News

Professional Development: Making the Right Investments

One state legislator is criticizing the University of Iowa this week for its plan to send 35 hospital workers to several days of training offered at a center in Orlando, FL, at a cost of $130,000. UI officials have replied that now more than ever, training represents a critical reinvestment in the organization. The conversation is one case of a nationwide trend in which campus officials have to negotiate between the need for training on priority initiatives, concerns over the costs of travel, and fears that some investments in professional development will look bad. Larry Goldstein, President of Campus Strategies, LLC, suggests that a budget crisis is not a time to freeze professional development and travel. “The tendency to look inward during a budget crisis is counterproductive,” he remarks. “It’s important to look outward and gather new resources.” Here are some ways that Goldstein suggests rethinking an approach to professional development. Recognize the Cost of Cutting Professional Development “Not all problems can be solved by looking at your own resources. Having access to solutions others have reached is immensely valuable. The cost of cutting professional development is that you rely exclusively on what is known on your campus, instead of relying […]

Engaging Transfer Students Before They Arrive

NSSE’s 2009 annual report cites low participation in high-impact activities (such as study abroad, service learning, internship, undergraduate research, or senior experience) among transfer students as one measure of engagement and likely persistence. The lowest engagement was from vertical transfers (students who enter four-year institutions from community colleges). In the survey, 62% of native seniors had participated in internships, but only 43% of vertical transfers. Only 7% of vertical transfers participated in study abroad, compared with 20% among native students. Given the low numbers on engagement, we asked Kurt Thiede, vice president for enrollment management at Bucknell University, for his tips on engaging vertical transfer students early and fostering affinity for the institution from the first point of contact. Early Engagement The earlier the engagement, the more likely affinity becomes. Early engagement with prospective vertical transfers from two-year colleges can take a number of forms, from a campus visit day to a summer program. But whether you have the funding for a visit day or a summer program, it is critical to think through what to include in that experience. You will want to expose students to all aspects of life at the university — the career offices, financial aid, academic advising, […]

Tips for Training Faculty on Teaching with Technology

CDW has released a report indicating, among other findings: Only 38% of students surveyed believe faculty are making effective use of interactive learning technologies in the classroom Faculty identify training as what they need most to help them integrate learning technologies Patricia McGee, associate professor of instructional technology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, offers some practical tips on training faculty for the integration of interactive learning technologies into the classroom. Focus on Affordance “Often faculty don’t need more training on the tool, they need more training on the affordance of the tool and how to use it to support learning. Different tools have different pedagogical affordances.” Patricia McGee, UT San Antonio For example, the research indicates that blogs support student reflection. That’s a wonderful tool for a course that requires deep, reflective thinking — but not as useful if the goal involves collaborative work. “It’s easier to learn the tool,” McGee remarks, “than it is to figure out how to use it in a class to support learning.” It’s important to keep the training focused on the curriculum and on learning outcomes and needs, rather than providing sessions focused just on how to use the tool. “The idea […]

Identifying At-Risk Online Students

An article in Inside Higher Ed featured a community college and a for-profit online university which are both using features of learning management systems to track student engagement data and alert faculty and administrators to online students who may be at risk. This is one of the advantages in online instruction: student engagement in the course can be more thoroughly recorded and documented. We asked Mark Parker, assistant provost at University of Maryland University College, to offer some further advice on using LMS data to identify and respond to at-risk students. Metrics to Watch Parker recommends focusing on posting or conferencing as the most critical metric. In the first week of a course, look not only at whether the student has participated but also: Have they met the minimum requirements (for example, word count) How timely are they in submitting assignments? Is the student having difficulty with university-level American English? “If a student consistently posts her work at 11:59 p.m. Sunday night when the deadline is midnight”, Parker advises, “this might be a red flag. It might indicate the student is too busy, or lacks time management skills.” “The first week is critical. If a student fails to engage in the […]

Laying the Groundwork for Effective Faculty Evaluation

Recent incidents in the news — at DePaul University and elsewhere — highlight the importance of building an effective faculty evaluation and tenure review process. While some problems are specific to faculty evaluation systems at particular institutions, most often the underlying issue is a lack of clarity on the criteria by which faculty are to be evaluated. Avoiding “Connoisseurship” Raoul Arreola, professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and author of Developing a Comprehensive Faculty Evaluation System, and Mike Theall, associate professor at Youngstown State University, offer some advice for academic leaders who want to ensure effective faculty evaluation: In the absence of clear qualifications and standards, faculty evaluation may operate according to what could be called a “connoisseurship model,” in which review depends on the taste and values of the individual committee members. It’s critical to define what type of faculty work is most important to the institution. Define Evaluation Criteria As Specifically As Possible Arreola points to “service” as an example of an area of required performance that often causes confusion. “Letting faculty know that they will be evaluated on service does not give them specific parameters for performance,” he remarks. The faculty evaluation handbook needs to […]

The Net Price Calculator: Template or Customize?

