News

Considering Mobile Learning For Your Institution

Academic Impressions has designed this seven-step checklist that you can consider with your team. This is a list of critical decision points along the road to adopting mobile learning at your institution. A Campus Technology article highlighted both Abilene Christian University’s development of a homegrown mobile learning solution a few years ago and their current expansion of that mobile learning initiative to include classroom management, blogging, and (soon) mobile podcasting. While mobile learning continues to be a topic of interest among educators, very few institutions in the US have adopted it. We turned to Judy Brown, founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab and a key thinker in mobile learning strategies, for her advice on what questions institutions who are in the earliest stages of considering a mobile learning initiative should consider. [wcm_restrict] Start with the Key Question When considering adopting a mobile device for your freshman class, or choosing multiple devices to support, the most critical question to ask is what you expect from your learners, from the users of the device. Will they be consumers of content? Are you looking to them to create content? Or both? Mobile learning can offer you more […]

Techniques for Assessing Prior Learning

Here’s how to do prior learning assessment (PLA) rigorously and well. The suggestions given are by the author of a landmark study of prior learning assessment portfolios. 2010. Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation for Education, has released a statement offering ideas for a national strategy to rapidly train workers for new jobs; among these, prior learning assessment (PLA) was cited as one possible game-changer. But beyond CLEP and the controversial challenge exam, how can enrollment managers and academic leaders assess prior learning effectively and with rigor? We asked Denise Hart, director of adult education and creator of the Success Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and author of a landmark study of prior learning assessment portfolios, for techniques that institutions should be thinking about. The Prior Learning Portfolio Hart recommends starting with portfolio assessment as your core option. But for this to work, you have to: It is important to have the portfolio evaluated by faculty with specific and relevant expertise. “Don’t have a History of Civil War expert evaluating a Vietnam War portfolio,” Hart cautions. “Have someone who is au courant, who knows the material, is current with the material, and understands adult learners.” The portfolio, […]

Helping Chinese Students Transition for Academic Success

Originally published when international enrollment was booming, the suggestions given below for helping Chinese students achieve academic success remain relevant. A number of reports in the past months have highlighted rising numbers of students from China, and rising efforts by US institutions to recruit them. A recent article in USA Today profiled some of the challenges faced both by the universities and by the students transitioning into an American institution. Mark Parker, assistant provost at University of Maryland University College, offers advice on helping Chinese students who are new to your institution navigate some of the intercultural challenges they may face. First, Let Them Know What to Expect “The most efficient and cost-effective thing that a university can do is to build on the model of the ESL program that institutions typically offer to international students. In addition to addressing the language barrier, add material to address specific cultural challenges.”Mark Parker, UMUC While English proficiency might be the most obvious challenge, subtle cultural barriers may prove to be larger obstacles. For example, in a US classroom, it is expected and valued that students will challenge the professor, ask provocative questions, and participate actively in the learning experience. Students from other […]

Make Your Veterans Resources Center Effective

The New York Times this week ran a thoughtful feature following one military veteran’s transition from the battlefield to campus life. This and other recent articles on veteran students reveal that: Don Pfeffer, director of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Higher Education Veterans Programs, and Jayne Lokken, a professor and counselor at St. Cloud State University, offer tactics for setting up your veterans center so as to maximize its effectiveness in helping veterans achieve success. Provide the Right Space “There needs to be a space on campus that veterans can call their own, where there are people who can talk their language and share similar experiences, and particularly where it is safe for veterans to vent their frustrations.”Don Pfeffer, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Pfeffer suggests that if veteran students who are new to campus have a ready opportunity to vent around other veterans who may have already worked through the situation they are facing, this can resolve many issues that could potentially become more explosive. “This is a group-focused, self-regulated process. This is the best kind of therapy, conversations among peers.” Lokken adds, “This should be a relaxing place, where they don’t have to argue about war and […]

Improving Community College Student Success

Last week, a new study involving 13 participating institutions, Jobs for the Future, and the Delta Cost Project released a report on cost return for student success initiatives; with the report, the researchers made available a cost-return calculator that ties program-level cost data to student outcomes in success programs. With increasing federal and public pressure to increase graduation rates, it is important to adopt a strategic and measured approach to improving student success. Given the limited resources (yet often greater flexibility) of the community college, Joyce Romano, vice president for student affairs at Valencia Community College, and Maureen Pettitt, director of institutional research at Skagit Valley College, suggest these keys for improving student success at two-year institutions: Focus on 2-3 Big Ideas “The main thing is to be very focused on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Have a theory of practice. What is the big idea that you’re trying to accomplish? Why do you believe that will be successful?”Joyce Romano, Valencia Community College Pinpointing the 2-3 outcomes that will have the most significant impact on student success is critical; each outcome becomes an “organizing idea” that can help you prioritize new programs and efforts to revise policies […]

