NEGAP Webinar 6/13/2012: Managing the Enrollment Funnel in these Challenging Times

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5/15/22 1 Managing the Enrollment Funnel in these Challenging Times NEGAP: New England Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Noon Webinar Dr. Robert Hill Nova Southeastern University Abraham S. Fischler School of Education

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Dr. Robert Hill, Ed.D., a professor in Nova Southeastern University's Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership program, speaks on "Managing the Enrollment Funnel in these Challenging Times" as part of the first webinar presented by the New England Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals (NEGAP). Dr. Hill, an expert in student services, will discuss how admission strategy can be tailored to meet the needs of prospective students in the current economic environment.

Transcript of NEGAP Webinar 6/13/2012: Managing the Enrollment Funnel in these Challenging Times

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Managing the Enrollment Funnel in these Challenging Times

NEGAP: New England Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals

Wednesday, June 13, 2012Noon Webinar

Dr. Robert HillNova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler School of Education

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Not your student

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Higher education has become a marketplace

Driven by factors such as changing demographics, the advent of technology, escalating costs of a college education for both institutions and students, shrinking governmental subsidies, and a massive influx of students seeking a college education in order to positively impact lifetime earning potential.

Colleges and universities are engaged in a competition for their share of the education market; competing for students not only in terms of academic programs, prestige, and reputation, but also on the quality of student service delivery and value of student experiences outside of the classroom.

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Enrollment Funnel

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Managing the Funnel

Student & Institutional Characteristics Branding, Marketing & Sales Financial Aid Leveraging Retention

Importance of Data

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http://www.indiana.edu/~oem/

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THE COLLEGE AND ITS PUBLICS

College

Administration and Staff

Trustees

Suppliers

Government Agencies

Alumni

General Public

Prospective Students

Accreditation Organizations

Competitors

Faculty Families of

Students

Current Students

Mass Media

Local CommunityFoundations

Business Community

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First some stats

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Almanac Issue 2011-2012, August 26, 2011 Volume LVIII, Number 1

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NATIONAL Population 308,745,538 Age distribution Up to 4……………6.9% 5 to 13………..…11.9% 14 to 17…………..5.5% 18 to 24………......9.9% 25 to 44…………27.1% 45 to 64…………25.9% 65 and older…….12.9%

Race and ethnic distribution American Indian……….........….0.9% Asian……………………………4.8% Black…………………………..12.6% Pacific Islander………………….0.2% White………………..................72.4% More than one race…..………….2.9% Hispanic (may be any race)…….16.3% Other……………………………..6.2%

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Educational Attainment of adults (highest level): 8th grade or less………………......6.3% Some high school, no diploma…..8.5% High-school diploma…………....28.5% Some college, no degree………...21.3% Associate degree…………………7.5% Bachelor’s degree……………….17.6% Master’s degree…………………...7.2% Doctoral degree…………………...1.2% Professional degree………………..1.9%

Bachelor’s degree or above……..28.0% (means those who have earned a bachelor’s, master’s, professional or doctoral degree)Master’s degree or above……… .10.3% (means those who have earned a master’s, professional or doctoral degree Student DemographicsEnrollment

Undergraduate……………17,565,320 Graduate & Professional……2,862,391At public 4-year institutions……………….7,709,197At public 2-year institutions……………….7,101,445

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At private 4-year institutions, nonprofit……3,730,316 At private 2-year institutions, nonprofit…….…34,767 At private 4-year institutions, for-profit……1,466,792 At private 2-year institutions, for-profit………385,194

Total……………………….………………20,427,711

Public Institutions…………………………..…..73% 4-year Institutions………………………………63% 2-year Institutions…………………………… .. .37%

Residence of new students: 73% of all freshmen in the fall of 2008 who had graduated from high school in the previous year attended colleges in their home states.

