Helping Student- Veterans Transition from Combat Helping Student-Veterans Transition From Combat ... By Luigi Valdivieso ... Pete Amerio Heather Physioc

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Progressive strategies for modern learning

Exploring the World of Higher Education

Helping Student- Veterans Transition from Combat to College

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October 2013 | 2

I recently read an article about a family in Ontario, Canada, that decided to eschew all technology that has come into existence since 1986. Fed up with the kids sitting around the dinner table furiously thumbing and silently staring at whatever iDevice they had in their laps, dad decided to enforce a retro-transition and declare a ban on the use of all post-’86 technologies in the hopes of inspiring his youngsters to explore, talk and experience.

No cell phones. No computers. No tablets. No email. No Xbox. No DVDs. No HDTV and 800 channels of junk. All were replaced with a rotary phone, old wooden TV set, AM/FM radio and dusty Nintendo. The family even went as far as to adopt early 1980s dress and hair styles. (Mullets are still legal in some places, apparently.)

It will be interesting to see how this experiment affects the family dynamic, and particularly how it affects the kids’ ability to interact socially as well as scholastically. A lot has changed technologically since Marty McFly went back to the future, and what were once viewed as cool new gadgets have morphed into necessary tools required to adequately and effectively function in nearly every conceivable aspect of today’s world.

LetterFrom the Editor

As a society, a species, a planet, we have undergone a plethora of technology-driven transitions during the past quarter century -- rapidly, expansively, profoundly – and we have tasted the accompanying gumbo of equal parts conflict, chaos, creation and consciousness inherent with such transition. We are truly in a global state of powaqqatsi.

Transition, or change, whether good or bad, always creates some inevitable stress, fear and anxiety, but it is necessary to not only remain relevant, but attain growth. Few contexts indicate this as well as that of higher education.

In this, our sophomore issue of University Outlook, we explore a number of transitional contexts relevant to our colleges and universities and the diverse student populations they serve, from service veterans transitioning from military life to civilian/student life, to delving into virtual worlds as an alternative to physical classrooms, to adopting a more entrepreneurial spirit in how we run our campuses.

Steve AdamsEditor in Chief


Contents4 Helping Student-Veterans

Transition From Combat to College

By Heather Physioc Military veterans must navigate through

numerous obstacles as they transition from a soldier’s life to that of a civilian, and universities are reaching out to help them access their higher education benefits and dreams.

10 Veteran Affairs Specialist Helps Integrate Military Students By L. Gisèle Kirtley A broad and caring approach at University of Redlands helps to better serve those who serve us as they enter the higher education realm.

14 Time for Universities to Practice What They Teach By Prof. Robert M. Donnelly As higher education institutions face new and numerous operational challenges, is it time for administrators to think more like entrepreneurs in today’s competitive landscape?

20 Concierge Service for Nontraditional Students By Tracy Collum Adult learners bring with them a unique

set of circumstances and needs, and a concerted effort by campus departments to address those needs ultimately results in better retention and success.

24 Learning in a Virtual World is the Real Deal By Prof. Liz Falconer Virtual reality is no longer strictly the domain of gamers. It’s now also an effective method of simulating a wide range of educational experiences while overcoming physical barriers.

28 European Consortium Creates Portal to Global Online Opportunities By Michael Steinmann A worldwide network of students and universities is getting connected through a portal that addresses existing and emerging trends in online and distance education.

32 Badges for a Stronger Workforce By Dr. Deborah Everhart Can colleges and universities become leaders in defining and issuing badges that both make the most of competency-based learning and meet employers’ needs?

38 Northeastern University Opens New Seattle Satellite Campus

By Collin Tong A Boston-based university has expanded

its national footprint into the Pacific Northwest in an effort to help fill the gaps in Washington’s technical and engineering graduate programs.

42 International Marketing and Student Recruitment By Lisa Cynamon Mayers There are many elements colleges and universities need to consider in their international student marketing efforts, but sometimes the “soft” factors can be the most important.

44 A 10-Question Map to Enrollment Marketing Success By Dale Leatherwood

Following this simple path is a step in the right direction for colleges and universities to improve their education marketing and student recruitment strategies.

48 Targeting Students through Social Media By Pete Amerio Social media is everywhere and should be embraced as an increasingly valuable and vital tool in universities’ efforts to improve both student recruitment and retention.

52 Hybrid vs. Online By Luigi Valdivieso These learning modalities each come with their own unique characteristics, advantages and possibilities, and while they offer a number of positives, challenges remain.

In Every Issue/Columns

2 Letter From the Editor36 From Across the Pond50 Book Review56 Outlook on LinkedIn62 Calendar of Events


PublisherBrad Gibbs

Editor in ChiefSteve Adams

[email protected]

Graphic DesignBrett PikarskyRick Kitchell

ColumnistMarcel Dalziel

Staff WritersPete Amerio

Heather Physioc

Copy EditorsWendell Anderson

Erin CockmanPiper HaleClay Larson

Nate McGinnis

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October 2013 | 4

Access to higher education benefits is one of the most prominent reasons many young people enlist in the military. As the troops draw down from the Iraq and Afghanistan combat zones, more military members are transitioning to civilian life, and many of them are turning to postsecondary education to start building a new career.

Current and former military members who decide to attend a four-year university face challenges that other students do not. Whether it’s understanding how to take advantage of their earned education benefits, transferring military education credits to their college of choice or adapting to the new civilian lifestyle, civilians simply don’t encounter the same obstacles to higher education as veterans. So when veterans make the difficult transition from military member to civilian student, what steps canuniversities take to better serve them?

Helping Student-Veterans

Transition From Combat to

CollegeUniversities take strides to help returning

soldiers navigate through the obstacles

By Heather Physioc, Staff Writer


We spoke to the Student Veterans of America (SVA), a national coalition of more than 850 student-veteran groups across the nation, about what military students are looking for when choosing a college and the obstacles they face when they do. We also spoke to universities about the policies, services, personnel and resources they dedicate to helping current and former military members, all of which can increase enrollments of military students and their family members when improved.

OBSTACLE 1: Understanding military education benefitsThere are a number of different military education benefits these students could be taking advantage of, including the Tuition Assistance Program for active duty service members, the Montgomery GI Bill or the Post-9/11 GI Bill. With these numerous options for financial aid come complex requirements that can be difficult to understand, as well as eligibility rules and policies that tend to change without warning. For example, when Congress failed to pass legislation that would stop the sequester, three of the four military branches quickly announced they would slash their tuition assistance programs and then retracted this statement shortly thereafter when a vote was passed to extend the continuing resolution. Military students would benefit from help understanding these complexities, and universities can help meet this need

for guidance by having a full-time faculty member dedicated to helping military students with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) certification and filing the appropriate paperwork to collect GI Bill benefits.

“The military is doing better about having sessions about it right before they get out, but unfortunately the students are still receiving some wrong information,” said Boyd “Buddy” Sherbet, longtime Veteran Certifying Official at the University of Texas –Dallas. “It gets harder and harder. Some people are scared of it – there are a lot of rules and complexities involved.”

Another college that has a full-time certifying official is the University of Missouri – Kansas City. UMKC has an estimated 375 to 400 students receiving GI Bill benefits each semester, and the school is trying to find a way to accurately count other military students who use other forms of financial aid, like tuition assistance. UMKC originally had a part-time certifying official, but after finding that the students were not getting all the help they needed, the university decided to create a full-time position to focus on military students.

“The certifying official’s job is to help veterans get their GI Bill benefits by making sure they have the necessary paperwork and submitting their enrollment to the VA,” said Amy Cole, UMKC Associate Registrar.

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October 2013 | 6

Another step universities can take is to offer priority registration to veteran students. This service is often provided to student–athletes, so they can stay compliant with NCAA regulations by remaining enrolled in a degree program. Similarly, students using the GI Bill must be enrolled in classes that lead to a declared academic major in order to receive VA funds, but many four-year universities have caps on class sizes.

“If a class fills up and you’re unable to register for it, you may not be able to get your GI Bill benefits,” Dakduk said.

“If you don’t

get that GI Bill housing allowance, how are you going to pay rent? How are you going to stay on track for graduation?”

By making small policy changes, universities could enact early priority registration for student-veterans to ensure that they are enrolled and eligible for their benefits on time.

OBSTACLE 2: Transferring military education credits Many former military members turned students find themselves asking, “Does my extensive military training count toward my degree?” Also, student-veterans often have taken classes at other colleges or universities. They often consider the type and amount of credits that transfer when choosing which degree programs they can pursue fastest and most affordably.

All service members need to know how these education benefits can be used, the rules that affect them, the assistance they can expect to receive and the costs left over that they will be responsible for.

“I’ve always said it’s about consumer education,” said Michael Dakduk, Executive Director of Student Veterans of America. “This is something we’ve been working on with the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. We have to make sure we give veterans and their families the resources and education on how to apply for, access and get their benefits.”

Universities need to offer guidance counseling to new military students to help translate military terms into college terms and vice versa. For example, many military students could benefit from an explanation of best practices for choosing classes that help them reach their degrees, how to work with the cashier’s office at the school, and how to use a syllabus to keep up with their coursework and exam schedule.

“Military students are coming into a system that is not as guided as the military is,” Cole said. “With higher education, you are your own advocate, and you have to find your way through the system. That’s one of the reasons we made the certifying official a full-time position: to help give veterans more of the guidance and direction they need. But there’s still work to be done.”

“We can’t control what the VA pays and the timeliness of those payments, but what we can do is make sure the VA has the information they need to process it. We are the conduit of the paperwork, and that is a full-time job.”

In addition to validating enrollment and filing paperwork, a certifying official should understand the laws and timelines associated

with military education benefits. Ideally, this staff member should also be well-versed in other

financial aid options available to military members and their families, such as financial aid programs for civilians, scholarships, grants and low-interest loans.

“I consider myself an information broker,” Sherbet said. “I certify all GI Bill participants, and I’m a point of contact for VA benefits for vets who are active duty who want information prior to getting out – sometimes as much as two years in advance. I explain the procedure of applying to the school and activating the GI Bill, either by phone, email or in person. I’m the one who actually certifies their benefits to the VA, so their tuition can be paid.”


Sherbet said he has observed that many military students are often more serious about their college education than their peers, and they are “very centered on what classes will transfer, how long it will take them to achieve their goals and where to live.”

However, transferring credits from the military to college transcripts may be easier said than done. Not all courses taken in the military are reviewed by the American Council on Education (ACE), so they aren’t always mapped to civilian college credit hours. Also, each branch of the military has a different process for recording military education and experience credits, though the Joint Services Transcript (JST) initiative has helped consolidate this to some degree for the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.

“Every school is different,” Dakduk said. “A private school in New York may accept 10 credits, and a public institute in Alabama may accept 15. It’s an issue, and it’s one I think is important to address, especially given the rising cost of tuition and fees in higher education.”

Because of these inconsistencies, many veterans turn to their academic counselors to guide them. To help support veterans in this area, universities should make it part of their enrollment and on-boarding processes to check veterans’ military education credits against the degree programs they offer and to help veterans understand what will transfer and what won’t. Degree counselors must take it upon themselves to learn how military credits translate in their school.

“We rely on academic advisers to give the type of information that military students need,” Sherbet said. “For instance, UT Dallas has a policy that veterans can use up to 11 hours of elective credit for many degree programs. Some may appeal to use a skilled area like electrical engineering as a prerequisite.”

Dakduk, who served in the Marine Corps in 2006 and 2007, also said that a Midwestern consortium of seven states is coming together with higher education institutions to create a framework to help veterans transfer their credits and get credit for their armed forces experience.

OBSTACLE 3: Transitioning from military to civilian lifeAnother obstacle military students face is the lifestyle change from a structured military environment to a less rigid, more independent civilian lifestyle. Throughout this transition, students essentially change their focus from the mission and the military to themselves.

“They’re transitioning to an unregulated approach to life,” said Dr. Eric Grospitch, UMKC Dean of Students in the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. “In the military, these students are told when they’re getting up, when they’re having breakfast, what they’re going to do that day and when they’re done. Compare that to walking into the classroom with a syllabus where a faculty member doesn’t expect an assignment until six weeks later. Finding that balance is probably the biggest transition.”

Universities must act as advocates for their military students to ease them in their transitions, and that includes ensuring veterans have the necessary resources available to them to succeed. There are numerous ways universities can step up to aid veterans in their transition from military to civilian student life.

Some universities have developed veterans centers or founded veteran-oriented student organizations on campus. Others have made more online and on-campus tutoring resources available. Others still have created online hubs with information and tools for military students, ranging from disability information to counseling resources to the latest changes in education benefit

regulations, such as that started by a New Jersey-based initiative called Operation College Promise, which acts as a hub for policy, research and education information specific to education for service members.Universities may also wish to consider creating job roles that align with the Veterans Affairs Work-Study Program, a federally funded program that allows military students to be employed and earn a paycheck while also staying focused on their studies. Through the program, the students are paid a federal or state minimum wage to assist veterans’ initiatives, for instance by helping their school’s certifying officials or by conducting outreach to support other veterans on campus.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution,” Dakduk said. “There will be community colleges that are very resource-restrained, and they will look different than a four-year private institution in Boston. Every school is very different in makeup, size, demographics and the number of veterans on campus.”

Last year, UT Dallas founded a veterans service center on campus where vets and their family members can study and interact with each other. The service center is even starting a unique mentoring program that begins supporting military students the moment they set foot on campus.

“It was largely student-generated,” Sherbet said of the center. “Initially the students wanted one, so they addressed the faculty senate and student government, and they were very proactive. Since then, the regents have strongly encouraged all of the University of Texas system schools to open one.”

Sherbet’s financial aid office is housed within the center, where military members and their families can get help with their benefits. Sherbet, a veteran himself, was uniquely qualified to provide guidance to student-veterans. He was drafted into the Navy and served 18 months on the flight deck of

October 2013 | 8

aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea from 1968 to 1969. He worked as UT Dallas’s Veteran Certifying Official for 10 years until retiring in August.

“UT Dallas gave me the opportunity to be the primary person responsible for the VA, and it made all the difference in the world,” Sherbet said. “We have had a very good rapport with the veterans here. I commend UTD for making that commitment to serve our veterans like they should be served.”

