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Improving the Accessibility of Online Course Materials

Posted on by Greta Bell

July 7, 2011. In a climate of increased demand for online courses and increased federal scrutiny of regulatory compliance, it is increasingly critical that colleges and universities ensure the accessibility of their online course materials for students with disabilities — and not only for online courses, but also for classes held in the physical classroom that direct students to pursue research online or access supplemental materials via a course management system. Fortunately, significant gains in accessibility can be made with relative ease — the key is to be proactive and plan for them early rather than after an issue is noticed. To learn more about the “low-hanging fruit” for accessibility of course materials, we interviewed two leading experts on the issue from Drexel University — Dan Allen, content management specialist with Drexel’s Office of Information Resources and Technology, and Jenny Dugger, director of Drexel’s Office of Disability Services. Allen and Dugger offer the following tips for: Vetting potential vendors for accessibility Coaching your faculty in making course materials more accessible Vet Potential Vendors, Thoroughly “Where institutions often get into trouble is when they don’t vet their vendors for accessibility; by the time they realize there are issues, they have already made a long-term […]

Supporting Adjunct Faculty: An Investment in Your Instructors, an Investment in Your Students

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

A 2010 US Department of Education study found that adjunct instructors teach 60% of the college courses in the US. They represent a critical first line of instruction for many students, yet often receive minimal faculty development and minimal institutional support for serving students. This week, we interviewed Jennifer Strickland, the interim director for Mesa Community College’s Center for Teaching and Learning, which supports the college’s 300+ residential faculty and 1100+ adjunct faculty. We asked Strickland why the issue of adjunct support should be accorded some urgency – and what forms of support she has found to be most needed in order to improve teaching and learning, as well as retention of adjunct faculty. The Need for a Shift in Institutional Culture Strickland argues that providing adjunct faculty with few resources to improve pedagogy and limited logistical support doesn’t serve students well. While the rationale for this has to do with the level of investment in contingent versus full-time faculty, what is actually at stake is the level of investment in the student. Strickland notes the example of institutions at which part-time faculty lack an office (even a shared one) and a phone line on campus-–curtailing their ability to offer […]

Practical Strategies for Women in Leadership in Higher Ed

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

In November of 2016, Academic Impressions held its first Women’s Leadership Success in Higher Education conference. (You can see information about the upcoming Women’s Leadership Success conference here.)  For me personally, this was one of the highlights of my year and a culmination of months of work that sprung from an idea that had formed in the summer of 2015. As it happened, the conference took place the week after the election. I found myself wondering how or if the election would impact the synergy in the room. What we experienced was an incredibly positive, high-energy, joyful three days of learning! Key messages standout from that experience: As we prepare for the 2018 conference, coming up in just a few short weeks, we asked a few of our speakers for their thoughts on what holds women back from their leadership potential and what tactics they use in challenging situations to handle them with confidence. Their answers were varied, but demonstrate how each taps into her unique strengths to lead effectively. We spoke below with Jeanne Hey, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, University of New England, and with Arlethia Perry-Johnson, (Retired) Vice President of Marketing, Kennesaw State University. An Interview with 2 […]

Creating a Culture of Advisement: Engaging Faculty in Advising

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Sometimes you don’t just need to change advising procedures; you need to change the culture of academic advising on campus. A few years ago at Ramapo College of New Jersey, our enrollment management division surveyed faculty, first-year students, and upper-class students to learn where students turned for help in making academic decisions as they progressed through the curriculum. What we learned was striking: Further, over 57% of first-year and 47% of upper-class students did not even know who their academic advisor was. What this survey told us was that we didn’t just need to improve our advising procedures; we needed to create a culture of advisement on campus. 3 Keys to Changing the Culture Knowing that a culture of advisement is as dependent (if not more so) on buy-in and commitment from faculty than buy-in from administrative units, we embarked on the creation of an overall academic advisement plan for our campus, which included a series of action plans that hinged on three key change management strategies: Engaging faculty in academic advisement is essential to advancing Ramapo’s work — or any college’s work — in student success. Here’s what we did to engage our faculty: 1. Modeling the Change We […]

Taking a Proactive Approach to Advising for At-Risk Students

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

In this first of several articles, Academic Impressions is interviewing leading experts on proactive approaches to academic advising. Over the course of the series, we will look at interventions early on the academic calendar and innovations in course scheduling that support intervention with at-risk students. “By the time a student realizes they’re in trouble and asks an academic advisor for help, it’s usually too late for anything other than a conversation about dropping. The more you can front-load outreach into pre-term or start-of-term communications, the more options the advising office has to offer students.”Joe Murray, Miami University Joe Murray, the director of academic advising and retention services at Miami University Hamilton Campus, is acutely aware of the issue; his institution is open-enrollment, with many adult learners, first-generation students, and academically underprepared students. With a large number of students who could be designated “at risk,” Murray recognizes the critical importance of taking a proactive approach. Murray advocates an “intrusive advising” approach. Based on the research of Robert Glennen, intrusive advising focuses on early outreach and mandatory advising for at-risk students. When we interviewed Murray this week, his primary suggestion was that a one-on-one, personal connection early on the academic calendar will […]