Enrollment highlights: American Indian……………..207,917 Asian……………………….1,337,671 Black……………………….2,919,826 Hispanic…………………....2,546,710 White……………………..12,730,780 Foreign……………….………684,807

Total………………………20,427,711 Women………………………….57.1% Minority………………………....34.3% Underrepresented minority……...27.8% Foreign…………………………....3.4% Full-time………………………....62.3%

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Now some mixed messages

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http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i37/37a05601.htmFrom the issue dated May 22, 2009

POINT OF VIEW: Will Higher Education Be the Next Bubble to Burst?By JOSEPH MARR CRONIN and HOWARD E. HORTON

The public has become all too aware of the term "bubble" to describe an asset that is irrationally and artificially overvalued and cannot be sustained. The dot-com bubble burst by 2000. More recently the overextended housing market collapsed, helping to trigger a credit meltdown. The stock market has declined more than 30 percent in the past year, as companies once considered flagship investments have withered in value.

Is it possible that higher education might be the next bubble to burst? Some early warnings suggest that it could be.

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With tuitions, fees, and room and board at dozens of colleges now reaching $50,000 a year, the ability to sustain private higher education for all but the very well-heeled is questionable. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, over the past 25 years, average college tuition and fees have risen by 440 percent — more than four times the rate of inflation and almost twice the rate of medical care. Patrick M. Callan, the center's president, has warned that low-income students will find college unaffordable. . . .

Consumers who have questioned whether it is worth spending $1,000 a square foot for a home are now asking whether it is worth spending $1,000 a week to send their kids to college. There is a growing sense among the public that higher education might be overpriced and under-delivering.

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"Harvard and M.I.T. Team Up to Offer Free Online Courses"

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03careerism-t.html?hpw

January 3, 2010Making College ‘Relevant’ By KATE ZERNIKE

Even before they arrive on campus, students — and their parents — are increasingly focused on what comes after college. What’s the return on investment, especially as the cost of that investment keeps rising? How will that major translate into a job?The pressure on institutions to answer those questions is prompting changes from the admissions office to the career center. But even as they rush to prove their relevance, colleges and universities worry that students are specializing too early, that they are so focused on picking the perfect major that they don’t allow time for self-discovery, much less late blooming.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24masters-t.html?hpw July 22, 2011

The Master’s as the New Bachelor’sBy LAURA PAPPANO

William Klein’s story may sound familiar to his fellow graduates. After earning his bachelor’s in history from the College at Brockport, he found himself living in his parents’ Buffalo home, working the same $7.25-an-hour waiter job he had in high school.

 It wasn’t that there weren’t other jobs out there. It’s that they all seemed to want more education. Even tutoring at a for-profit learning center or leading tours at a historic site required a master’s. “It’s pretty apparent that with the degree I have right now, there are not too many jobs I would want to commit to,” Mr. Klein says.

So this fall, he will sharpen his marketability at Rutgers’ new master’s program in Jewish studies (think teaching, museums and fund-raising in the Jewish community).

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Jewish studies may not be the first thing that comes to mind as being the road to career advancement, and Mr. Klein is not sure exactly where the degree will lead him (he’d like to work for the Central Intelligence Agency in the Middle East). But he is sure of this: he needs a master’s. Browse professional job listings and it’s “bachelor’s required, master’s preferred.”

Call it credential inflation. Once derided as the consolation prize for failing to finish a Ph.D. or just a way to kill time waiting out economic downturns, the master’s is now the fastest-growing degree. The number awarded, about 657,000 in 2009, has more than doubled since the 1980s, and the rate of increase has quickened substantially in the last couple of years, says Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools. Nearly 2 in 25 people age 25 and over have a master’s, about the same proportion that had a bachelor’s or higher in 1960.

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http://chronicle.com/article/Will-a-Culture-of-Entitlement/48819/

October 18, 2009

Will a Culture of Entitlement Bankrupt Higher Education?By Hamid Shirvani

“In the wake of our nation's economic crisis, previous levels of government support for colleges and universities can no longer be maintained—regardless of how much we in higher education may wish otherwise. States are appropriating less money to higher education not because legislators and the people whom they represent value us less, but because they can afford less. Practical realities will drive what is possible for colleges and universities in the coming years.”

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Chronicle of Higher Education May 11, 2011http://chronicle.com/article/A-Crisis-of-Confidence/127530/

Crisis of Confidence Threatens CollegesRising costs test families' faith, while 1 in 3 presidents see academe on

wrong road By Karin Fischer

The American higher-education system has long been seen as a leader in the world, but confidence in its future and its enduring value may be beginning to crack along economic lines, according to two major surveys of the American public and college presidents conducted this spring.