At UMKC, the student veterans organization works collaboratively with the university, and a veteran services support team operates within the student affairs department. Student veterans serve on these committees alongside UMKC faculty. The team at UMKC is building some VA Work-Study roles centered on peer-to-peer mentoring, which will connect new military students on campus with current military students who will serve as guides to the environment, procedures and policies of university life. A student organization is also working to develop a program tentatively called Idea Zones, where veterans can find and connect with like-minded individuals who have similar military backgrounds.Dr. Grospitch said the University of Missouri Partners in Prevention program is planning a survey this fall to further identify veterans’ needs and challenges so the school can prepare and offer corresponding services on campus. UMKC also frequently updates its Student Veterans Virtual Resource Center, where current and prospective students can read about the on-campus organizations and resources available to them.

Another option to ease the transition from active duty to civilian is to connect veterans with online learning opportunities to get a head start on their college education. For example, while military members are deployed or moving frequently with permanent changes of station (PCS), it can be immensely helpful to allow veterans to enroll in more flexible online classes, then they can enroll in on-campus classes the next semester when they are discharged from the service.

“Military students are coming into a system that is not as guided as the military is. With higher education, you are your own advocate, and you have to find your way through the system.”


Heather Physioc is a military spouse whose husband has served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and now Army Reserves and has been

deployed four times. She has a Bachelor’s in journalism with emphasis in strategic communication from the University of Missouri in Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

• American Council on Education (ACE)

• Dept. of Veterans Affairs GI Bill Website

• Joint Services Transcript (JST)

• Military OneSource: Tuition Assistance Program

• Operation College Promise for Service Members (OCP)

• Student Veterans of America (SVA)

• Student Veterans Virtual Resource Center

• Veterans Affairs Work-Study Program

• Vet-Friendly Toolkit

OBSTACLE 4: Getting veterans paidThe Post-9/11 GI Bill offers more funding to veterans than ever before, but when the Post-9/11 GI Bill became available in 2009, delays were the biggest complaint from students and colleges alike. When benefits applications bottlenecked, some students’ payments were so delayed that they were forced to drop their classes and enter the workforce instead.

“In 2009, benefits weren’t getting to vets on time,” Dakduk said. “That has changed. Today, nearly all claims are processed in an automated manner, and that’s a huge improvement from 2009 when all claims were processed by hand. I don’t receive major complaints on delayed benefits these days.”

Some schools also offer leniency on payment deadlines for students receiving this aid. At UT Dallas, if a student is using the Post-9/11 GI Bill for even a portion of their tuition, the school’s cashier’s office does not make the student pay up front. Instead, the staff waits for VA payments to come in and puts a positive indicator on the students’ accounts, so their classes don’t get dropped.

“We start certifying people a month before school starts,” Sherbet said. “It sometimes causes problems when they change classes later, but we would rather have that problem than have them get their money late. There will be delays with the VA if the paperwork is not processed accurately, so that is one of our priority jobs.”

Sherbet and Cole both said that the VA has expanded the lines of communication for schools and that it actively looks for ways to help colleges. Last year, the VA opened a special phone line exclusively for certifying officials to resolve issues without putting the student in the middle. The VA’s automation of submitting certifications has also “helped tremendously in the turnaround of payments,” according to Cole.

However, the VA still has room for improvement when it comes to communicating policy changes to schools.

Additional resources for colleges

Much of the communication about policy changes is delivered in conferences, which not all certifying officials can attend, or on one of the DOD or VA websites. Finding an efficient way to send email notifications to alert certifying officials to news and changes would be helpful, Sherbet said.

“The VA does a lot of things really well, but like anyone, there are a lot of areas for improvement,” Cole said. “They have to perform a lot of tasks with a limited staff, and that can cause delays in their system. They are underfunded for the mass undertaking they have to distribute all these benefits. As the population increases that uses their GI Bill benefits, they are not getting more staff to compensate for that. But they’ve made huge strides in the last year, and that has really shown with our students.”

NEXT STEPS FOR UNIVERSITIESUniversities can have a positive impact on current and prospective student-veterans, whether it’s by helping them navigate the Department of Defense or Department of Veterans Affairs education benefits, supporting them in transferring military education and experience credits, or building resources on campus to help them adjust to the civilian world.

“Just listen to the students,” Grospitch said. “Do the hours, make the connection with those students and have them serve on the committees. While we think we know, hearing from the students who are currently experiencing it is critical for us. Help them, give them that voice to be the leaders they’ve been trained to be throughout their military experience, and help them find those paths to their academic success.”

Implementing any or all of the strategies in this article can be a positive step forward for serving veterans and their families on any college campus – and the more, the better. If you build the resources to support them, the veterans will come.

October 2013 | 10

Veteran and active duty military students represent one of the fastest-growing nontraditional student populations for both graduate and undergraduate studies. The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics reported that the number of veterans accessing their education benefits has grown from nearly 400,000 in 2000 to more than 900,000 in 2012. Last year, 441,400 veterans received benefits related to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Nationwide, there are roughly 22 million veterans, and it’s reasonable to assume many will want to go back to school.

The numbers are overwhelming, but just as overwhelming is finding ways to support a nontraditional student population that has been referred to by Jamie P. Merisotis, President and CEO of the Lumina Foundation, as being comprised of “the most nontraditional of nontraditional students.” And though our colleges and universities have many programs and services in place to support diverse student populations – such as disability services, pride centers for LGBT students and resources for first-

Veteran Affairs Specialist Helps

Integrate Military Students

University of Redlands takes a holistic approach to serving those who serve

By L. Gisèle Kirtley, University of Redlands


generation students – veterans and active duty military personnel just don’t fit so neatly into any one of those categories. Instead, veterans face issues that can be so challenging that it’s like they are confronting an entirely new combat zone in a world they don’t know and where they see no allies. As educators, we need to build on existing programs to develop the kinds of specific resources our service members need.

To get a sense of what those needs might be, ask yourself this: What’s it like to spend years in the military and suddenly find yourself surrounded by 18- to 22-year-old peers who may be away from home for the first time or may never have travelled outside their home state? Only a veteran can answer that question.

Cheryl Kleeman, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and Veteran Affairs Specialist at University of Redlands, imparted upon me the unique life experiences veterans share along with the daily barriers they face when they make the decision to go from military life to college life.

“There’s a good reason leaving the military is called separation,” Kleeman said. “You are separated from everything you had: your health care, your support system, your family.” This kind of separation brings with it a kind of isolation and sense of loss difficult to appreciate or explain to others who may think that, now that a veteran is home, everything will return to normal. “Home” for these veterans was the military. The person who came back to the states is not the same person who left, and they cannot just plug back in to civilian life. For that and many other reasons, having a veteran in place on campus to assist fellow veterans is an important key to achieving a truly military-friendly campus.

For one, a student veteran is more likely to reach out to another veteran when looking for assistance or getting a question answered. Connecting with a like-minded person lowers barriers and opens critical lines of communication.

Plus, putting a veteran in a leadership role can help students in ways that

a civilian may not or could not have considered. A veteran brings firsthand knowledge on campus and begins the process of education and awareness for faculty, staff and administrators. In addition, having a veteran in a key position can provide other benefits that may not be as obvious.

For example, during the first 15 minutes of my conversation with Kleeman, I had to ask her to clarify what she was saying because her vocabulary changed when she started getting deep into our topic. It’s only natural that she discusses military concerns using military language. So while I needed clarification, a veteran or active duty military student would have understood completely and responded in kind. For us, it was a light-hearted moment because I had no idea what she was talking about. For a veteran, having someone who literally speaks your language is invaluable. During our chat, we had been discussing how veterans could access their military education benefits. I was shocked at how complicated the guidelines and processes were for

October 2013 | 12

receiving benefits just to apply to school. Again, Kleeman’s experience and expertise allow her to help veterans get their education before exhausting their benefits.

With veterans education benefits, part of the complexity lies in making the right choices, a problem not typically faced in military life, where there is a well-defined chain of command and structure to follow. Someone like Kleeman helps veterans make the right choices and can help veterans figure out how they may be eligible

for college credits based on their training and experience. How credits are applied vary by school, and the American Council on Education (ACE) has its own set of rules to follow that must be considered.

The unease or confusion resulting from lacking structure continues into the classroom setting, where students face choices in selecting class schedules, in which topics to study and on class assignments. While traditional students may ask for more choices, veterans may be wishing someone

would just make a decision on what they should do. Depending on their length of service and whether or not they entered the service directly from high school, concepts like study time and doing homework pose significant difficulties for veterans. Sometimes just going to class presents a situation that can trigger high anxiety and stress. The building is unfamiliar. Where is the nearest exit? What are the people hanging out in the parking lot doing?

In addition, veterans may have learning disabilities that were never identified


L. Gisèle Kirtley’s writing career spans two decades and topics as varied as professional sports, cloud computing, health care and GIS (mapping technology). She is bilingual in English and French and has been published

in two French magazines. A common theme throughout her career has been teaching and training others through instructional design, course development and software documentation. Gisèle is currently pursuing a Master’s in higher education and is employed as the Web and Social Media Manager at University of Redlands, where she is following her passion for universal design for education.

during their service and further complicate attaining the education they want and deserve. Of course, like other students with disabilities, veterans can request accommodations. But will they ask?

Chances are they will not request accommodations for a learning disability or other disability they may have suffered as a result of their service. Physical injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), brain injuries and mental illness represent some of the ways these men and women may have changed since leaving to serve their country. And while they may access the same programs and accommodations afforded to traditional students with disabilities, it is especially difficult for veterans to self-identify or walk into an office of disability services on campus. Kleeman referred to this as their “warrior mentality.” To ask for help would be a sign of weakness. “Instead, they will find a workaround, and you don’t find out there’s a problem until it’s too late,” she said.

Cross-campus partnerships, training, workshops and discussions must take place on every campus to make a meaningful education available to our veterans and active duty military. For awareness and education, colleges and universities need to take advantage of resources provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the ACE, but that’s only a fragment of the work.

The other segment is partnering with veterans and reaching out to your student-veteran population. Creating a military-friendly campus takes time and the courage to admit we don’t know what you know, but we can work with you to find solutions.

Part of the complexity lies in making the right choices, a problem not typically faced in military life.At the end of our discussion, Kleeman shared a video with me that was produced by a young veteran who was struggling just to live what many would consider a normal life. Simple tasks like driving down the street trigger horrific flashbacks and images of fellow soldiers who did not come home. After a day of anxiety, sweat, fear and flashbacks, the young man receives a letter denying his education benefits. Completely frustrated and with nowhere left to go, he goes to the local VA hospital. In the hallway he sees a poster that reads, “You are not forgotten.” He pauses and briefly places his fist on the poster.

He enters the waiting room and sits alone, even though several veterans fill many of the seats. The older men see the young man and just nod to one another. The young man makes no eye contact, but one by one the older veterans get up and sit next to him.

A touch, a nod and then a smile. The young man has found some of the brotherhood he lost when he left the service. The YouTube video is called “Now, After, PTSD from a Soldier’s POV.” The content is as graphic as it is powerful.

October 2013 | 14

Technology is changing the way we live, shop and work, but the majority of our higher education institutions are still delivering the same old courses in the same old way.

Once upon a time, my students could say that they did not know something. Today, however, that’s impossible. Whatever anyone needs to know is available on Google, supplemented by Wikipedia. Textbooks are outdated before they are printed.

More and more colleges and universities are struggling with declining enrollments, and parents are now wondering about the value of a college degree and their ability to pay for one. Current data reveals that many recent college graduates are working at low-paying jobs that have no correlation with their studies. Most of the new jobs that are being added to the economy are low-salaried, part-time or both.

For example, Mike Ulrich, 30, graduated in May with an MBA in Public Administration from the University of Colorado and hasn’t been able to find a job requiring even just a college degree.

Time for Universities to Practice What

They TeachHigher education is a business, and

administrators need to think more like entrepreneurs

By Prof. Robert M. Donnelly, Contributing Writer


Instead, all he could find was a job at a local hardware store for $9.19 an hour ($21,180 a year), a small percentage of what his graduate and undergraduate degrees cost.

The average hourly salary across the country fell two cents recently to $23.98 an hour, which equates to less than $50,000 a year. Many companies are realizing that they can use technology to perform jobs more efficiently and less expensively than office workers. Technology is automating jobs out of existence and creating fewer and

fewer jobs than those being displaced. Opportunities for liberal arts majors are disappearing as sophisticated language software systems are becoming more intuitive.

So the question is – Who runs what in academia? Or, more importantly – Who runs the institution?

October 2013 | 16

In response, more and more universities are following the University of Phoenix’s online model and growing their online student populations every semester. Even some community colleges are offering their Associate degree courses completely online.

Entrepreneurially sophisticated colleges and universities have developed accelerated, eight-week semesters; 20-month MBA programs; Saturday MBA programs; dual Master’s programs; and online MBA programs. New majors like social media marketing, Internet marketing and personal brand building are being developed and offered every new semester.

However, these schools are in the minority; the vast majority are still lost in the past, offering traditional, outdated programs delivered in classrooms by tenured professors droning on about topics that are irrelevant in the current era of virtual reality. These schools also still require the purchase of $200-plus textbooks containing information that is available for free on the Internet.

Entrepreneurial students are selling their classmates term papers and reports easily gleaned from a variety of Internet sources. Entrepreneurial professors are creating their own softcover course texts in collaboration with major textbook publishers.

Who is the CEO?

Businesses are run by CEOs, the most successful of which are almost benevolent dictatorships. On the other hand, colleges and universities have somewhat complicated management structures and are heavily influenced by faculty senates. While there is a president, the responsibility to focus on numerous university functions, such as fund raising, alumni relations, student and faculty issues, can impact his or her ability to fully manage the institution.

There is another academic position -the provost. If you were to ask any business CEO what a provost is or does, he or she would most likely not know. The Webster’s Dictionary definition of a provost is vague: a high ranking university administrative officer.

Given the basic premise that these institutions are collegiate in their administration, how can entrepreneurship function in this kind of culture?