By fall 2011, Title IV institutions are required by law to provide a net price calculator (NPC) that will give student applicants opportunity to understand the difference between university sticker price and net price, and to receive an estimate of potential aid eligibility. The US Department of Education has released an NPC template that colleges and universities can use — but institutions also have the option to develop their own, customized solutions. We asked Mary Sapp, Assistant Vice President of Planning and Institutional Research at the University of Miami, who has chaired two Technical Review Panels for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) addressing issues related to net price, for advice on how institutions can determine whether to use the NCES template or customize their own NPC. Check for Variance The key, now that the template is available, Sapp suggests, is to do a tentative analysis of your own institutional data in order to see how those data fit into the template. “The template is very well-designed, and it comes across as being very easy to do. You just generate a table with the medians, and write in a couple of caveats, and poof, you’re done. But because of this, you […]

Differentiating Your Academic Programs

According to a survey of chief financial officers by The Chronicle of Higher Education, the financial crisis that has caused upheavals in other sectors hasn’t prompted radical changes in how most colleges operate (with a few big exceptions). This may be a sign that the full effect of the economic fallout has yet to hit home on many campuses, or that strong enrollments and stimulus funds have helped institutions in the short-term. But as stimulus funds are not recurring, it is especially vital that public institutions make substantive, long-term moves to ensure their sustainability. Many institutions are already engaged in budget scenario planning to prepare for that fallout, but that may not be enough. Given both continuing budget constraints and rising demand for higher education, this is the time to ensure your academic program mix is positioning your institution for future success. Don’t Lose Sight of the Mission Some institutions chase the latest demand at the expense of their mission, while others stick too closely to tradition, and miss critical new opportunities. The key to differentiating your academic programs is to find the right intersection between your institution’s mission and changing demand in the marketplace. Even if a particular program […]

Creating a Culture of Assessment in Higher Education

A report by the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment draws attention to the fact that while 92% of American colleges and universities are now using at least one assessment tool to evaluate academic programs, most colleges are having difficulty integrating the results into a system of continuing improvement. It’s clear that often the roadblock to action isn’t a lack of data, nor is it the lack of an assessment process. The roadblock is the lack of a culture of assessment on campus. As one example, 66% of provosts surveyed said what they needed most in order to translate assessment into action was more faculty involvement. Donald Norris, president of Strategic Initiatives, Inc. and a key thinker on this issue, offers some practical strategies for moving people to take action based on assessment. Dealing with Issues of Turf “Turf battles should disappear based on one simple question: What do we need to do to maximize student success and academic performance?” Donald Norris, Strategic Initiatives, Inc. To adopt a culture of assessment, it is key to relay succinctly — and repeatedly — to all stakeholders the message that what is at stake is the success of the student. Bring the critical question into key […]

Communicating Your Institution’s Value

The College Board’s recent Trends reports on college pricing and student aid have painted a not unexpected picture of rising college tuition coinciding with rising demand for student aid. In this financial climate, it becomes all the more critical for colleges and universities to communicate the value of their offerings clearly to financially concerned prospects and applicants. We asked Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, for some key strategies on how colleges can better convey to their audiences why they are worth the price, even as tuition continues to rise. Massa emphasizes the importance of developing a clear message that connects the cost of education, how the cost impacts price, and the specific value students are getting for that price. Connect Cost, Price, and Value In many cases the public is not aware of everything that adds to the cost of education — faculty salaries, the price of information technology, health insurance, facilities costs, specialized programs such as study abroad or majors with extensive fieldwork. “So first,” Massa advises, “convey the cost.” Second, clarify how cost affects pricing. For private institutions, more of the costs are passed on to the students through tuition; for publics, states are […]

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