Category Archives: Growth Strategies

EQUIP Round-Up: Slides, Articles, and Links

EQUIP, or Educational Quality Through Innovative Partnerships, is a new program from the U.S. Department of Education. The department will provide access to Title IV funds to chosen partners (both traditional and non-traditional), while waiving the rules about the use of content from other entities.

The goal of this experimental program is to allow traditional schools to lower educational costs and increase access by partnering with nontraditional providers, such as MOOCs or code academies or boot camps, by creating hybrid programs that are eligible for enrolled students to access financial aid.

Introductory PowerPoint slides created by the Department of Education are embedded below:

[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/edtechknowledge/files/2016/02/EQUIP112315-1x8kedp.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]

Want to know more? Here are some starting points:

Link: 3 Truths and 5 Recommendations for Online Programs

If teaching online is harder, takes more time, and even more disastrous if done poorly than face-to-face learning is, why should anyone launch an online program? Inside Higher Ed blogger Joshua Kim showcases how in spite of these challenges, developing new online programs can help grow institutional capacity and foster innovation. The comments on this post are also valuable!

Moving a program online is an opportunity to rethink the program.

Kim, Joshua. “3 Truths and 5 Recommendations for Online Programs.” Inside Higher Ed. December 15, 2015.

Link: Coursera Chief: iMBA A Glimpse At Future

I think graduate education is about to undergo a massive disruption.

Daphne Koller, co-founder of Coursera, suggests that innovative online graduate programs–such as the “stackable” online MBA programming now offered by the University of Illinois, entirely through MOOCs–will expand in the coming years.

Read full article here.

Link: 7 Trends That Will Revolutionize Online Learning

The idea that online learning could actually be better than face-to-face instruction has gained credence in recent years as new technology solutions promise to make the educational experience more personalized and engaging. Has that time finally arrived? Here, eCampus News looks at seven trends that have the potential to remake the world of online learning.

Read full article here.

File: 7 Things You Should Know About Leading Academic Transformation

A summary of the areas of highest relevance for administrators interested in expanding their institution’s academic profile in ways that are both intellectually innovative and fiscally responsible.

Many factors are involved in leading academic transformation, including a focus on stakeholder-centered design, relevance of credentials, and the strategic use of technology. Academic transformation has the potential to restore higher education’s sustainability and bring renewed levels of excellence and student achievement.

[embeddoc url=”https://blogs.uoregon.edu/edtechknowledge/files/2015/12/ELI7126-1iexbtv.pdf” download=”all” viewer=”google”]

Morris & Smith (2015). 7 Things You Should Know About Leading Academic Transformation. EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, EDUCAUSE.

Link: An iPad in Every Home

Straumsheim, C., (2014) An iPad in Every Home

Lynn U.’s tablet revolution marches on. Its next initiative: affordable online degree programs delivered exclusively through iPads — at tuition rates that are a fraction of what the university regularly charges.Since its moment in the national spotlight, Lynn has replaced textbooks with Apple’s iPads and iBooks, adopted iTunes U as its learning management system and built its own attendance and gradebook app. Its revamped distance education programs, launching next fall with seven degree options, will extend the tablet revolution to Lynn’s online students at a fraction of what the programs used to cost.

Read full article here.

Link: The Quest for Demonstrable Outcomes

Schejbal, D., (2015) The Quest for Demonstrable Outcomes.

There is a buzz, even a frenzy, about competency-based education (CBE). Brought together by the Lumina Foundation-sponsored organization C-BEN (the Competency-Based Education Network), 30 institutions and 4 university systems have developed or are developing competency-based programs. About another 600 schools have claimed to be developing CBE programs, though there is no accurate data to substantiate that number. Why and why now?

Link: Future Students, Future Revenues [EAB restricted content]

“This brief, based on conversations with over 150 higher education leaders across North America, analyzes the fundamental forces that will shape higher education over the next decade and highlights the strategies and competencies that colleges and universities will need to be successful.”

“Over the past decade, universities were able to grow revenue primarily by growing enrollment and increasing net tuition per student. But demographic and economic changes will make it increasingly difficult for all but a handful of institutions to grow tuition revenue at historic rates. Despite rising access rates, demographic projections suggest that the number of high school graduates will decline over the coming decade, leading to a dramatic drop-off in the overall rate of enrollment growth.”

Key Takeaways:

  •  Nontraditional students will drive enrollment and revenue growth, not traditional student population (18-22 year olds).
  • Need to invest in serving nontraditional students.
  • Online and hybrid education can assist, but strategy should be driven by student needs, not external forces.

“Future Students, Future Revenues — Thriving in a Decade of Demographic Decline.” EAB report. April 13, 2014.