To finish out the typical college or university management, we have a vice president for academic affairs and a dean for every department.

So the question remains: Who runs what in academia? Or, more importantly, who runs the institution?

Given the basic premise that these institutions are collegiate in their administration, how can entrepreneurship function in this kind of culture? This is problem compounded by the fact that each department is autonomous with its own individual faculty experts. Entrepreneurship is the creation of a new concept for doing business, which is embodied in the entrepreneurial founder. Can you imagine a Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos in academia?

Entrepreneurial students suffocated by academic cultures create new businesses on campuses across the country, as Bill Gates, Michael Dell and many others have done. If you recall, Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, got a D from his professor on his term project to start a global package delivery business.

Given the typical management structure of most colleges and universities, the challenge to bring entrepreneurship to higher education is overwhelming. In academia, there is no equivalent of the CEO; no single person wields the authority to implement entrepreneurial change. Everything has to filter through committees staffed by faculty, wherein each member is predisposed to their discipline and uninterested in changes to the status quo.

October 2013 | 18

Like most other sectors, education is rapidly transitioning to the Internet. Online interactive exchanges with savvy professors are supplanting the traditional classroom model of teaching. Many tenured professors claim that this is a boondoggle promoted by uncertified, questionable educational organizations. However, the University of Phoenix thrives, as do numerous other clones, and now the student populations at online divisions of major schools across the country are growing every new semester.

As a matter of fact, these online colleges and universities are siphoning off more and more students from physical institutions. Parents also find this new mode attractive because they are relieved of the expenses of room and board, meals, and commuting. Traditional schools are suffering declining enrollments for these reasons too.

In my graduate courses with an online certified university, I have students from around the globe. The pool of prospective students for my courses is the entire world, which could not be possible any other way.

Lifelong executive education

Another wonderful entrepreneurial opportunity exists in lifelong learning programs for alumni and others. Given the speed of technological change, institutions face a growing need to keep up with these programs. For example, many entrepreneurial institutions have been pioneering courses and certificate programs in the use of social media as incremental sources of revenue.

Continuing education is another area in which institutions can develop entrepreneurial programs. For example, there is a growing need for courses on personal branding, which provide

instruction and training for students on marketing themselves more effectively when looking for a job, or utilizing their natural skill sets and personas when marketing themselves as independent contractors.

The ideas are unlimited, but every institution needs someone with the skill and vision to implement them, as well as the authority to do so.

It’s amazing how many institutions of higher education do not practice the ideas from many of the courses that they teach, including entrepreneurship!

What has to change?

First of all, the administrative organizational structure has to be rearranged for any school to implement real entrepreneurial change. This reorganization must include the board of directors, regents or other governing body at each college and university.

Secondly, someone has to be recruited, typically from business, to formulate the entrepreneurial strategy and manage implementation. Without this outside influence and authority to implement change, it is unlikely that change will happen.

Thirdly, the curricula for each major department have to be critically reviewed for relevancy and redesigned to address how each course contributes to a student’s ability to earn a living. Students need to understand how each course they take contributes to making them a marketable resource for a future employer. For example, how does knowledge of micro and macro economics convert to a real value proposition for a future employer who will be dealing in an increasingly virtual global marketplace where supply and demand fluctuate by the minute?

Social media marketing skills will also continue to be sought after by more and more employers. Engineers, scientists, and math and medical health majors will continue to be in great demand.

Change the degree requirements

The world is moving faster and faster, and so must the educational process. Today, a Master’s degree is becoming the minimum requirement for advancement. More and more firms are requiring college degrees for entry-level positions.

To keep up, colleges and universities must offer accelerated degree programs with more and more online courses. At least some forms of hybrid courses need to be adopted. I envision four-year combined undergraduate and graduate degree programs. I also imagine continuous education programs lasting for an entire year to speed up the process.

Duplicity of course content has to be eliminated. Instead of having five different courses on some aspect of marketing, institutions should consolidate them all into one comprehensive, all-inclusive course on


Robert Donnelly is an author of two books, a prolific writer on current trends in education and business, an educator and developer of an

online MBA program in entrepreneurship, as well as an expert in business and personal brand building. He may be reached at RobertMDonnelly.Me

marketing management. They should add more relevant courses like Internet marketing and personal branding, a course all students need in order to be able to market themselves more effectively.

Colleges and universities should eliminate expensive textbooks and substitute content that is available online, such as Wikipedia, or less expensive softcover texts developed by faculty in cooperation with textbook publishers. Institutions must push more learning experiences and term projects toward online content and current events related to students’ majors. They should use real-world examples like Amazon, Google and others to demonstrate related course content. Get students involved with business

One of the biggest problems students have in finding a job when they graduate is their lack of experience in their major and/or the professional sphere in general. Colleges and universities need to develop more outreach programs with local businesses to involve students in projects that can be completed as part of their coursework. Businesses need help, and students need experience.

This course of action requires aggressive promotion on the part of the school, and one of the assignments for the entrepreneurial administrator should be to make these connections with the local business community. Obviously,

the faculty has to be closely involved to effectively manage these relationships and tie them in with their course objectives and deliverables.

Every major that I can think of, as well as the faculty of these programs, can benefit from these kinds of student/community working relationships.

Tap into the alumni for more than money

Alumni are out and about, surviving in the new world of work, and some are successful entrepreneurs. This group of closely related and interested benefactors of the education they received can be called upon for more than a monetary contribution.

It might make sense to form an advisory board of the more successful alumni to help with ideas on how to transform their alma mater into a more entrepreneurial institution that educates students for

the new world of work. Besides their ideas, alumni may also be the source of collaborations for more real-world experiences for students. They can also share their stories of how they used their education to get where they are today.

My experience is that the alumni population is an untapped resource for advice and ideas on how to change the delivery system for higher education into one that is more entrepreneurial. I know very few alumni who, if asked, are not willing to contribute some of their time to their alma mater. Unfortunately, all they are ever asked for is money, not advice.

October 2013 | 20

Nontraditional students are, by definition, different from the traditional student going off to college right after high school. But whether completing courses at the undergraduate or graduate level, traditional and nontraditional students share many of the same concerns, challenges and goals.

Concerns such as, “Can I take on the stress and time of a degree?,” “Am I smart enough to do this?” and “How can I afford to get a degree now?” are just a few. Challenges for many include holding down a career or several part-time jobs, a family, and a mortgage. For some, they are handling aging parents as well as developing teens or toddlers. The goal for many is self-improvement for a better career, a more profitable income or just to finally complete something they started many years ago. All of these areas are cause for more stress for any adult.

Concierge Service for

Nontraditional Students

A concerted effort to acknowledge adult students’ unique needs can lead

to better retention and successBy Tracy Collum, High Point University


For a department or university to work effectively with nontraditional students, the right mindset has to be in place. Yes, these are adult students who can “fend for themselves,” but often they need guidance into a new system they are unfamiliar with. Nontraditional students typically need assistance with remembering deadlines as well as the many minute tasks that come with applying for admission, financial aid, advising, course selection and registration. It is this mindset of offering concierge-type service to an adult student that can make or break enrollment for a program.

Concierge service to adult students involves a staff that is not only professional and competent, but also personable, welcoming, proactive, invested and thoughtful.

When a student has an ailing parent in the hospital and misses the last date of registration, rather than counting them out of the enrollment, staff have the duty to follow up with those not enrolled. That may not be a new concept to many, but it is the exchange that occurs that

is most important. The right staff will call the student, find out the situation, and remember to ask about the parent over the upcoming weeks or months. Not only will the student then know the staff care, but she will also then be more comfortable with the staff to discuss other concerns that may arise throughout her education.

In a prime example, a recent student of an undergraduate program was applying for a graduate program. The student had such a great undergraduate relationship with his advisers that when it was time to apply to graduate school they made sure he met his deadlines while he was still working on his final undergraduate courses. He took a standardized graduate school exam and scored very well. Another institution that purchased scores called him to invite him to apply to their prestigious program. After thinking it over for a few days, the student realized that his relationships and trust were with his original advisers, and because of that, he wanted to continue his enrollment with his original institution.

Providing concierge service is about accommodating the working adult student as best as possible. However, this does not mean every answer has to be “yes.” What it does mean is providing assistance and service to students that can be remembered and sometimes take them by surprise. Providing services at the time students can actually utilize them is proactive and shows students they are cared for. For instance, a non-investment monetarily could be an investment in the students professionally. An example would be to provide professional development for students that fits their needs for academic, professional or personal growth.

A university is a place full of experts, or at least knowledgeable people, in a variety of topics. Utilizing those experts to help develop nontraditional students is highly valuable. Provide workshops for students taught by the “experts” who will help engage them and add to their classroom learning. For instance, many working adult students may be seeking a better career path, but having held the same job or worked for the same company for 15-plus years, they may be less than excited about the job search process.

October 2013 | 22

Asking career services to provide a workshop at a time convenient for these students should be an easy obstacle to overcome. At the end of the day, it allows career services to engage with nontraditional students, affords students the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and confidence, and provides a service with a caring nature of concern for the students’ future when they are done with their degrees.

Acknowledgement of nontraditional students is often as important to them as it is to 20-year-old traditional students.

Acknowledgements can come in the form of honor societies specifically for adult students. Alpha Sigma Lambda is a perfect example of a national honor society in which undergraduate adult students can be recognized for their scholastic achievements. Programs with larger funds could provide a nice dinner with the award ceremony. Those with a lower budget could perform a nice awards ceremony that still recognizes and puts a personal touch into each inductee.

In addition, why not participate in an annual graduate student appreciation week? This could be one week that a university focuses on graduate students specifically, if not done the rest of the year. Allow an opportunity for socialization, research posters and

Tracy Collum is the Associate Dean of the Norcross Graduate School at High Point University and a doctoral candidate in Adult and Community College

Education at North Carolina State University. She has worked with adult and nontraditional students for 11 years, in both the undergraduate and graduate arena through main and extended campus locations. Tracy currently serves as the Vice President of the Southeastern Association of Graduate Admission Professionals (SEAGAP). She may be contacted at [email protected].

presentations, networking, and other areas of interest. Providing graduate students an outlet through which to promote their knowledge allows them to feel a bigger part of the process of education, and also engages them as graduate students. Online students may be a tough group to provide caring concierge service to while acknowledging them with events on campus. However, with so many forms of online interactions available, be creative. Social media posts that promote research or good deeds by students are always

a morale booster. Who doesn’t want their college mentioning a project they worked so hard on for two months or a year? As you make the online students feel more at home with your university while they are actually at home, it will make them feel more in tune with the culture of the school.

Another thing to remember is that time is valuable for nontraditional students. With so much going on in their worlds, having a go-to person is often helpful to these students. At many universities, services are spread out in different departments – from financial aid to registration to advising. While some of these types of services need to be in silos, how much can a central office really help out in other areas?

For instance, a student calls to inquire about the cost of a parking decal –do you send them to the parking department (who gives out the decals) or to student accounts (who collects money for the decals)? The answer should be neither. The person who gets the question should be able to not only answer that question, but also provide more information by being proactive. The staff member should not only provide the cost, but also the location where the decal can be picked up, the hours the location is open and any prior registration for the vehicle that needs to be completed before purchase. Going an extra step, the staff member may realize the timing of the call and the time of the semester and remind the student that new freshmen arrive in one week, and therefore picking up the decal prior to them arriving on campus would save the student time waiting in line.

All good deeds and services help with enrollment and retention. Students don’t forget how they were treated, handled (or mishandled), or cared for. While it would appear adults don’t need their hands held, they do. They just wish for it to be done in an adult manner. Therefore, hiring the right staff with the right attitude, compassion and even the experience of a nontraditional student will help your numbers go a long way. But more than that, it will help your reputation go even further.

Concierge service to adult students involves a staff that is not only professional and competent, but also personable, welcoming, proactive, invested and thoughtful.


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October 2013 | 24

Learning in a Virtual World is

the Real DealOvercoming physical barriers

to simulate a wide range of educational experiences

By Prof. Liz Falconer, University of the West of England

Being a student at a university conjures up pictures of waking up in a small room, taking a quick shower and then setting off to the university to attend classes with friends and colleagues. Those classes take place in larger rooms but still with four walls and a ceiling. An important part of the instructor’s job is to help the students think beyond those physical restrictions.But physical space has a profound effect on the way we think and feel. Many of us find that we react to being in the audience in a lecture hall or tutorial room by becoming passive, expecting the teacher or presenter to do the work. But what if we could enable students to learn in rich and open environments, where they can practice theoretical skills safely, make mistakes freely and learn from those mistakes? That would surely be ideal.

Well, we can. With the arrival of easily accessible, online virtual worlds (VWs), it is now possible to simulate a wide range of activities and educational experiences in any environment you can envisage. VWs is the term used to describe online 3-D environments that enable users to interact with the environment and each other through avatars. Users can create objects and environments, chat by voice or text with other users, and explore a wide range of rich environments.

VWs are generally defined as having six main characteristics: shared space, a graphical user interface, immediacy, interactivity, persistence and socialisation. They share many characteristics with online gaming platforms such as World of


Warcraft, but they differ in that there are no preset goals to achieve. Users can create their own environments and use them as they wish.

Initially, VWs were used to provide opportunities for socialisation and interactivity amongst recreational users, but they have increasingly become environments of interest to educators at all levels. VWs are being used for a range of simulations and role-play activities in universities in topic areas such as medicine, health sciences, sociology, engineering and psychology.

David Damassa and Toby Sitko’s 2010 EDUCAUSE report on uses, trends and implications of simulation technologies in higher education highlighted the development of online and technology-enhanced simulations in medicine and health care. It also reported that languages, sciences, engineering and the arts are all subject areas where teaching and learning is supported by activities in VWs. The report also predicted that the use of

simulations in higher education will grow and that they will become more frequently used to assess student performance in critical thinking, communication and the application of knowledge across a wide range of subjects.