Public anxiety over college costs is at an all-time high. And low-income college graduates or those burdened by student-loan debt are questioning the value of their degrees, or saying the cost of college has delayed other life decisions.

Among college presidents, the rising price of college is not the only worry. They're concerned about growing international competition and declining student quality, with presidents from the least selective, and thus sometimes the least financially stable institutions, the most pessimistic.

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Degrees of DebtCollege kids are borrowing at record levels, often for a second-rate

education. And the bubble is about to burst.September-October 2011 UTNE ReaderBy Malcolm Harris

Read more: http://www.utne.com/Politics/Price-Of-Postsecondary-Education-Most-Indebted-Generation.aspx#ixzz1XQBrKyV1

The Project on Student Debt estimates that the average college senior in 2009 graduated with $24,000 in outstanding loans. In August 2010, student loans surpassed credit cards as the nation’s single largest source of debt, edging ever closer to $1 trillion.

Since 1978, the price of tuition at U.S. colleges has increased more than 900 percent, 650 percentage points above inflation. To put that number in perspective, housing prices, the bubble that nearly burst the U.S. economy, then the global one, increased only 50 points above the Consumer Price Index during those years.

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According to Richard Rothstein at the Economic Policy Institute, wages for college-educated workers outside of the inflated finance industry have stagnated or diminished. Unemployment has hit recent graduates especially hard, nearly doubling in the post-2007 recession. The result is that the most indebted generation in history is without the dependable jobs it needs to escape debt.

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Demand for accountability in higher education may have started in 1960’s

Where does the money go? Which college is most efficient?

Our typical responses, “Trust us, we’re experts.” or “How dare you. What we do cannot be measured.” or “We’re different”

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In a competitive environment in higher education, colleges & universities have made recruitment and retention of students a priority, Many campuses have combined previously independent operating units related to recruitment and retention into formal units called enrollment management. (Komives, Woodard, & Assoc.)

The goal is to insure that critical areas for recruitment and retention such as admissions, records, financial aid, student research, and marketing are working together to create a comprehensive plan to enroll more students, to shape the composition of the class, to reduce attrition rates, and to develop appropriate publications & services for interacting with the college or university.

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Enrollment management Can report to student affairs, but more often than not, the

reporting line will be to the provost, executive vice president, or the president.

The major professional organizations of enrollment management professionals include the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers; the primary publications are the Journal of College Admissions and College & University

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Fundamental to any successful enrollment management program is developing and implementing an annual

enrollment management plan.

The purpose of enrollment planning is to help the institution gain more control over its enrollment future

by developing the capacity to achieve new and returning student goals through improved marketing,

recruitment, and retention efforts.

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Solos"silo thinking", "silo vision", and "silo mentality".

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Is this your college?

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Cogn

itive F

actor

s Social Factors

Institutional Factors

The Student

Experience

Educational Policy Institute

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Financial Aid

The Student

Experience

Academic Rigor

Quality of LearningAptitude

Content Knowledge

Critical-Thinking Ability

Technology AbilityStudy Skills

Learning Skills

Time Management

Academic Related

Extracurricular Activities

Financial Issues

Educational Legacy

Attitude Toward Learning

Religious Background

Maturity

Social Coping Skills

Communication Skills

Attitude Toward Others

Cultural Values

Expectations

Goal Commitment

Family Influence

Peer Influence

Social Lifestyle

Recruitment & Admissions

Student ServicesAcademic Services

Curriculum & Instruction

Educational Policy Institute

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Student and Institutional Characteristics

Student Major GPA Test scores Geography Diversity Special talents Ability to pay

Institution Mission Vision Institutional goals Academic programs Cost Market Competition Affiliation

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The public wants the cost-benefit analyses that reveal the relative value of each institution.

Dissatisfaction with higher education goes beyond the general public and is often more implicit and explicit.