Community College Finance: Maintaining Liquidity

2010. A report from Moody’s Investors Service stresses that as community colleges experience enrollment surges during this down economy, many will issue bonds as a means of raising the capital needed to provide the new construction, renovation, and technological infrastructure projects needed to meet the growing demand. As community colleges take on more debt to fund capital projects, it is going to be critical for business officers to ensure that they can maintain liquidity. We asked Cynthia Gilliam, the vice chancellor of administration and finance for the Lone Star College System and a past president of the Texas Association of Community College Business Officers, for advice on financial planning. Long-Range Financial Planning Gilliam notes that the Lone Star College System is unique in that the system is in a very strong financial position (and has just received an AAA rating from S&P), but also remarks that this didn’t happen by accident or by luck. It is the outcome of a long history of solid debt planning. “The key for us has been to have our financial advisers extremely involved in our debt planning from the get-go,” Gilliam comments. “We use them to assist us in strategy. How are we going […]

Recruiting Military Students

Even though this market is largely dominated by the for-profits, the past year has seen many non-profit universities make initial investments in services for military students, especially since the passing of the post-9/11 GI Bill. We asked Jim Paskill, principal and creative director for Paskill Stapleton & Lord; Eric Craver, director of marketing and recruitment for the office of adult degree programs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; and David Hoftiezer, director of admissions at Thomas Edison State College, for advice on first steps in reaching out to military students, whether veteran or active duty. Be Realistic Paskill recommends proceeding with “both eyes open.” Most active duty military — and many veterans — are going to be looking for online offerings. “The for-profits are the 2000 pound gorilla in that arena, and institutions like the University of Phoenix and DeVry are investing significant funds to generate leads. You will probably not be able to compete on a dollar-for-dollar basis.” Also, whether you are thinking of an active duty, deployed population or veteran students, remember that you are competing for a relatively small market.  If you are looking at the military market as a revenue source, you are not likely to see a […]

Marketing the Value of the Education You Offer

In October after the release of the College Board’s Trends reports, we interviewed Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, for tips on marketing the value and affordability of your institution. This week, we have asked Bob Sevier, senior vice president of strategy at STAMATS, for practical strategies toward publicizing the value of your academic programs. Rethinking Value First, Sevier suggests moving away from talking about value. “When students hear ‘value,’ they hear that you’re justifying a high cost. The key is to talk about outcomes.” “Colleges define academic quality in terms of their curriculum and their faculty. Students define academic quality in terms of what happens after their graduation.” Bob Sevier, STAMATS This can mean more than just tracking and promoting the percentage of graduates who are employed in their field or enrolled in a graduate program within six months after graduation. Sevier recommends promoting: What type of jobs your graduates are finding (are they finding career positions?) The path from particular majors to particular careers “Students define a good job not just in terms of income, but in terms of security, benefits, and opportunity,” Sevier notes. It is important to show the level of opportunity that an education […]

Revamping the Computer Lab

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted a trend in which many US colleges and universities are either phasing out the traditional computer lab or revamping that space to provide more effective opportunities for collaborative learning and group study. The trend is a response to pervasive research on the impact of collaborative learning spaces on student success, and to the pedagogical shift toward more group-based learning. There are an abundance of models for state-of-the-art, forward-looking, revamped lab spaces. However, now more than ever most colleges and universities are needing to repurpose space while operating under tight budget constraints. We asked Andrew Milne, CEO of Tidebreak, Inc. and a leading expert on learning space design, for tips on finding relatively small but impactful investments toward transforming the traditional computer lab into a collaborative learning space. Making a Big Impact on a Small Budget “As you look to upgrade machines,” Milne suggests, “rather than buying the same amount of CPUs, think about having fewer workstations, and then using the saved money to purchase large, movable displays.” Milne recommends providing group stations where students can connect their laptops and engage in collaborative exercises. Whiteboard is also a relatively inexpensive investment. […]

Making it Easier for Students to Graduate Sooner

Encouraging students to graduate on time (or early) is a priority for many higher ed institutions. However, many students find speedy degree completion difficult due to obstacles in securing the courses they need to complete degree requirements. Lucie Lapovsky, president of Lapovsky Consulting and past president of Mercy College, offers some advice on correcting curriculum inefficiencies that can prevent students from graduating quickly. Look for Inefficiency in Academic Advising “It needs to be very clear to students what courses count toward their major and what courses do not. Their degree audit needs to happen quarter by quarter or semester by semester.”Lucie Lapovsky, Lapovsky Consulting “Students can so easily be misadvised,” Lapovsky warns. “They may take the wrong courses, and they may complete the credit hour requirement without having completed the required courses.” Getting false information to students is a risk both because academic advisors often have a high load and because catalogs and requirements are updated frequently. This can make it difficult for either students or advisers to keep track. Lapovsky suggests letting students do their own degree audits regularly. “Make the degree audit available online.” An online audit can keep both students and advisers up to date. Many registrars already […]