VWs are very effective environments for collaborative and social learning. They have the added benefit that students and tutors do not need to be co-located geographically to work together closely on meaningful tasks in appropriate environments. The importance of the

role of socialisation and collaboration in effective learning has been recognised since the early part of the 20th century, when researchers and practitioners, such as Lev Vygotsky and John Dewey, observed how children learned most effectively when they worked in collaboration with an adult rather than on their own and how learning comes about through interaction with effective environments for learning. As Bransford and colleagues stated in their 2000 book How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School:

“Learning through real-world contexts is not a new idea. … But these activities have seldom been at the heart of academic instruction, and they have not been easily incorporated into schools because of logistical constraints and the amount of subject material to be covered. Technology offers powerful tools for addressing these constraints, from video-based problems and computer simulations to electronic communications systems that connect classrooms with communities of practitioners.”

Although this was written in relation to school education and does not relate only to VWs, it is an important point that communication technologies have the potential to create valuable contexts in which to learn. During the past 10 to 15 years, a significant body of literature has emerged that describes and evaluates the development of VWs as learning environments. It seems that VWs tend to be used in education in three ways: as spaces for simulation, spaces where learners can experience acting on the world around

What if we could enable students to learn in rich and open environments, where they can practice theoretical skills safely, make mistakes freely and learn from those mistakes?

them and spaces for communicating. There are many reports of successes – and, of course, failures – in the use of VWs in education, but there does seem to be compelling evidence in the literature that experiential and situated learning can be effectively undertaken using VW technologies.

The University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, England, is one of the larger universities in the U.K. We specialise in preparing our students for entry into the professions. These professions include law, architecture, teaching, nursing, radiography, computer sciences, environmental sciences and many more. We, therefore, strongly emphasise situated, case-based learning that enhances the students’ understanding of theory and their subsequent employability.

VWs can offer access to environments that facilitate simulations of real-world activities that students would find difficult to experience otherwise. This could be because these experiences present ethical

difficulties, such as working with patients; practical problems, such as carrying out a complex activity over time, like in an accident investigation; or physical dangers to students who lack experience, such as handling dangerous animals.

We have been active in VWs since 2007. Students at UWE now carry out a range of simulations in VWs, including risk assessments, food poisoning outbreak investigations, psychology counselling sessions, financial auditing simulations and practice experiments in a virtual genetics

October 2013 | 26

laboratory. More and more teachers and trainers began expressing an interest in using VW technologies to support their students’ learning. So we in the Education Innovation Centre (EIC) developed a Master’s programme in VW education that facilitates the exploration of VWs as places for education.

The EIC is a central service at UWE that both researches and develops the innovative use of technology to enhance learning. It also supports colleagues in the university in their use of technology to enhance their own practice and the learning of their students. An important element of what we do is to lead by example, to demonstrate how new technologies and more flexible routes into education can operate at UWE. So the M.A. in Education in Virtual Worlds fulfils two main goals: to enable teachers and developers to reflect upon and grow their practice in VWs, and to act as a testing ground and boundary pusher for the university’s systems.

To put the following discussion in context, it will be helpful to have a brief description of the programme and how it operates. The M.A. programme is taught within the VW Second Life (SL) and is supported by asynchronous online technologies such as Blackboard for access to course materials, discussion forums, resources, activities and assessments. Each module

on the programme has one three-hour tutorial in SL per week for 12 weeks. Our students are mostly educators and technology developers with a keen interest in expanding their practice into VWs.The programme offers access to

learning and professional development opportunities in education technologies by immersing the students in the online environment being studied, that is, a VW. Students have the opportunity to explore the sociology, philosophy and application of teaching, learning and research theories in a virtual environment; develop potential learning activities of their own and test them with their own students; explore the use of nonplayer characters and avatar robots powered by forms of artificial intelligence; design and develop curricula specifically delivered in VWs; and research education in VWs.

The programme is modular and flexible, with students able to decide how they would like to study, from taking just one

module without assessment to the whole M.A. programme leading to the end award. The aspirations of students range from supporting their learners’ specific needs in VWs to researching the value of these environments for education.

The first run-through of the programme began in September 2012 with a small group of seven students for a first trial. Although we had taught students in VWs for three years previously, this was the first time we had run an entire programme there, so we were both excited and trepidatious. Five of the students were from the U.K., one from Greece and one from New Zealand. And this gave us our first wake-up call: time zones.

As the weekly VW tutorials formed the kernel of the learning experiences, organising them to enable students to attend the tutorials in the VW posed a significant challenge. We overcame it, with some late nights put in by our New Zealand student, and learned a lot, which was just as well. At the time of writing this article, we have applications for the 2013 run of the programme from the U.K., Argentina, Canada, United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh.

Even though the international flavour of the programme poses logistical challenges, it also provides a wonderfully rich mix of educational cultures. Two aspects of the programme have made a particular impression on us so far.

Firstly, is the speed with which the cohort of students has bonded socially, despite

VWs really are places where educational theories of social constructivism can actually be seen to be working.

Tutors take a quick rest between tutorials by having a drink on the beach.


Liz Falconer is Professor of Technology-Enhanced Learning and Director of the Education Innovation Centre at the University of the West of England in Bristol, England. She began her career as an environmental health officer in local government before moving into private industry and becoming a hygiene and safety officer for part of British Oxygen. In 1987, Falconer joined the University of Salford to lecture in occupational safety and risk management and to lead a Master’s

program in occupational safety and health that could be studied in both attended and nonattended modes. In 2001, she joined the University of Bath as Director of the Centre for Distance Education and then moved to the University of the West of England to lead e-learning development in 2003. She now leads the Education Innovation Centre there, which concentrates upon research, development and practice in the innovative use of technology to enhance learning. She is the Programme Manager of the M.A. in Education in Virtual Worlds at UWE.

their geographical separation. During the VW tutorials, we travelled around the VW together to experience a wide range of environments, far too many to describe here. Examples of these included re-creations of Renaissance England, the Western Front in WWI, Paris in the 1800s, the Great Pyramid at Giza, Akhenaten’s temple at Armana and Arkansas in the 1930s. All of these environments were created by residents of SL and are openly available to visit.

We have also sampled role playing together in environments such as a women’s prison. We have built things together, danced together, made music together and laughed a lot. All of these social experiences have formed a strong bond in the cohort, and, as tutors, we have become a part of that.

But the most noticeable effect is on learning. VWs really are places where educational theories of social constructivism can actually be seen to be working. This has become apparent to us in the second particular impression: the creativity and imagination displayed by the students. Their approach to their own teaching practices has been altered by the experiences they have had and the possibilities they can see for their own practice. Even if their future practice doesn’t take place in a VW, the social

learning they have experienced during the programme has caused them to reflect on the constraints of the linear process of lecturing, as opposed to the synthesising nature of social experiences in many different and engaging environments.

Despite the many benefits of VWs, there are also noteworthy challenges in their use. Simply taking advantage of the opportunities that VWs offer is not always as easy as continuing to use traditional forms of education, such as lecture and tutorial. VWs are relatively new technologies that can pose technological challenges to IT infrastructures on and off campus.Also, students and tutors have to become familiar with the VW environment to get the most from it, and this takes time. Time is often at a premium in university courses, and finding space for VW induction can be problematic. It is also challenging to

rethink the learning design of courses to enable a move away from learning by listening, long recognised as having limited effect, to learning by doing.

However, the limitations and challenges can be well worth it. I have left the last words to two of our students, to sum up their reactions to learning in and about VWs:

“I have found the course enthralling and challenging, but it is rewarding beyond belief. I hope that on completing the course I will be able to help others within my department incorporate these aspects of learning into their own courses as well as continue to use them to teach my own students.”

“I’ve become used to being immersed in an environment that is not your average classroom. Those sorts of affordances that allow you to (in a click of a button) be in the middle of the desert, and then be up the top of a skyscraper, and then you can be in a labyrinth. … Having those sorts of environments around you to use as a classroom makes comparison (with education in physical classrooms) almost impossible from where I’m sitting.”

Biosciences students conduct genetics experiments in a virtual laboratory to prepare for real-life lab work.

October 2013 | 28

When thinking of higher education, online and distance education is typically not top-of-mind. Nevertheless, distance education has great potential for universities that choose to support it to reach out to and benefit even more students. Following the revolutionary developments in online learning in the U.S., such as massive open online courses (MOOCs), online distance education is now growing increasingly popular in other parts of the world. This article provides an insight into distance education, its advantages and recent trends from a European perspective.

Benefits of online distance learning

Compared to traditional on-campus learning, distance education has several advantages. Many students are nowadays opting for distance education because of its accessibility: It enables learners to be less bound by time and location and thus gives flexibility to people who are not able to follow a strict schedule due to personal circumstances, family or work obligations.

Another benefit of distance education is that it is often less expensive than traditional education. It can open up learning opportunities to those who would otherwise not be able to study and

European Consortium Creates

Portal to Global Online Opportunities

Connecting a worldwide network of students, programmes and universities

By Michael Steinmann, StudyPortals


facilitates the social inclusion of people with disadvantaged backgrounds (such as economic situation, development regions, disability and so forth).

With fewer restrictions on capacity limits, online and distance education also benefits universities as it allows them to expand their offerings and to reach students who usually would not be able to

enrol with them. Typical distance learners are regular students as we all know them, but also parents, physically challenged people and working adults who are looking for ways to enhance their skills next to their busy schedules.

Because it allows any institution around the world to target anyone interested in their programme while reducing additional obstacles to international studies such as visa requirements, travel costs and travel time, online distance education is the next step to a truly globalized world of education. Shifts in perception

It is because of its many benefits that distance learning offerings are expanding both in volume and in type: online, open and blended learning; degree or credit programmes; and programmes offered by specialised distance learning institutes and also, increasingly, by a consortium of traditional universities.

With technology becoming more affordable and available, the interest of both learners and institutions in this special mode of education is on the rise in the U.S. and around the globe. In Europe for instance, during the last year, student enrolment increased 15-20 percent, while the offerings grew by 40 percent. These rapid developments in the field are accompanied by an increasing shift in perception.

Today, online distance education has found its way into the agenda of international media. The advent of MOOCs, for instance, has placed online distance education in the centre of global media attention. Such attention fosters public awareness, tackles general misconceptions about online distance education, and makes online distance education an increasingly appreciated option. As Piet Henderikx, Secretary General of the EADTU, a leading association for online and distance teaching universities in Europe, puts it: “Open and distance learning have become an important answer to current educational challenges and will significantly impact our educational landscape.”

A global partnership

Online distance education is offered by traditional higher education institutions and by dedicated distance learning schools, such as the open universities

and private schools, all offering distance education in a wide range of disciplines. Despite this growth and interest in the topic on a global level, detailed statistics on distance education and a one-stop shop to bring transparency to the field have been missing. A partnership of leading international associations and universities recently joined forces to close this gap. Together they created Distance Learning

Portal to allow students to easily find and compare distance learning options globally.

“Distance Learning Portal was developed as a direct response to the needs of universities and learners. Today, we already list several thousands of offers. Now, we will rapidly grow into a comprehensive overview on all distance learning offers globally,” Edwin van Rest, Director of StudyPortals, the leading organisation behind Distance Learning Portal, said.

The portal offers a unique insight into the offerings and interest in distance education across the globe. Being a rather recent initiative, though, Distance Learning Portal can not yet provide an exact representation of the current offerings worldwide. It is, however, the most comprehensive portal in the field and therefore the best approach to identifying existing and emerging trends.

“Open and distance learning have become an important answer to current educational challenges and will significantly impact our educational landscape.” Piet Hendericx, Secretary General of EADTU

October 2013 | 30

Looking at the offerings presented on the portal, one can find a total of 2,300 degree programmes and short courses taught at a distance in 34 countries worldwide. The spread of disciplines and majority of programmes available include the fields of business and economics, followed by life sciences and applied sciences. Diving even deeper into the specific study fields, programmes related to education, public health and economics are most commonly offered at a distance.

Demand and supply

In the light of lacking global statistics on the interest in distance education, the search behaviour of prospective students on Distance Learning Portal can serve as a valuable indication of the current demand. While the interest in online distance education overall is increasing, some disciplines attract a lot of interest compared to the number of programmes listed in that subject area.

Particularly, programmes in the areas of energy engineering, business and economics, bio and biomedical engineering, political science and international relations, and environmental technology are in high demand. For all of these disciplines, the offerings as listed on Distance Learning Portal are currently somewhat limited compared to the interest in them.

For universities, engaging in distance education is a wide-ranging strategic decision with huge implications. Depending on the level of involvement and technology chosen, there are substantial initial investments to be covered. Moreover, preparing for distance education also means motivating instructors to open themselves and their teaching habits to this new form of

learning – not to mention to create or properly adjust their learning materials –and finding the right marketing mix to promote offerings to a potentially global audience.

All these steps call for thorough preparation and require commitment throughout the institution. Nevertheless, taking these steps will afford universities the huge potential benefit distance education offers the opportunity to open up their programmes to an increasingly global

audience while preparing for the arrival of digital natives in the world of higher education in the years to come.

Michael Steinmann has been working in the field of international higher education since 2007. As an expert in international marketing, he has been leadingly involved in the development and implementation of several projects funded by the European Union. Currently, Steinmann works with StudyPortals, where he champions DistanceLearningPortal.com, which lists more than 250 universities from 34 countries and presents more than 2,300 study opportunities to prospective students worldwide.


CONNECT

Communicate with your prospective students anywhere, on any device.

COMPEL

Be different. Be memorable. Make sure your message resonates.

CONVERT

Make more of your interested prospects become qualified applicants.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics. www.nces.ed.gov

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October 2013 | 32

U.S. unemployment rates remain stubbornly high, while high-paying jobs remain unfilled. According to Manpower Group, employers are citing “a lack of available skilled talent as a continuing drag on business performance.” In order to get ahead in our knowledge economy, workers need to match the increasingly complex demands of today’s workplace by improving their skill sets. Some colleges are well-positioned to meet this need, providing flexible educational opportunities that enable workers to complete targeted programs on their own schedules, based on their own career goals.

But are colleges taking full advantage of competency-based learning structures that have the potential to help their students in the job search and procurement process? Could colleges become leaders in defining and issuing badges that represent valuable job skills in high demand by employers?

Can colleges make the most of competency-based learning?

