The Value of Cross-Discipline Networking
For more articles like this, check out an Academic Leader subscription or a free three-week trial! New teachers often teach the way they were taught. Give or take a few workshops or online training courses about writing learning objectives or understanding the LMS, many of us have found our way by observing, trying,...
How to Encourage Faculty to Adopt Open Educational Resources
The growth of open educational resources (OER) may prove transformative in the way online learning has been. Textbook costs have skyrocketed to the point that finding an alternative is no longer simply an issue of saving students money but of preserving educational outcomes as students forgo textbooks they cannot afford....
When the End Is in Sight
There comes a time in the life of an academic program when it is no longer viable due to dropping enrollments, lack of faculty resources, budget cuts, changing external contexts, or other factors. When the decision is made to close a program, the department chair’s attention to planning will be...
Myths and Beliefs That Limit Effectiveness of Higher Education
In an era promoting the science of learning, it is difficult to accept the continuation of myths and beliefs that undermine both student learning and academic institutions’ effective performance. Nevertheless, it is part of the human condition that groups and organizations, as well as societies, create myths that support a...
Online Education Data: What Are You Measuring, and How Are You Using It?
Higher education is becoming more data driven, including in relation to online education. The information that colleges and universities are collecting about online education could be institutional data used in accountability reports or accreditation reviews. It could also include data related to teaching online courses, learning management system usage, and faculty...
STEM Fatigue
For a little more than a decade, the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) have been enjoying something of a privileged status at American colleges and universities. While enrollments in some other areas are stagnant or declining, they have been rising steadily in many STEM courses. In state systems,...
Four Strategies to Improve Faculty Buy-In for Online Education
As an online administrator, I can tell you that it feels like we have been talking about ways to improve faculty buy-in for online education for the past 10 to 15 years. And we have. While online courses and degree programs are becoming more accepted and mainstream at many institutions,...
Higher Education: Exporting Middle-Class Dreams
Many countries are currently considering diversifying their higher education systems by modeling U.S. community college-like institutional designs. Vietnam and China, along with other nations, are intrigued by, curious about, yet somewhat suspicious of American community colleges—especially in terms of their relationship to universities and higher learning.
Even if It’s Not Broken, It Can Still Be Improved: Reorganizing for Effective Alignment
When systems and processes are misaligned and do not function effectively or efficiently for students, faculty, or staff, the need for reorganization of academic affairs is obvious. But it’s a daunting task. Broach the topic in a meeting, and you’ll immediately detect a rise in the level of stress in...
Weight Management for Universities: Evaluating Academic Bloat
Historically, new academic programs have often been introduced by several mechanisms. An energetic faculty member is inspired to create a new major, a donor bequest stipulates the development of an interdisciplinary institute, a president mandates a “visionary” curriculum, or a dean or provost responds to a sudden market opportunity.