Student retention to graduation, except for transfers made necessary by programmatic needs, is the single best indication of student satisfaction for those whose goal is a degree, But given that definition, anything less than 100% retention indicates an array of problems.

No institution can satisfy everyone, nor ought it to try.

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The Array of Higher Education Benefits

• Increased tax revenues• Greater productivity• Increased consumption• Decreased reliance on

governmental financial support

• Higher salaries and benefits• Employment• Higher savings levels• Improved working conditions• Personal / professional mobility

• Reduced crime rates• Increased charitable giving /

community service• Increased quality of civic life• Social cohesion / appreciation of

diversity• Improved ability to adapt to and

use technology

• Improved health / life expectancy

• Improved quality of life for offspring

• Better consumer decision making

• Increased personal status• More hobbies, leisure

activities

Public Private

Economic

Social

The Institute for Higher Education (1998)

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Servicing people requires two essential ingredients: a service and someone who wants or needs it.

Without students, institutions of higher education do not exist.

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That a university continues to attract students, that students rarely complain or boycott against individual faculty members, let alone the entire university, cannot be taken as an indication of student satisfaction.

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Do we really need improvedcustomer focus?

Students spending hours waiting in lines and must dash from office to office in order to register for classes.

Students enroll in classes for which they already know the material.

A new student learns upon arrival that she has been given false information about her FA package.

Students cannot graduate in the advertised amount of time due to closed classes.

Students complete general required general education courses with little sense of why they were required or how to use what they have learned.

Desperate for enrollments, a rural college establishes an off-campus urban program to serve students on federal assistance. Its program has no learning support services and is poorly matched to local job opportunities for graduates.

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More (continued) A group or rural school administrators asks the graduate

institution across the state to provide a distance-delivery program in educational administration. The university declines, unwilling to waive its one-year residency requirement.

A university foundation has record-keeping systems that are inadequate to ensure that contributed funds are used for the donors’ intended purposes.

A coach recruits student athletes whose academic abilities or interests are not compatible with the university’s expectations or programs.

IF ANY OF THESE EXAMPLES, OR OTHERS LIKE THEM, COULD HAPPEN ON A GIVEN CAMPUS, THAT

UNIVERSITY NEEDS TO IMPROVE ITS CUSTOMER FOCUS.

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Fortunately, many activities already occur in a number of universities and colleges to help them understand

what students want and need.

Student course evaluations Comment cards in student services Surveys of student opinion Program advisory councils with industry representation Needs assessments in the service area Detailed profiling of students, market research Assessment of student academic achievement Analysis of students leaving the institution, and their reasons Analysis of student course-taking patterns

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We need to know our customersin considerable detail, including

Who they are Why they here Their expectations of us What kind of problems they have Where they turn to when they have problems What and how well they are learning

Digging deeper, we may learn that many are lost, whether due to size of the institution or inability to make appropriate personal decisions.

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Most of the frontline service people, those who have the most direct and comprehensive experience to identify problems with customer focus, are those who have the least power to change inadequate systems and the smallest capacity to cope financially with the loss of their jobs.

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Cultures do not change quickly, and they do not change at all without conscious and consistent leadership behavior. Leaders could do worse than to spend much of their day,

or much of their governance agenda asking these four questions of those they encounter:

1. How well are you meeting the needs of the people you serve?

2. How do you know?3. Are you improving on that?4. How can I help?

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Today, one seldom hears any more that once commonplace statement that a college

or university is an ivory tower.

We have made great strides in providing educational opportunities that respond to the personal growth and employment needs of the people we serve.

It is time to take that development to the next stage: caring for the people we serve

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Shifting gears here. . .

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TRENDS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Demographics Economics Environment Global education Learning Politics Technology

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New Challenges of Higher Education Technologies that alter the way knowledge is

delivered and shared Global marketplaces for both receiving and

creating new scholars Fields of study that were once clear-cut are

now blurred Shifting student demographics Pressures for academic accountability Shrinking public investment

Source: The Formation of Scholars, 2008

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(Richard W. Riley, former Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton 1993-2001)

“We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist using technologies that haven’t been invented in order to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet.”