By Dr. Deborah Everhart, Blackboard

Badges for a Stronger Workforce


In the past year, we’ve seen a flurry of highly publicized new phenomena in education. Convergences of transformative forces are driving new approaches to flexible open learning opportunities, learner achievements and competency-based learning. These forces include:

• A push at federal, state and municipal levels for the College Access Agenda to enable all students to achieve higher learning goals to help drive economic and social benefits.

• Numerous research and nonprofit organizations arguing for fundamental changes in the delivery of education, such as the Lumina Foundation’s strategy for “new systems of quality credentials and credits defined by learning and competencies rather than time.”

• Swift changes in U.S. higher education accreditation, particularly for competency-based learning.

• The changing role of employers as independent validators of job candidates’ capabilities in response to the shortcomings of traditional transcripts and resumes.

• Rising consumer demand for flexible affordable open learning opportunities, driven in part by backlash against the $1 trillion-plus student debt load in the United States that is dragging down individuals and the economy as a whole.

In this context, badges that represent flexible, open and portable learning achievements have emerged as a powerful new education tool. With badge achievements that can be added to online resumes and social media profiles, what students have learned can become – literally and visibly – part of their identities. Employers, admissions officers and other “badge consumers” are beginning to recognize the value of the detailed information and evidence of skills that badges provide, in stark contrast to the opaque, rudimentary information provided in transcripts.

While numerous types of badging technologies are available, the Mozilla Open Badges for Lifelong Learning Initiative has established a framework for the scalable, stable growth of badge ecosystems. In this open, nonproprietary framework, learning providers define badges that represent specific achievements, often based on industry-standard competencies. The learning providers then issue badges after verifying that learners have mastered the competency defined in the badge. Learners benefit from a more granular understanding of their learning accomplishments and the ability to map their competency badges to the skills required by employers. They can collect badges from multiple sources; organize them to address targeted needs, such as a job search; and provide employers with evidence of specific competencies.

Badges that represent flexible, open and portable learning achievements have emerged as a powerful new education tool.

October 2013 | 34

The Manufacturing Institute is also teaming up with industry leaders to help veterans translate their military experience into manufacturing careers. Well-defined badges map military occupation codes to civilian jobs such as electronics assemblers and machinists. An online framework makes it easy for civilian employers to understand military competencies and post their jobs to thousands of highly skilled veterans. This initiative aims to advance the careers of 100,000 veterans by 2015.

Badges are gaining momentum in a number of fields, including computing and robotics. Intel, Microsoft and Disney-Pixar have all launched badge initiatives, and the Information Technology Industry Council recently announced its commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative badge challenge. Dean Garfield, President and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, stated, “Open Badges is a great opportunity for our nation, American workers and businesses alike. Whether self-taught; acquired through work experience; or learned from science, technology, engineering and math classroom programs, Open Badges is a way to demonstrate tangible skills that have direct relevance to careers today and in the years to come.”

Badges have recently received notable recognition:

• In June 2013, the Clinton Global Initiative announced a commitment to help 1 million students and 1 million U.S. workers access opportunities through badges. Nonprofit organizations, universities, civic organizations, technology providers, employers and others are teaming up to meet this challenge.

• Blackboard’s integration with the Mozilla Open Badges framework enables educators around the world to become badge issuers to millions of students who can use their badge achievements portably in their online identities and resumes.

• Mozilla, Blackboard, WCET and Sage Road Solutions are bringing together academic, governmental, civic and corporate thought leaders in the MOOC, Badges: New Currency for Professional Credentials, that will foster and strengthen emerging badge ecosystems.

The badges movement holds tremendous potential as learners, academic institutions, employers and others engage in these new “connected learning ecologies.” We should expect that learners will increasingly demand flexible learning opportunities and portable evidence of achievements, and by providing them, we can contribute to changes that spur learning enthusiasm and improve learner success.

Dr. Deborah Everhart is the Director of Integration Strategy at Blackboard, where she provides architectural strategy and guidance throughout product planning and development processes. She teaches as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University. She received her Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Irvine. Everhart has written numerous articles and presented papers and seminars on medieval literature, emerging technologies, and the future of

learning and teaching. Most recently, she has provided leadership in learning analytics, badges and competency-based learning initiatives.

Employers can explore the data and evidence captured in the badges to get a more robust understanding of applicants’ capabilities. A growing number of employers are also defining badges that represent the employee skills they need and/or endorsing the badges of learning providers who are issuing badges they find valuable and reputable.

In this ecosystem, badge issuers (learning providers), badge earners (learners) and badge consumers (employers) all benefit from the ability to capture and convey evidence of learning that is far more targeted and concrete than traditional grades on transcripts and lists of skills on resumes.

Badge initiatives are maturing quickly in many arenas: within for-credit and not-for-credit courses (including MOOCs), internships, work experience, military experience, and other learning contexts. These initiatives provide a structure through which mentors and experts help learners understand and evaluate their progress toward achieving specific badges, creating a “connected learning ecology.”

In a prime example of a badge ecosystem, the Manufacturing Institute has launched a National Manufacturing Badges initiative that defines ways of achieving manufacturing skills that are highly sought by employers. Students complete project-based courses that allow them to demonstrate their capabilities and earn badges. They then display these badges in their digital resumes and in professional networking contexts.

Manufacturing employers identify work-based learning and job opportunities that are mapped to the competencies represented by specific badges. The badge ecosystem provides a method of exchange for students and employers to better define and enable the learning-to-employment pathways that get more students into the right jobs more effectively.


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October 2013 | 36

In the first issue of University Outlook, PlattForm’s acquisition of U.K. education advertising agency MJD Consultancy was briefly mentioned. In this issue, I would like to explain more about the acquisition and what it means for our education clients around the world.

My aim here is not to be an overbearing salesman – those days are way behind me – but rather to explain how and why the acquisition came about and why it highlights how universities are changing their outlook on marketing at all levels. To set your mind at ease that this is not a sales pitch, I would like to quote Editor Steve Adams from the first issue:

“Our focus at University Outlook will be on the positives: those who are doing things right; success stories; how to effect

From Across the PondDelivering excellence:

the rise of the marketing partner

By Marcel Dalziel, PlattForm U.K.

change amid resistance; new and proven approaches and solutions; and who’s doing what, and how and why, to ultimately better serve our students.”

With that in mind, please indulge me for a minute and allow me to explain how this acquisition is beneficial to you. MJD was formed because of a need in the U.K. education advertising agency space for a fresh and honest approach to marketing. For too many years, universities were treated as insignificant clients by the large multimedia agencies that focused primarily on the big corporate clients and delivered little education expertise and even less value for the money.

A little over eight years and 30 U.K. and international clients later, MJD had a reputation for unrivalled market knowledge and absolute dedication to its education clients, with no corporate distractions. It was this expertise and level of customer service that caught the eye of PlattForm. The synergies between the two companies were immediately apparent. The rest, as they say, is history, or should we say, the future. For now that PlattForm has added international education expertise to its substantial offerings, the need for clients to use multiple agencies could be a thing of the past.

I am sure many of you have been or are currently in a situation where you have two, three, four or – in a case I came across recently – six different so-called marketing agencies. The university in question had a different agency for media buying, SEO, digital, creative, copywriting and print. This severely hindered its ability to achieve economies of scale and affected its ability to effectively deliver campaigns on time and with a coordinated approach.

PlattForm, through the acquisition of MJD, can now offer clients a truly comprehensive marketing service. With expertise in all aspects of marketing, including SEO, film,


media buying, market research, agent management, direct student recruitment … I will stop here as I have only 1,000 words for this column, and the list of services PlattForm offers would go way beyond that. Our goal is simple: to become a true marketing partner for educators around the world. The aim is to be consultative and advisory rather than just a booking house.

Benefits of this all-in-one approach to marketing are wide-ranging. The most obvious is the huge financial savings institutions can enjoy from not having to pay fees to multiple agencies and from receiving great economies of scale, which naturally occur when you buy more than one product or service from the same supplier.

Secondly, there is the almost immeasurable value of staff time saved by their not

having to spend most of their day dealing with multiple contacts at

agencies, media suppliers and agents, thus

freeing up

their time to focus on vital activities such as conversion and enrolment. It must be noted that this is not an attempt to replace key staff but to work in collaboration with them to deliver effective and efficient marketing campaigns to ultimately ensure the institution achieves and exceeds its objectives.

Of course, there is and always will be a place for certain industry and product specialists. Where these services cannot be delivered internally, the aim is to source the best suppliers and ensure a partnership is agreed upon so the client can access its services without going through a time-consuming and laborious process of research and soliciting bids.

As you probably know, PlattForm is not afraid of sharing best practice and inviting the competition to be involved. It’s this nonprecious approach that ultimately will give educators confidence that they are getting the right information, not biased information. Hence the launch of University Outlook, which, bar this article, is dedicated to discussing the progressive, innovative and thought-provoking issues around

student recruitment.

A great example of sharing best practice was the recent Client Day held in Coventry, England. Key university clients, media suppliers, CRM developers and government-

backed organisations

came together

to

discuss how we can best work together for the growth of the student recruitment sector. With PlattForm at the heart of this, it meant no one supplier or university was territorial or protective over its product or space; it was simply a great day of thought-provoking discussions and creating networks and, hopefully, lasting working relationships that will benefit all involved. I know I promised this wasn’t going to be a sales pitch, but actually in reading this back to myself, I realise it’s a very good one. We felt it important to explain our rationale for expansion and our commitment to deliver excellence in all areas of education marketing and recruitment.

Marcel Dalziel is Managing Director of PlattForm U.K. and former Managing Director at MJD Consultancy in Coventry, England, focusing on international

activities and the global strategy of education without borders. Born in Durham, England, Dalziel spent his school years studying and living in South Africa, Australia and the U.K., which has helped develop his passion for education and the international student experience. After completing his B.S. in Geography in 1998, he joined Hobsons U.K. and developed its international media portfolio. He launched MJD Consultancy in 2005, an education-only advertising agency focused on delivering expert advice on domestic and international media to universities around the world. In 2011, Dalziel launched The Student World, a series of successful study-abroad fairs focused on helping international universities recruit students from the U.K. He plans to launch similar fairs in the United States, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East. He is also a member of the University Outlook Board of Advisers. He can be contacted at [email protected].

October 2013 | 38

In a state that lags far behind the rest of the nation in the production of science and engineering graduates, Northeastern University’s entry into Washington’s higher education marketplace should be welcome news. However, some in the field worry that the Boston-based school’s arrival might give Washingtonians a false sense of security about the future of higher education.

The private research university opened its Seattle satellite campus last January in South Lake Union. The campus occupies a sleek warren of offices nestled in a building it shares with the Institute for Systems Biology. (ISB’s President is former University of Washington Professor of Molecular Biotechnology Leroy Hood.) Nearby, Amazon, the Seattle

An import graduate school moves in to fill the technical and engineering jobs Washington’s graduate programs can’t

By Collin Tong, Crosscut News

Northeastern University

Opens New Seattle Satellite

Campus


Biomedical Research Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation loom as pillars of Seattle’s growing medical and technological locus.

Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun believes the Seattle campus is helping to reshape higher education in the region. “We spent two years assessing the needs of the Seattle community and met with higher education, civic and business leaders. We want to establish long-term roots and become part of the fabric of this region,” he said during a recent visit to Seattle.

Northeastern is known primarily for its cooperative education program, where students integrate academic studies with six-month periods of professional work experience. Through a hybrid online and face-to-face education model, the school’s new campus will offer 28 Master’s degrees in an array of fields: bioinformatics, computer science, engineering management, and commerce and economic development. It will also offer four doctoral programs in education, law and policy, nursing practice, and physical therapy.

Northeastern Seattle Campus CEO and Dean Tayloe Washburn sees the new campus as an opportunity to tap into the state’s growing need for a highly educated workforce. “Our local businesses are technology-based. Northeastern’s targeted students are 28-45 years old and working professionals in all STEM fields. … As a region, we are surprisingly low in graduate programs for these people.”

Washburn, a former Seattle land-use attorney, chairs the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) workforce development task force and served as Gov. Christine Gregoire’s point person for the Boeing 737 retention initiative. “WTIA decided in 2012 that providing the needed workforce required by our tech companies of all types was a top strategic initiative,” Washburn said.

That conclusion was borne out earlier by a Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board report in 2011, which documented the need for increased production of graduate degrees in fields such as computer science, engineering, health occupations and life sciences. The report underscored the goal of decreasing the state’s dependence on imported talent and providing greater job opportunities for Washington state residents.

Local leaders weigh in

Many Seattle business leaders share Aoun’s optimism, viewing Northeastern’s arrival as a boon to the Puget Sound region’s economy — especially its surging information technology sector.

Steve Leahy, former Seattle Chamber President and Washington State Director of America’s Edge, is one of them. “There’s more room for graduate programs that focus on high-demand career fields in science and technology,” he said. “We’re trying to grow those clusters and need as many resources as possible to meet industry demand.”

“My feeling is that we are creating a new University District of Downtown,” said Seattle City Councilmember Richard Conlin. “A number of private colleges are relocating themselves to be proximate to the employers and employees who might use them, and this is a good thing.”

“Local companies need highly skilled and educated folks. There is a big gap between our region’s workforce needs and available skilled employees,” echoed Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce President Maud Daudon. “Northeastern has a laser focus on that gap. They did their homework and talked to all the stakeholders, and they’ve been warmly received.”

Warm may be the key word there

Among state education leaders, opinions are more varied. Ed Lazowska, the University of Washington’s Bill & Melinda Gates Chair of Computer Science & Engineering, is positive about the opportunities Northeastern will provide, but sounds a cautionary note.

“There’s no doubt about the fact that Washington state is educationally underserved. We rank in the bottom half of the states in science and engineering Bachelor’s degrees relative

to our population, and 46th in science and engineering graduate program enrollment. So any additional high-quality education opportunities, such as those that Northeastern will provide, are welcome and needed.

“I do worry that citizens and policymakers will mistakenly believe that Northeastern is a Santa Claus that will solve our educational capacity problems,” he continued. “We need to prepare Washington’s students for Washington jobs. While it’s good for our tech industry that a greater number of

Seattle Dean and CEO Tayloe Washburn with Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun. Photo: Northeastern University.

October 2013 | 40

Northeastern’s Boston students are likely to seek employment in Seattle, what about our kids?”

