Preparing Doctoral Graduates for Success
2008 Jul 23
This study found that graduates of PhD programs are being prepared to teach only at research institutions. They do not feel prepared or confident to teach in other settings, settings where most of them actually get jobs and where most of higher education actually takes place. This unfortunately reflects the American higher education system’s reluctance to change in accordance with society’s changes, to adequately consider the workplace into which they send their graduates, and to be clear about what learning outcomes are necessary for graduates to succeed in their chosen profession. It is why new types of doctorates are being developed and successfully delivered. And, it is, in part, why there are so many calls for greater accountability and transparency in higher education. It is why initiatives like Transparency by Design, encouraging clarity about what learning outcomes are intended and are actually delivered, are so important. Read the rest of this entry »
Share ThisWhat is academic rigor?
2008 Jul 10
In higher education, one of the things that gets talked about but rarely defined with any clarity is “quality.’ What is quality? How do we know that the rigor is there to drive quality? For years colleges referred to quality in terms of input. The most award-winning faculty, the largest library, the availability of labs. But more recently attention has shifted to questions about what is learned - what are the results of time spent in college?
All those inputs I mentioned were nice, cost a lot and now we, the public, want to know what they produced. Read the rest of this entry »
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Diploma mills
2008 Jun 30
Back in March, I posted an essay by Judith S. Eaton on the future of accreditation that resulted in a number of responses. Ms. Eaton is the head of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and her essay was discussed at CHEA’s summer workshop.
It was agreed during the CHEA discussion that “colleges have a long way to go in showing that they are effectively educating students,” and that there is a relatively short window in which to get this done before Congress might consider mandates on learning outcomes reports. The article above captures the different opinions and the hesitation of many higher education officials and accreditation agencies about such mandates.
As I asserted in March, Transparency by Design is an effort by colleges and universities that serve adults through online programs intends to offer annual reports that detail core and program level learning outcomes. Again, it is not our intent that such reports be mandated as part of accreditation. Rather, this information is intended to empower and enable prospective adult students to make good choices amongst an array of possible options. Read the rest of this entry »
Share ThisWhere do Obama and McCain stand on education?
2008 Jun 26
Recently, I posted a review of the major presidential candidates’ positions on education. I expressed disappointment that little attention was given to higher education and, in particular, to higher education for adults and independent part-time students. On Monday, Senator Obama made a speech on competitiveness that included references to education. Read the rest of this entry »
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Another call for more transparency in higher education
2008 Jun 24
Richard Vedder, a member of the Spellings Commission, has recently written this commentary in which he calls for colleges to become more transparent. Among the things he calls for are measures of learning outcomes, student engagement, and research with alumni to assess how successful they are. He describes transparency as “vital in evaluating what colleges accomplish” and offering “immense benefits.” He calls for colleges to go beyond rhetoric and to “deliver truly useful information.” Read the rest of this entry »
Share ThisThe challenges of online learning for the public university
2008 Jun 17
I recently attended a higher education conference where the head of a large state university system talked candidly about the impact of online education on public universities and public research universities, in particular. It was a frank and thoughtful assessment of the issues confronting these institutions. Read the rest of this entry »
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First out of the box and first to the woodshed: The University of Phoenix Annual Academic Report
2008 Jun 9
This week one of the giants of higher education, and especially higher education for adults, the University of Phoenix, released its inaugural “Annual Academic Report.” The report covered student satisfaction ratings, scores on the Measurement of Academic Proficiency and Progress (MAPP), the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) and financial information. The university stated that the report was a “transparent look at a variety of ways in which the University of Phoenix measures itself in relation to its Mission.” I have written previously in this blog about an effort by a number of institutions serving adults at a distance called Transparency by Design. We are collecting data in 2008 and plan to report our findings in early 2009. The University of Phoenix is not a member of Transparency by Design, but many elements contained in the Transparency by Design program are reported in the University of Phoenix’s report. Read the rest of this entry »
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What’s missing from Obama’s education plan
2008 Jun 5
I have been following the presidential candidates and hoped that, per this article, Senator Obama had addressed higher education. However, the text of the speech reveals that this was about K-12, and references to either TRIO or GEAR UP was made in passing. Hopefully, as the campaign heats up over the next several months we will see the candidates take substantive stands on higher education and, particularly, the importance of serving today’s workforce through higher education programs for adults.
Mike
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More Bologna - We need to follow Europe’s Lead on measuring higher education outcomes
2008 May 28
Last week the higher education media reported on an important publication by Cliff Adelman, who has been cited previously in this blog.
Article 2 Read the rest of this entry »
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How long should it take for a working adult to finish college?
2008 May 8
Recently, Alan Contreras, the administrator of the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, spoke to college and university presidents and board members at the annual meeting of the North Central Association of Colleges and School’s Higher Learning Commission annual meeting. He stated that, in his view, there are three critical variables that higher education institutions must address, and that it is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve more than two of the desired states at any one time. The three variables are:
• Ease of admissions requirements
• High quality instructional delivery
• High completion rates Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to The Other 85 Percent. So what does "the other 85 percent" refer to? Research has shown that only about 15 percent of higher education students still fit the traditional definition of young adults age 18 to 22 who live on campus and go to school full time. more
