some time since they interviewed, and they may be unfamiliar with the styles of behavioral and case interviewing that is now common practice. “They need to practice,” Andrews notes, “especially case interviewing, so that they are prepared to tell stories about themselves and position themselves well to the employer.” Besides the mock interview, adult learners may need help with: Job search strategy (“what if they have never been on Monster?”) Networking skills and the use of social media to facilitate career connections Resume format Values clarification Andrews notes that you can get this […]

Rethinking Your Approach to Corporate Donors

Corporations are giving less frequently this year and in smaller amounts, and in many cities the corporate landscape has changed dramatically during this recession due to mergers, consolidations, and bailouts. In an editorial this week, the CEO of Western Union suggested that universities and other nonprofits need to seek out more holistic and intentional partnerships with corporate donors. Caroline Preston’s op ed is timely and implies a broader question — how can universities take stock of what has changed and adjust their approach to corporate donors accordingly? Chris Groff, executive director of corporate and foundation relations at Fairleigh Dickinson University, offers advice for how shops need to re-engineer their approach to cultivating and stewarding corporate donors this year. Profile Your Top 50 “Who are your top 50 corporations that you want to do business with? Update a profile for each of those.” Chris Groff, Fairleigh Dickinson U Given the extent of recent changes in the corporate environment — mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry; mergers, bailouts, and takeovers in the banking industry — Groff suggests that the most pressing need is to recalibrate your prospect list. “You need to know who is still viable, and who is not, and you need to start looking […]

Contract Training in a Changing Economy

An Inside Higher Ed article this week noted that with fewer large businesses influencing workforce training, many colleges engaged in contract training are shifting their approach away from serving larger employers and toward serving as a training “hub” for numerous smaller businesses. We reached out to Leah Kier, community outreach and custom training director for the University of New Mexico’s continuing education division, and Amy Wartham, director of corporate training for the office of continuing education at the U of North Carolina at Charlotte Ben Craig Center, for their advice on how colleges (including four-year institutions) need to shift their contract training approach to be effective in both meeting the needs of this changing economy and identifying new revenue streams. Revisit Your Offerings The reality in most regions is that corporations have cut back severely on their training budgets. Wartham notes that many large organizations are internalizing their training, rather than outsourcing to vendors or universities. And smaller organizations with fewer staff are not likely to find the expense of a university course to be an effective training solution. Kier and Wartham recommend reinvesting your existing resources, transitioning from offering customized training courses toward more consultative services. For example, you can […]

Speaking with Applicants and Admits About Financial Aid

by W. Kent Barnds

The 2010 Student Poll published by the College Board and Art & Science Group, LLC confirms that most college applicants are dismissing colleges from their list on the basis of sticker price, without considering net price. The study also finds that applicants are nonetheless willing to attend a higher-priced school for: In this article, W. Kent Barnds, vice president of enrollment and communication at Augustana College and Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, share their tips for smaller, liberal arts institutions on how to approach the conversation about net price and financial aid with applicants. No Silver Bullet There are standard ways to help educate the public about the sticker price/net price difference: But Barnds and Massa warn that these methods do not address the real issue, and they share concern that polls and media (as well as federal) attention to the problem of communicating net price to the public actually focuses attention on a “red herring.” “Providing a net price calculator is not enough,” Massa warns. “Because you will package students differently, there may be so many packaging options that would change the cost to families — and a student’s total college expense is affected also by personal and […]

Recruiting Men: Four Strategies

by W. Kent Barnds

In this article, W. Kent Barnds, vice president for enrollment, communication, and planning at Augustana College, offers four key strategies for boosting enrollment of undergraduate men: Audit Your Academic Offerings Traditionally, colleges hoping to boost the number of men on campus make significant investments in men’s athletics. For example, Hendrix College and Stevenson University have both recently added football. Barnds notes, though, that colleges need to be attentive not only to athletic/co-curricular offerings but also to their academic offerings. “Are you offering programs that are of interest to 17-year-old boys? Some assessment of that is essential to maintaining a critical mass of men on campus.”W. Kent Barnds, Augustana College Barnds cites the example of a college with an excellent occupational therapy program that enrolls 40 women each year — but it is a rarity to attract men to the program. Education and social work may be programs that see a similar mix. In this case, the college needs to identify programs that can be offered to help balance the mix. The college may need programs that traditionally appeal to both men and women equally. Or the college may need to add a few programs that appeal mostly to men. To audit […]

Safety and Risk Management Training for Faculty Leading Study Abroad: Part 1

May 2010. After some initial controversy over FERPA and student privacy, a set of documents from Laramie County Community College were made public, prompting a media flurry and providing a cautionary case of how one college may have mishandled a response to the suicidal behaviors of a student while leading a 2008 class trip to Costa Rica. The incident raises questions for institutions of higher education, including what training to provide for faculty and other trip leaders who are taking students abroad, so that trip leaders know how to respond in the event of an emergency and who to contact. The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that before Eastern Illinois University faculty members can teach courses overseas, they are required to complete a workshop on risk management and student health and safety. At Academic Impressions, we followed up with Wendy Williamson, director of study abroad at Eastern Illinois University, and Brent Barker, the University of Washington’s travel security and information manager, to learn: The Safety Workshop for Faculty Both Eastern Illinois University and the University of Washington require that faculty or study abroad program directors complete a several-hour safety and risk management workshop prior to the trip. The University of Washington also requires that […]