That conundrum is not lost on University of Washington Provost Ana Mari Cauce. Though she applauds Northeastern’s presence here in Seattle, she laments the state’s shrinking higher education budget, which keeps Washington’s public universities perennially cash-strapped.

“Applications to the UW are at an all-time high,” she explained, “and this is especially the case in the engineering and tech fields. Northeastern is here not because our ‘product’ isn’t excellent or because the demand for it isn’t incredibly high, but because it’s so high that we can’t meet it.”

Cauce sees Northeastern’s entry into the education marketplace as a big red flag, one that points to the irony of state funding and restrictions around higher education. On the one hand, she says, Washington is unwilling or unable to fund the expansion of UW’s tech and engineering programs.

On the other, tuition for these programs is capped, preventing the university itself from funding its own growth.

Still, many, like Washington State University President Elson Floyd, don’t put that responsibility on Northeastern’s shoulders.

“They will offer different opportunities at different price points. The more options our learners have, the better off we are as a state. Washington State University and the University of Washington are committed to producing as many graduates in STEM professions as we can. Northeastern as an additional partner is a good thing for Washington state.”

A smart business move

There’s no denying that opening a Seattle branch is a smart business move for the Boston-based university – one they’re likely to replicate elsewhere. Since Northeastern opened its first satellite campus in Charlotte, N.C., in the fall of 2011, it has spent $60 million to expand its national footprint. The university is eyeing future

prospects for campuses in Austin, Texas; Minnesota; and the Silicon Valley.

At the Seattle campus, there are currently 100 enrolled students, but Washburn expects to see strong growth in that number pretty quickly. “I would not be surprised if, in 10 years, we approached 1,000 students.” Northeastern is on track to reach 200 by the end of its first year, he said.

And tuition is competitive. Graduate-level degrees range from $24,000 through the upper $30,000 range, and the MBA degree is more than $60,000. Washburn is quick to point out that these costs are for the entire program – not just a year’s tuition. The most popular programs are the Doctorate in Education and Master’s in Computer Science.

“In many areas,” he said, “the degree cost for a brick and mortar, private, nonprofit research university is, in fact, less than other excellent programs in our state.”

It’s not clear how many of those students will be local, but at least some will likely be Northeastern undergraduates from Boston. “It will … increase the placement of Northeastern’s Boston undergraduates in co-op and internship positions with Seattle tech companies, and those students will be more likely to take permanent jobs here when they graduate,” Lazowska says.

Through a hybrid online and face-to-face education model, the school’s new campus will offer 28 Master’s and four doctoral degrees.


Collin Tong is a Higher Education Writer for Crosscut News and a Seattle-Based Stringer for the New York Times. He is a former Senior

Director for Communications at Washington State University and visiting lecturer at WSU’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. This article was published by Crosscut and reprinted with permission. It has been updated for University Outlook.

Northeastern has doubled its co-op placements compared with last year at this time, with 61 placements in 2012-13. In addition to longtime cooperative employers Amazon and Microsoft, the

U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Additionally, Northeastern has received interest from a variety of new employers for the January-June 2014 cycle, ranging from finance to tech firms.

Winning partnerships, collaboration

Northeastern leaders have met with local universities in the past year and are collaborating in workforce development, STEM education for girls and development of its local neuroscience cluster. The Seattle campus has research initiatives under way with the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and Institute for Systems Biology.

Aoun and Washburn believe that strong partnerships with local research centers like the Institute for Systems Biology, the University of Washington and Seattle University are a win-win for the region and Northeastern.

Educational leaders like Cauce agree, pointing out that Northeastern’s presence is healthy for competition in the region.

Since Northeastern opened its first satellite campus in Charlotte, N.C., in the fall of 2011, it has spent $60 million to expand its national footprint.

“The UW has no problem with competition. We have extremely strong, nationally ranked programs in engineering and technology at an extremely good price point, even with the recent high increases in tuition that are a result of state cuts.

“We don’t see them as ‘stealing’ students from us, but rather as serving students we can’t accommodate,” she added. “And besides, competition can be very healthy. Berkeley is stronger because of Stanford’s proximity.”

Northeastern’s Seattle campus plans to work closely with UW President Michael Young and Seattle University President Stephen Sundborg to explore further opportunities for collaboration, Washburn said.

Northeastern University’s Seattle Graduate Campus. Photo: Benjamin Benschneider.

Seattle campus has added the Allen Institute for Brain Science, an HR-focused position at the Puget Sound Partnership, and a marine biology major working at the

October 2013 | 42

International Marketing and

Student Recruitment“Soft” factors for colleges and universities

to consider in their marketing efforts

By Lisa Cynamon Mayers, Intead

When it comes to international student recruitment and marketing, many obvious factors affect a student’s interest in one institution over another. Details such as U.S. News & World Report rankings, cost/financial assistance, availability of desired programs, an international student presence and postgraduation opportunities all play into a student’s decision-making process.

But other factors, which we call “soft” factors, also affect a student’s decision making. In building or maintaining recruitment and marketing efforts, it’s certainly worth your while to consider these factors.

Frequency of flights

If it is challenging to arrive at your city or campus, students may think twice about applying and subsequently enrolling at your institution. For example, this has created a challenge for Canadian universities recruiting in Brazil. In a session held at the 2013 ICEF Toronto Workshop, Carlos Robles mentioned that airline travel between Brazil and Canada is challenging because only one flight takes off each day. I assume he was speaking of arrival to Toronto, which would affect a great many institutions in the greater Toronto area. Although you will not be able to change airline schedules or add flights at a whim, keep in mind how accessible your city/institution is from various international markets. It makes far more sense to recruit from international regions that are more easily accessible. In addition, being aware of ease or difficulty of travel helps you to better explain how students can arrive at your institution. It makes good sense to be aware of travel options before engaging with international students and their parents.

Difficulty of attaining visas

In certain regions of the world, students have an inordinately difficult experience applying for and receiving their student visas. If the process is overly cumbersome, or if prospective students receive advice from peers about the difficulty of the process (the problem could be real or perceived), students will apply to colleges in certain regions less often. Students see little purpose in going through the arduous tasks involved with applying for admission and visas if there is little hope that they will find ultimate success in studying abroad.

Dietary needs

Prospective students are savvy at researching prospective institutions and institutional offerings. For some students, dietary restrictions (vegetarian, kosher, halal) are key facets of their daily lives. If an institution or community is unable to


Lisa Cynamon Mayers is the Academic Adviser for Intead, providing guidance on the college application and admissions processes. She has spent nearly 15 years working in undergraduate admissions and college counseling. Upon graduating from Washington University, she stayed on campus to work as a Senior Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions. For the past 10 years, she has worked as an independent college counselor, guiding American and international high school

students and their parents through the college admissions process. She was a keynote speaker at the 2008 Inside Ivy Conference in Seoul, South Korea, organized by the Princeton Review Korea and Road to College. As a speaker and published writer on the subject of college admissions, she has been able to advise countless students and parents. Mayers can be contacted at [email protected].

provide suitable food, or if the perception is that appropriate foods are not available, prospective students could lose interest in an institution. Effectively communicating your institution’s understanding of and commitment to providing appropriate food to meet a range of dietary restrictions is key. For example, if you are recruiting in the Middle East, be sure to emphasize the availability of halal foods on campus and in your community.

Housing needs

Your international student population may present unique needs when it comes to housing. If you don’t have housing available on campus, students may desire a homestay. Within your community, you will need to effectively recruit homestay hosts, or you will not be able to accommodate some students’ needs. Similarly, certain international students, particularly Muslim women, may require single-sex housing or housing for a chaperone. More and more institutions have done away with single-sex housing. Without this option, you may be eliminating a population of students who may have been otherwise interested in your institution. Again, effectively conveying your housing options through your marketing campaigns, particularly to targeted populations, is critical.

Existence of a local ethnic community

Ideally, international students want to relocate to a location with a familiar local ethnic community. A local ethnic community eases the transition to their new academic environment because of the availability of familiar foods in either restaurants or groceries, worship locations and native-language speakers, although thousands of international students attend

universities each year where there is no local ethnic community, this factor is often a consideration for enrollment and for long-term success. If you are fortunate to have thriving ethnic communities near your institution, it would be quite wise to tout this “soft” factor in your marketing materials and publications.

October 2013 | 44

If enrollment marketing is your responsibility, you know it’s part art and part science. Or, perhaps it is better described metaphorically as part elegant ballroom dance and part rugby match on a rainy, muddy day.

Enrollment marketing is going through a bit of a transformation. What used to be an annual cycle of viewbooks and high school fairs has now become a much more complex mix of media tied to an elaborate web of processes.

And the biggest challenge? Knowing whether or not you’re doing it right. That’s why CUnet developed this 10-question map to enrollment marketing success. If you can answer each of the questions below with confidence, you are on the path to victory.

1. Who is your target audience?If you answered high school sophomores and juniors with GPAs greater than X.X and SAT scores above XXXX, ask yourself if that really answers the question. To truly

Now is a transformational time for improved education marketing and

student recruitmentBy Dale Leatherwood, CUnet

A 10-Question Map to

Enrollment Marketing

Success


know your target audience, you need to understand what makes them tick. What has life entailed until now? What are their personal and career aspirations? To your audience, what is college success?

If, like many traditional colleges and universities, you have started recruiting adult students for your online programs, clearly identifying your target audience is even more essential. The competition for adult students in general is fierce. Conversely, the competition for single moms in the Toledo area with 10-20 credits already under their belts is bound to be more modest.

2. Who is your competition?For students applying to your school, which other schools are in their consideration sets? How about the students you wish were applying to your school – which schools are in their consideration sets? It’s probably a broader group of schools than you typically take into account.

In addition, have you reflected on proprietary schools, MOOCs or other new education formats? If you believe they may be negatively impacting your enrollment in any manner, then they are your competition and must be addressed.

3. Which media source provides you with the best student candidates?It’s true all media works together in a holistic enrollment marketing campaign. However, if you don’t know which source delivers the best results, you’ll never achieve optimal efficiency.

How are you tracking media expenditures? Are you attributing enrollments back to their source or just bucketing everything and calculating averages?

If you are not able to determine actual return on investment by source, you are at a considerable disadvantage. It’s time to consider enrollment marketing technology – such as Sparkroom –

to obtain enhanced and actionable intelligence.

4. Do you have express prior consent to contact your student candidates by telephone?The new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulations require prior express written consent of the called party to receive telemarketing calls or calls that introduce advertisements to cell phones via automated telephone dialing systems. It is recommended that you assume every phone you are calling is a cell phone and request prior express written consent from every student candidate.

If you do not already have a process in place to address the new TCPA regulations – including obtaining and storing consent – it’s time to get to work. Make sure to get reliable legal advice to ensure the system you put in place adequately meets the new requirements.

5. What is your optimal time to contact?If you answered 24-48 hours, you may want to reconsider your approach. In today’s world of immediate gratification, people don’t like to wait for anything. If your ideal student candidate submits an inquiry to two (or maybe more) schools and doesn’t hear from you for a couple of days, they may be on to the next step (applying to your competitor) before you

October 2013 | 46

are even able to contact them. Don’t put yourself out of the game so quickly – put a system in place to swiftly contact student candidates.

6. What is your inquiry-to-enrollment life cycle?Two days? Two years? There is no right or wrong answer here. The key is to know the answer and put strategic nurturing campaigns in place based on the data. Once a student candidate has come to you, don’t let them forget what makes you special. Employ relevant, targeted communications to step them through each milestone of the enrollment path.

7. What is your cost per action?Basic marketing means you should know your cost per acquisition, which in higher education may mean measuring your cost per enrollment or start. You should also be able to effectively measure your cost per contact, appointment, interview, application, enrollment, start and graduate. If you can’t measure each stage, then you don’t know where the inefficiencies are in your marketing program and therefore can’t effectively act upon them. In addition, you should be able to answer these questions at multiple levels, including program, geography and more. The data is part of your feedback loop to continually refine your target audience, media mix and more.

2012 Higher Education Marketing Benchmarking Report for Not-for-Profit SchoolsConducted by CUnet and LeadsCouncil to identify trends, best practices and issues facing the higher education sector. Here are some highlights.

Getting quality students – and keeping them – is a top priority. Increasing enrollment yield is the highest priority, followed by recruiting higher quality students.

Conversion tracking is falling short. Most schools do not monitor – or do not know if they monitor – cost per enrollment (CPE). For those who do, CPE is on the rise.

8. What is your enrollment rate?Wait, isn’t that essentially the same question as above? It certainly isn’t.

Let’s say you have an enrollment rate of 10 percent but a cost per enrollee of $5,000. This would imply that your brand and program offerings are strong, but your media costs are out of control. Conversely, an enrollment rate of 1 percent with a cost per enrollee of $500 might tell you that you’re not spending enough on your brand.


Dale Leatherwood is a Senior Marketing Executive with extensive experience in developing and managing higher education marketing strategies. He has held

leadership roles at a number of higher education institutions and is responsible for business development, sales and strategic partnerships at CUnet, a leading provider of higher education digital marketing solutions. Learn more at CUnet.com

Traditional marketing methods are not enough. To meet increasingly aggressive enrollment goals, more cost-effective marketing methods (online) are being used. Email marketing and social media are being adopted the fastest.

Schools are realizing they can’t do it alone. 42 percent of schools outsource or plan to outsource some marketing/recruiting functions, with online marketing at the top of the list.

9. Which of your admissions representatives has the best enrollment rate?If you want to take your enrollment marketing campaign to the next level, you need to make sure your best student candidates are in the hands of your best admissions representatives. Additionally, consider routing student prospects to specific reps based on criteria such as age, program, military background, degree level and more.

10. Which of your students are most likely to graduate?The ones with the best test scores? Probably not. Many factors impact propensity to succeed. Some are quantitative, like GPA and parents’ level of education. Others, like personal preparedness, are not.

Enrollment marketing technology with a predictive modeling engine can rate student candidates based on your historical data. This valuable intelligence can help you optimize multiple parts of your campaign, allowing you to hone in on the most efficient tactics.