What the President Looks for in a Chief of Staff

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Here is what a president looks for in a new chief of staff – the three qualities that matter most. In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: How do you make yourself available as a liaison to faculty without appearing as a gatekeeper for the president? What words of wisdom would you want to offer to a chief of staff who has been in the role for a while? We know the chief of staff position can feel isolating at times. Thinking back, what were some of the most helpful resources to you in getting up to speed? When considering hiring a chief of staff, what are some absolutely crucial competencies or traits that presidents look for in a candidate? What does a new chief of staff most need to know, and which relationships do you need to build from the first day of your job as chief of staff? What are key skills that chiefs of staff need to build in order to best handle crises on campus? What are one to two key steps chiefs of […]

Operationalizing and Sustaining New Academic Programs

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Also in this series: Is it Time to Launch that New Academic Program? The Art and Science of Answering that Question Feasibility Checklist: The Science of Bringing New Academic Programs to Life Financial Modeling for New Academic Programs Sustaining New Academic Programs: 5 Key Factors In my previous articles in this series, I outlined a blueprint for new academic program development and stressed the importance of a balanced approach. Understanding that it is impossible to capture all variables on the front end, the potential viability of a program is difficult to assess until that program is up and running. While having a discipline around new program development ensures that you will anticipate most of the important potential impact issues, maintaining a culture of flexibility and responsiveness once the program is launched is equally critical for the program’s success. As the great American novelist Thomas Berger once wrote, “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.”  Indeed, cultivating a spirit of ‘question asking’ and ‘wide-eyed vigilance’ as a program is embedded within your organizational culture and context, while not easy, is nevertheless a foundational pre-requisite for long-term viability. Over the past decade, we have successfully implemented […]

3 Ways to Help Peer Educators Succeed

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

In a related article, we asked Sarah Whitley, director of first-year experience and family programs at Longwood University, to offer her insights on what critical items are often missing from peer mentor training. Whitley’s answers indicated the need for a shift in thinking about the support and development peer educators need, whether your peer educators serve primarily as peer mentors or whether they lead first-year seminar courses or other elements of the first-year student experience. We decided to dig deeper in a follow-up interview. Sarah Whitley and Jennifer Latino, the director of first-year experience at Campbell University, suggest three keys to helping peer educators step into a leadership role and take greater ownership of their work: Shift the Focus from Orientation to Leadership Development “Don’t think of this as just training,” Latino suggests. “Think of this as a process of development for peer educators. I think where we often fall short in administering these training programs is that we don’t take into consideration the impact on the peer mentor. We know that training peer educators is good for first-year students, but peer mentoring is also a profound experience for the mentors themselves. When our training is focused on what to […]

Improving Diversity in Higher Education: Beyond the Moral Imperative

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Seizing the Moment November 18, 2015. We witnessed a pivotal moment for higher education last week with the resignations of Tim Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri System, and R. Bowen Loftin, Chancellor of the flagship campus in Columbia. Issues of diversity and inclusion have been challenging campuses for years, but I believe we have now reached a tipping point that will place this issue front and center on leaders’ agendas today and into the future. As we think about the importance of last week’s events, one thing is clear: the efforts by the students at the University of Missouri will help fuel the much-needed nation-wide conversation on this important topic. Already, dozens of campuses are hosting diversity forums, hosting town hall meetings, and issuing statements to demonstrate the many initiatives they are investing in to create a more inclusive and diverse environment. My hope is that these conversations are sincere efforts to move the diversity agenda forward. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s imperative for the success and sustainability of institutions. And there is no time to waste. The Business Case for Diversity The statistics are clear and sobering. Black students and Hispanic students are […]

Habits of Highly Effective Higher-Ed Professionals, Part 2: Finding Your Purpose

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Recently, I published the article “Habits of Highly Effective Higher-Ed Professionals,” talking about how (and why) higher-ed professionals need to take Stephen R. Covey’s advice about “sharpening the saw” to life. That article stressed the importance of professional development to our careers and our effectiveness. Now I want to take a step further and discuss another habit of highly effective higher-ed professionals: creating a purpose statement to provide your career and life with lasting fulfillment. It sounds simple, but often is anything but. I’ll talk about:  1. Why You Need to Pursue Purpose, Not Happiness Recently, I was having lunch with a friend and former colleague. We were reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” when we worked together as consultants. It had been years since we had met for a meaningful conversation. I found that as I explained the journey that had taken me from full-time consultant/part-time professor to full-time professor/part-time consultant, I realized that I had never been “myself” in front of him…until this moment. Whether in a team meeting or a golf outing with a client, I had always felt that I had to be someone who I really wasn’t. I hadn’t been happy with who I was. I had spent the […]

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