Remember, your enrollment marketing campaign is alive. “Set and forget” is no longer an option. An effective campaign requires extensive marketplace knowledge, actionable data and the yearning for success.

October 2013 | 48

Social media is the buzz right now. It would be difficult to find an education conference where there is not at least one session on how to use social media in education or marketing. Yet, even with all the focus on the use of social media, many colleges and universities continue to struggle with adopting a social media strategy for their schools.

Schools point to a variety of reasons in explaining why they are not using social media as a communication platform and a way to promote their schools. The vast majority of the reasons I have heard boil down to two challenges for the school: the inability to control what the student is saying and the inability to provide a measurement of the marketing impact of their social media efforts. Although both are valid concerns, the benefits of social media as a tool to enhance the student experience and as a communication platform far outweigh the potential pitfalls. Let’s look at just a few of the reasons why social media should be a part of a university’s communication strategy.

Social media is ubiquitous

To try to explain how big social media has become over the past decade, here are just a few statistics about the collegiate demographic. About 57 percent of social media users are between the ages of 18 and 29. This demographic has profiles on several social media sites. Students spend an average of 30 minutes per day on their social networks. Facebook leads the usage

Targeting Students Through Social Media

An increasingly valuable and vital tool for recruiting

and retentionBy Pete Amerio, PlattForm


statistics, as of 2010, with an average of 47 minutes per day for this demographic. More than 50 percent of college students reported going to their social networks several times per day, and 82 percent of college students reported logging on to Facebook multiple times per day.

And social media networks are an enormous platform for sharing information. Individuals share more than 3.5 billion pieces of information each week on Facebook. Some 53 percent of Twitter users have recommended a product or service in their feed. More than 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Never before has there been such a revolution in content creation and sharing as since social media took hold of the world’s imagination. People use social media because it is a channel that allows them to be influential and have a say in their experience.

Potential students use social media to make decisions

According to a study conducted by Zinch, about 66 percent of students surveyed used social media as a source of research for finding the university they wanted to attend. Some 33 percent of those surveyed used social media to make their final decision on which college to attend. Yet, when surveyed by the Guardian in conjunction with the student forum site The Student Room, students claimed they viewed university social media efforts as ineffective. Justin Shaw of Communications Management, in his article regarding this survey, said, “The view of university social media as untrustworthy or irrelevant means students don’t look for information there.”

With the increasing emphasis on students using social media to research their higher education options, it is important for a school to develop a strategy to become an active part of the social community. As a marketing channel

moving forward, the successful university should strive to become a credible source of information for students through not only promoting itself, but also actively helping students to take the next step in their educational journey.

Social media usage can help students perform better

Professor Christine Greenhow of the University of Maryland found, in a study released in 2011, that students who connect with their classmates through social networks have higher rates of achievement and persistence than students who don’t connect with others. In an earlier study, Greenhow also found that students “are boosting their creativity and technical skills” through social media sites. In a more recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and Life Project, a surprising 78 percent of high school teachers agreed that social media “encouraged creativity and personal expression” in students’ writing.

Belonging to a community of supportive individuals can help make individuals feel more secure in who they are, feel more comfortable with expressing themselves and feel more connected to others, leading to greater levels of self-esteem. Furthermore, the community gives students a tool to expand their learning beyond the classroom with a group of individuals going through the same challenges.

The scope of social networking is enormous. Social media communications have opened up a world of empowerment for the students of tomorrow. Social media networks provide the support and tools to help students make decisions, learn, express their creativity

and continue to grow as individuals. These are all very relevant reasons why universities should consider a more robust social media communication and marketing strategy.

Although pitfalls are inherent to the open nature of social media, the benefits far outweigh the negative impacts of disillusioned students, faculty and community members. Take the time to learn more about the variety of social networking options available by speaking to professionals who specialize in this form of communication, and begin developing a strategy to make your university an active member of the social media community.

Peter Amerio serves as the Director of Digital Media at PlattForm, representing client interests in pay-per-click advertising and other interactive services and strategies. He has been with PlattForm for

more than seven years in a variety of roles, starting in traditional media. Prior to working at PlattForm, Amerio owned his own web design and development firm specializing in small business design. He received his business training from West Virginia University. Outside of his PlattForm responsibilities, Amerio is an accomplished amateur photographer.

About 66 percent of students surveyed used social media as a source of research for finding the university they wanted to attend.

October 2013 | 50

The middle class is diminishing. We’ve seen the reports. We’ve felt it in our declining sense of financial security. Many have offered speculation about the future of this class in the United States and about what steps can be taken to keep the middle from disappearing completely.

Former Congressman Steve Gunderson examines this phenomenon – and the growth of the new middle class – by taking a look at many of the contributing factors in his book The New Middle Class: Creating Wealth, Wages, and Opportunity in the 21st Century. Published this year, it is a timely exploration of the decline of the American middle class as we know it today and a blueprint for how we can rebuild this class to create the opportunities we all need to successfully pursue the American dream. Gunderson grew up middle-class in Wisconsin and later served for 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He uses this background and his passion for education to take his readers on a journey of not just statistical data, but of what it really means to be part of the middle class in America.

The New Middle Class:

Creating Wealth, Wages, and

Opportunity in the 21st Century

Book ReviewBy Mallory Ragon, Staff Writer


Gunderson details what changes in salary, in retirement planning and in the availability of credit have done to the economic status of the middle class. He takes a look at post-World War II America and the surge of growth that helped create economic security for so many Americans. “This economic security, one of the pillars of my family and of the rest of the American middle class, has evaporated. Shrinking incomes have destroyed the belief that middle-class families will be able to maintain their quality of life in the future,” he writes.

What he shows in the first part of the book is that as incomes and personal retirement savings have decreased (or, as is the case with many retirement plans – especially those that were employer-funded – disappeared altogether), use of personal credit and the wage gap have grown. This has resulted in not just decreased consumer spending and increased burdens of debt, but, more significantly, a lack of security both in tangible financial ways and in perceived economic welfare. Gunderson’s review of statistical data concerning Americans’ earning, spending and saving habits is thorough and revealing and provides a sturdy foundation from which he describes the building of a new middle class in the United States.

“If we seek to recreate America’s middle class, we must understand the likely economic environment of the future,” he writes. “A new middle class must be constructed in the context of a knowledge-based, technology-focused global information society.”

With this tenet in mind, he outlines three strategies to reach the basic goal of recreating America’s middle class.

Gunderson’s plan calls first and foremost for using education as the primary tool

for accomplishing the goal of recreating the American middle class. “Quite simply, nothing has a greater impact on Americans’ ability to achieve and retain middle-class status in the future than education. There’s not even a close second,” he writes. He addresses the wage gap and the skills gap, noting that, as more jobs require more skills, the ones who are able to get such positions are able to make more money. He argues not just that we need more workers with postsecondary education, but that we need to strengthen our educational foundations by committing to a universal pre-K–14 system and encouraging institutions of higher learning for all learners. “The simple reality is that, given today’s diverse population and the diverse skills required of them in the workplace, we should celebrate the diversity of our postsecondary education system.”

He calls for an end to the civil war in education: By continuing to engage in debate over the best type of postsecondary education for Americans, we’re ignoring the students and the opportunity to actually help them succeed, no matter the institution they attend. If we, as a country, are able to develop an education system that benefits our students at every age and every stage, we can then begin to create a growth economy that allows these same Americans to work and succeed and eventually develop the tools for a new era of income security: the new middle class.

Gunderson uses numerous examples and data points from a variety of contributing factors to show how the middle class began to fall apart in America. But he goes a few steps further by using that information to also offer a glimpse at how a new middle class can begin forging a fresh path to the American dream.

Mallory Ragon is a Compliance Officer at PlattForm. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of

Missouri and a graduate certificate from the University of Denver Publishing Institute. She can be reached at [email protected].

“The simple reality

is that, given today’s

diverse population

and the diverse skills

required of them in

the workplace, we

should celebrate

the diversity of our

postsecondary

education system.”

An excerpt from The New Middle Class: Creating Wealth, Wages, and Opportunity in the 21st Century

October 2013 | 52

Hybrid vs. Online

The differences and advantages of both learning models offer a number of positives, but also a few negatives

By Luigi Valdivieso, Florida National University

Advances in communication and Internet technologies have improved the way educational institutions deliver instructions to learners, particularly in hard-to-reach locations. As a result of Web-enhanced systems of communication coupled with newer configurations of media, several attempts have been made to provide learning solutions that meet the diverse needs of both learners and instructors.

Learning environments between the traditional method of teaching and learning and the technology-based online learning mode vary greatly, but the end goal is the same: to award students with a diploma or degree that will prepare them for employment in their field of study. Hybrid learning blends the traditional method of instruction with technology-mediated methods of teaching and learning to improve the traditional learning environments. Hybrid learning is also referred to as “blended learning” or “flipped classrooms.” Both online and hybrid methods of learning originated from the practice of distance education.


Understanding online learning

Online learning is an efficient way of using technology in education to open up classes to the masses as well as control costs in light of increasing fiscal constraints. Online learning comes through a variety of methods that can range from videotaping lectures and posting them on the Internet for students to access at any time to posting all educational materials, which include syllabi, class assignments, tests and examinations, online via sophisticated, interactive Web-based learning platforms where cognitive tutors are used and users have the benefits of feedback via multiple loops. Web-based learning can be used to teach many subjects to a diverse group of students in a variety of educational settings.

Both hybrid and

online learning

formats have

the potential for

reducing costs

while delivering

high-quality

instruction at the

same time. The

increased quest for

online education

is often cited as

evidence that

technology can

offer a solution to

how learners learn

without affecting

the quality of

education.

The concept of hybrid learning

In the hybrid method of teaching and learning, instructors use classroom time to interact with students while the Internet is used to deliver additional lectures, which in most cases are Web-based videos.

The Insights Institute defines hybrid or blended learning as “a formal educational program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path and/or pace, and at least in part at a supervised brick and mortar location away from home.”

October 2013 | 54

Luigi Valdivieso is an Admissions Supervisor for the Distance Learning Department at Florida National University. He has a Master’s degree in

Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He has more than 10 years combined experience in education and social work, a dual expertise that led to his appreciation of the many situations and obstacles students encounter on their path to higher education.

The major aim of hybrid learning is to overcome the identifiable shortcomings of Web-based learning while also utilizing several instructional sequencing strategies and different strategies of delivery to improve the satisfaction of the learner, the instructor and the institution while simultaneously striving to achieve improved learning outcomes. Hybrid learning incorporates a mix of instructor-led teaching methods via both traditional and Web-based channels. It also incorporates blended learning typologies such as: • Online and offline learning • Live, collaborative and self-paced

learning with synchronous online formats and synchronous physical formats

• Unstructured and structured learning • Work and learning mode • A combination of custom content and

off-the-shelf content

Many scholars have identified the reasons for the increased usage of hybrid learning among academic institutions. Their list includes: • Enhanced pedagogy • Easy access to instruction and

knowledge • More interaction among students • Cost efficiency and effectiveness • Enhanced personal presence • Easy revision of learning content

Hybrid learning vs. online learning

There are identifiable differences in the conditions and factors affecting learning under hybrid and online learning formats. The hybrid learning mode relies heavily on using a physical meeting place to engage with learners, and it is complemented with online learning. So, a student under the hybrid learning mode takes lectures in a traditional classroom setting but also takes some lectures remotely via the Internet.

Some researchers claim that learners experience less learning support and a heavier work load under online learning compared with learners under the hybrid learning format. This may result from the feeling of a lack of a sense of presence or belonging that the online learning platforms often depict. Although this feeling is primarily psychological, it is important to note that, in designing an

online learning program, incorporating instructional activities and collaborative opportunities is very important because such activities enhance each learner’s emotional engagement with fellow learners and instructors.

The incorporation of several instructional strategies could do a great deal to correct this perception. Such strategies include providing immediate technical

support and timely feedback on learners’ questions, sending progress reports to learners regularly to enhance motivation for learning achievement, asking short questions on a regular basis to check learners’ understanding of learning outcomes, and using humor to make learners feel emotionally engaged and refreshed.

The hybrid learning mode seems to provide clearer instructions to learners than the online learning delivery channel. Some researchers note that online learners have reported experiencing more challenges and obstacles in attaining similar learning outcomes compared with learners using the hybrid learning mode, resulting in low learning. The appropriate suggestions for online instructional designers to resolve this issue include adjusting the level of learning content through instructional variations to satisfy varying levels of learning among individual online learners.

Advantages of hybrid and online learning

Several reports have shown that both hybrid and online learning formats have the potential for reducing costs while delivering high-quality instruction at the same time. The increased quest for online education is often cited as evidence that technology can offer a solution to how learners learn without affecting the quality of education. For some time now, students have been able to earn their degrees or diplomas by way of the Internet, and thousands of learners have gained quality education from the online learning platform.


A New Outlookon the Horizon

Just a few of the topics we will be covering in upcoming issues of University Outlook:

• Student recruitment and retention

• Serving the new nontraditional student

• Online and distance education trends in universities

• Marketing to international and domestic students

• Effectiveness of new modalities in teaching

• Progressive perspectives on university leadership

• Coverage of upcoming conferences

Have a voice …CONTRIBUTEA large part of each edition of University Outlook will comprise the thoughts of education leaders, innovators, and the professionals who are working with our students and schools. If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor on a topic important to the sector, want to sound off on a single issue or simply want to share some best practices, please contact:

Steve [email protected]

1.855.280.1890

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For print and online advertising opportunities, email: [email protected]

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October 2013 | 56

Steve Adams posted: What do you think? Is a politician really suited to run a system like the University of California?

Martin Lind: Politician? She ran Homeland Security! Is the Secretary of Defense a politician?

Steve Adams: She is the former governor of Arizona, so yeah ... I’d consider Janet Napolitano a politician. Most the articles and bios I’ve read about her refer to her as such as well.

Martin Lind: That job needs someone who can navigate a massive organization, and deal with politicians at the federal, state and local level. So I guess a politician is good for the gig.

Peter Conrad: Schools exist in the context of a political world. Perhaps a person who is an experienced politician and who is truly dedicated to the school canbring the positive power of politics to the equation. That could be a sharpcontrast to the usual political debates that focus on re-election agendasdesigned to create fear and anger in constituents in order to get them to keep the politician in office. It’s worth a try. Joe Leonhardt: Sure, if you have the credentials, anyone should have an opportunity, but should

The University Outlook LinkedIn group offers a round table for discussion, innovative thinking and networking to

advance the delivery of adult education in America and around the world. Please join us and participate in this

dynamic online meeting place for education professionals to share ideas, resources and insights, and get to know

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NOT get this great leadership opportunity JUST because they were a politician. Top leaders must be able to lead people, cast vision, exhibit influence, set an example, increase outcomes, build a culture that includes transparency and accountability just to name a few. Trouble is, the above requisites, don’t include most of those politicians! Just how I see it.

Martin Lind: I dunno, Joe. All of those are characteristics of a good governor and the person who leads ATF, ICE and other national security-level orgs.

Michael Platt posted: Is the University model irreparably damaged? What are your thoughts?

Peter Conrad: We have to look at what going to a university will do for us. The role of the university has changed from creating the leaders who would take charge of our businesses and the professionals who would take specific jobs in institutions to a place where people go to try to get a leg up on the competition in a difficult job market. Universities aren’t just creating leaders, they are creating people who either have a competitive edge or people who are following their dream with the hope that something will open up. One of the best things universities could do is to make entrepreneur training a part of the general studies curriculum, along with some form of training that addresses the constant change students will face when they enter the market.

Michael Falk: Interesting question, Michael. In asking it, what is your perspective regarding the “damaging agent” or what about them has been damaged and by whom or what?

Michael Platt: I tend to think that increasing tuitions as demand has decreased has been damaging. The investment/return delta is no longer a given and seems limited to only certain degrees. This is one thought, am interested in hearing others.

Marilynn Force, Ph.D.: The model is not “irreparably” damaged, it is the delivery and interaction with the students that needs help. The models for our academic systems are from the middle ages, most reliant on inputs rather than outputs and outcomes. The quest for knowledge is always a good idea. The delivery is changing and so is the context of what is learned from considering only an instructor’s inputs to competency based education (CBE) concerning the student mastery of a subject matter. That is where we are going to see the shift happen. Many new pedagogies support the work of Stephen Brookfield to Universal Instructional Design to name a few. It is in the implementation of these modalities that education will again meet the needs of the students ... and there are schools that are forging ahead with the new approaches.

Jeff Buxton: Interesting question, but why would you even think the system is irreparably damaged? I take a marketing perspective, over the past 10-20 years, the system has increasingly separated the cost of the product from the student by developing and encouraging third party pay (the student has their parents pay or uses financing). The university system, because

of this, has focused on quality, and not paid attention to the rising costs (and the market has rewarded this behavior). Now we’re seeing the movement toward connecting the cost to the student, and the university system is going to have to focus more attention on cost. Change is inevitable, but it does not mean it is irreparably damaged.

Michael Waxman-Lenz: Marilynn and Jeff both make excellent points. I strongly believe that delivery and technology will be much more closely connected in higher ed supporting teaching and mentoring. We have tried to reduce staffing costs by adding an army of adjunct faculty (and I have been one of them with great joy) without success. In my view, not the “Moocs” delivery will bring the biggest change, but data technology. We will be able to customize teaching and delivery to what the individual student needs to advance to the next level at the appropriate pace. And as Jeff points out this will have to happen in the context of much greater cost control which opens up opportunities for private for-profit companies to invest and sell that technology to universities. Lastly, I believe that education will be even more fragmented; third-party providers of all types will add more avenues to acquire knowledge, skills and credentials.

October 2013 | 58

Randy Tanner: I must assume that this discussion centers on xMOOCs rather the original MOOC Model for Digital Success (Siements & Cormier, 2010), which really isn’t a MOOC but an online course developed with little professional expertise. Since the overwhelming majority of these xMOOCs fail to follow (or even recognize) established quality standards, my prediction is that they will and have had a negative impact on distance learning. The tens of thousands of students who jumped into these “prestigious” offerings, and then dropped out because of their boring, unengaging content now have a bad taste of what they think online education is.

Having completed two advanced degrees online, I am very familiar with quality online education. Having attended three xMOOCs, I am also very familiar with the poor quality displayed so far. Yes, some institutions have recently begun hiring a professionally trained Instructional Designer to improve their courses, and other schools are offering traditional online courses (minus the LMS) under the guise of “MOOC;” however, the bulk of xMOOC offerings are little more than the old VHS Classroom of the 1970s.

Steve Adams posted: How do you feel MOOCs affect the higher education marketplace? • Are MOOCs a positive influence,

because they force institutions to adapt and provide more accessible educational opportunities?

• Do they have a negative effect, by forcing institutions to compete on price when they should be improving quality?

• Or do MOOCs have no effect, as they attract a different market segment than colleges and universities?

Michael Waxman-Lenz: Steve, the answer depends on what type of institution you are and short-term vs. long-term. It’s important to look at different higher ed segments. I believe that MOOCs content creation will rely on a small number of institutions (maybe a couple hundred at most). These universities will build stronger brands and greater distribution networks for their content; as a result other universities will be forced to offer this branded content from higher profile brands and “star” professors. On one hand, this could enhance content in certain universities, on the other hand, it will change the role of the standard professor to teaching to that curriculum. I hope for a positive impact in education with greater access to high quality, well-prepared and tested content delivery supported by mentoring and tutorials as opposed to mostly lecture-based instructions. Long answer to a simple question ;-)

Peter Conrad: With the advent of a model of instruction that calls for watching lectures outside of the classroom and doing what used to be homework in a facilitated setting, there might be room for improvements while keeping the classroom and instructor intact. I have been impressed with the delivery of the course I am currently taking at Udacity.

Jim Schlimmer: Good questions to consider. I am reminded of this quote from Mark Twain: “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Higher education is facing significant challenges – costs, financial aid, student loan issues, lack of continued government support for aid, problems with clarifying outcomes and more. However, the system is not dead.

Traditional colleges are still enrolling students. Residence halls are still filled. I recently looked at one state’s residence hall occupancy rate for its private and public colleges. Both rates were above 93%. I looked for the same data sets for 2008 – 92%. External treats are not casting equal measures on all schools. Some are doing much better and some … well we know. Take a look at graduation rates. Two-year schools are still yielding low rates, while higher ranked colleges seem to be doing better.

Higher education is changing. More hybrid courses are being offered, creative degree programs are being devised and cost containment programs are being set in place.

We can’t forget about the greatest factor to affect social mobility and societal change. Take a walk in a college quad ...they are still filled with students – in debt – but somewhere between thoughts of youth they are thinking about the same calculus problems that annoyed us.


October 2013 | 60

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Progressive strategies for modern learning ONLINE!Visit us at UniversityOutlook.com for additional news

and events or for subscription and advertising information.

For advertising opportunities, email [email protected] or call 1.855.280.1890

October 2013 | 62

Calendar 2013-2014October10/21-23 Advanced Leadership Development in Higher EducationThe Peabody MemphisMemphis, Tenn.

10/22-25Council for Accelerated Programs (CAP) Annual ConferenceHotel and Hospitality Learning CenterDenver, Colo.

10/23 Higher Education, Further Education and Skills Conference 2013London, U.K.

10/24-25Leadership Essentials Certificate Program Tampa, Fla.

November 11/3-8SIGUCCS ConferenceHoliday Inn, Mart PlazaChicago, Ill.

11/5-6UK NARIC Annual ConferenceMillennium Hotel London, U.K.

11/5-8AAACE’s 62nd Annual ConferenceLexington Convention CenterLexington, Ky.

11/6-8University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) 22nd Annual Marketing SeminarHyatt Regency AustinAustin, Texas

11/7-811/21-22Leadership Essentials Certificate ProgramJacksonville, Fla.

11/10-13American Marketing Association (AMA) Symposium for the Marketing of Higher EducationTheme: ConnectEDBoston Marriott Copley PlaceBoston, Mass.

11/17-20Canadian Bureau for International Education Annual ConferenceTheme: Education for a Better World: Our Global Social ResponsibilityThe Westin Bayshore Vancouver, B.C., Canada

11/20-2219th Annual Sloan-C International ConferenceWalt Disney World Swan and Dolphin ResortLake Buena Vista, Fla.

December12/7-10The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Annual MeetingTheme: Students are Central to Success Hyatt Regency Atlanta and Atlanta Marriott MarquisAtlanta, Ga.

12/8-10Middle States Commission on Higher Education Annual ConferenceTheme: Strengthening the FoundationPhiladelphia Marriott Downtown HotelPhiladelphia, Pa.

12/11-13Society for Research and Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Research ConferenceTheme: Experiencing Higher Education: Global Trends and TransformationsNewport, Wales, U.K.

Unive

rsity Outlo

ok A

UG

UST 2013

The New

Student

MajorityRecognizing the

diverse face of a

changing profile

Building

a Better Brand

The importance of

being different

Tech

Revolution

Could the traditional

brick-and-mortar

campus crumble?

August 2013

Progressive strategies

for modern learning


S 66219


Colleges at a

Crossroads:

New Directions for

Higher Education

recruit students

from the uk! “The staff are amazing! I attend a lot of fairs,

and my experience with The Student World is

always stellar. They really pay attention to details

and making the experience excellent for everyone

involved. Over 75% of the students were exactly at

the level in their studies (1st or 2nd year of A levels),

and this is perfect timing for an undergraduate

college such as us, Berkeley College.”

Berkley College, USA

The USA is the top destination for British students looking

to study abroad, with almost 40% of all UK mobile students

enrolling at US institutions. With the trebling of tuition fees in

2012 and the increased competition for places at top universities,

there has never been a better time for international institutions to

recruit from the UK.

The Student World has been designed to support you in reaching

out to UK students interested in studying overseas. We organize

the largest international study abroad events in the UK and a

Road Show which visits top schools with a select number of

international universities.

Limited exhibitor spaces available this fall:

Manchester: Saturday 12th October 2013

London: Sunday 13th October 2013

Road Show: Monday 14th October 2013 –

Wednesday 16th October 2013

Discover more about the exhibitions and the UK market by

visiting our website:

www.thestudentworld.com/exhibitors

It was great! The most well

organized study abroad fair

I have attended.

Melissa Abraham, The American

University of Rome


January1/29-31The Summit for Online Leadership and StrategyCoronado Island MarriottSan Diego, Calif.

March3/26-2899th UPCEA Annual ConferenceTheme: Own the MomentHyatt Regency MiamiMiami, Fla.

Conferences & EventsVisit our website at UniversityOutlook.com for more details about upcoming conferences and events. If you or your organization have an upcoming conference, forum or event that you would like to include in the University Outlook calendar of events, please forward submissions to Steve Adams, [email protected].

May5/12-14Third Annual International Universities Networking ConferenceSt. Petersburg, Russia

5/31-6/2HETL 2014 Anchorage Conference Anchorage, Alaska

July7/22-25Council for Accelerated Programs (CAP) Annual ConferenceHotel and Hospitality Learning CenterDenver, Colo.

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To inquire about article submissions, contact:

Steve [email protected]

or by telephone at 1.855.280.1890

Unive

rsity Outlo

ok A

UG

UST 2013

The New

Student

MajorityRecognizing the

diverse face of a

changing profile

Building

a Better Brand

The importance of

being different

Tech

Revolution

Could the traditional

brick-and-mortar

campus crumble?

August 2013

Progressive strategies

for modern learning


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Colleges at a

Crossroads:

New Directions for

Higher Education

recruit students

from the uk! “The staff are amazing! I attend a lot of fairs,

and my experience with The Student World is

always stellar. They really pay attention to details

and making the experience excellent for everyone

involved. Over 75% of the students were exactly at

the level in their studies (1st or 2nd year of A levels),

and this is perfect timing for an undergraduate

college such as us, Berkeley College.”

Berkley College, USA

The USA is the top destination for British students looking

to study abroad, with almost 40% of all UK mobile students

enrolling at US institutions. With the trebling of tuition fees in

2012 and the increased competition for places at top universities,

there has never been a better time for international institutions to

recruit from the UK.

The Student World has been designed to support you in reaching

out to UK students interested in studying overseas. We organize

the largest international study abroad events in the UK and a

Road Show which visits top schools with a select number of

international universities.

Limited exhibitor spaces available this fall:

Manchester: Saturday 12th October 2013

London: Sunday 13th October 2013

Road Show: Monday 14th October 2013 –

Wednesday 16th October 2013

Discover more about the exhibitions and the UK market by

visiting our website:

www.thestudentworld.com/exhibitors

It was great! The most well

organized study abroad fair

I have attended.

Melissa Abraham, The American

University of Rome

October 2013 | 64

PlattForm expands operations internationallyPlattForm has acquired MJD Consultancy, a successful full-service advertising agency and event company that focuses on the education sector. Based in the U.K., MJD offers education marketing expertise and advertising services to institutions around the world. It’s the first step into the international market for PlattForm, which is keen to develop and grow its services globally.

“

For existing and future clients, it’s an exciting time – our extensive portfolio now spans international student recruitment to interactive lead generation, delivered through one global organization. It’s the perfect fit.” Marcel Dalziel – Managing Director

www.PlattForm.com

For more information about our graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information, please visit our website at gcu.edu/disclosures. Please note, not all GCU programs are available in all states and in all learning modalities. Program availability is contingent on student enrollment. Grand Canyon University is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. (800-621-7440; http://www.ncahlc.org/).

Learn more about GCU at 855-428-6685 | gcu.edu/UnivOutlook

Offering over 100 majors and concentrations for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs

Follow us online at

a P r i v a t e c h r i s t i a n U n i v e r s i t y s i n c e 1 9 4 9

Unive

rsity Outlo

ok O

CTO

BER

2013

Practicing What They

TeachEntrepreneurship in

higher education

Improve Retention, Outcomes

Concierge service for nontraditional students

Virtual World the Real DealOvercoming physical

barriers

October 2013

Progressive strategies for modern learning


Helping Student- Veterans Transition from Combat to College


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Documents

Helping Student- Veterans Transition from Combat Helping Student-Veterans Transition From Combat ... By Luigi Valdivieso ... Pete Amerio Heather Physioc