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"Three basic types of colleges and universities are emerging. They are "brick universities," or traditional residential institutions; "click universities," or new, usually commercial virtual universities, like Unext.com and Jones International University; and "brick and click" universities, a combination of the first two. If current research on e-commerce is correct, the most competitive and attractive higher-education institutions will be "brick and click." While consumers appreciate the convenience, ease, and freedom of services online, they also want a physical space where they can interact with others and obtain expert advice and assistance face-to-face.” (By ARTHUR E. LEVINE) from The Future of Colleges: 9 Inevitable Changes http://education.gsu.edu/ctl/Programs/Future_Colleges.htm

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Factors in decision to enroll: online learners

1. Convenience2.(tie) Work schedule2.(tie) Flexible pacing of program4. Program requirements5. Reputation of institution6. Cost7. Ability to transfer credits8. Financial assistance9. Future employment opportunities10. Distance from campus11. Recommendation from employer

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Western Governors UniversitySalt Lake City, UT

TIME Magazine called WGU "the best relatively cheap university you've never heard of.“

Our MissionThe principal mission of Western Governors University is to improve quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities by providing a means for individuals to learn independent of time and place and to earn competency-based degrees and other credentials that are credible to both academic institutions and employers.

An Online University for the 21st CenturyWestern Governors University is an online university driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs. WGU has flourished into a national university, serving over 25,000 students from all 50 states.

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The university continues to open doors for adult learners who need flexibility to achieve their education and career goals. WGU’s innovative competency-based academic approach makes it possible, allowing individuals to fit their education into their lives, not the other way around.A Unique History in Higher Education

WGU was founded by the governors of 19 U.S. states. At no other time in the history of higher education have the governors of several states joined together to create a university. WGU is also supported by over 20 major corporations and foundations who believe in WGU’s commitment to producing highly competent graduates.

 

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The master’s program at Utah State University in Professional and Technical Writing

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Traditional schools are run by the government or a religious institution and are answerable to a board of trustees. Proprietary or for-profit colleges are operated by a group of investors or owners and are answerable to those constituents.

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Largest For-Profit Institutions

Institution 08-09 Enrollment % of Total For-Profit EnrollmentApollo Group 395,361 21.2Education Management 104,547 5.6Career Education Corp. 97,645 5.3Corinthian Colleges 85,029 4.6DeVry 78,544 4.2Kaplan Education 67,897 3.7ITT Educational Services 60,890 3.3 

Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS as calculated in Daniel L. Bennett, Adam R. Lucchesi and Richard K. Vedder, Center for College Affordability and Productivity, “For-Profit Higher Education: Growth, Innovation and Regulation” at 15 (July 2010). 

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3 Universities; 12,509 Master’s Degrees in EducationJune 8, 2011, 1:05 pmBy Kevin Carey

Yesterday I was poking around in the IPEDS database and ran a search for the total number of master’s degrees in education conferred, by college. The top three were Walden University, the University of Phoenix, and Grand Canyon University, all of which are for-profit and operate primarily online. In total, they conferred 12,509 master’s degrees in education in 2009.

There are two ways to think about this. On the one hand, a great number of master’s degrees in education are earned by women who have families and full-time teaching jobs. Union contracts and state laws require them to get a master’s degree in order to make more money. There are many ways to design rich, productive, online learning environments. So it’s a boon for people to be able to pursue graduate training in their field without having to schlep to the local public university in the evening while somebody else takes care of the kids. Online education can be more flexible, adaptive, and personalized.

On the other hand, research suggests little or no relationship between having a master’s degree and being a more effective teacher. Teachers get them because they have to, not because they want to. Master’s degrees in education are high-volume commodity credentials, so it’s unsurprising that for-profit companies have aggressively moved into a market where standardized curricula plus economies of scale plus federal student aid equal gigantic profits. April 7, 2023 72

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Today’s students (adult learners) want a stripped down version of Higher Ed like their banks or health clubs:

1. Convenience/flexibility 2. Good service3. Good instruction

4. Cheap

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Adult learners arethe largest and

most rapidly growing segment of U.S. postsecondary

education

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You must understand what matters to youradult students and online learners

in order to keep them enrolled

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With the right data, you can improve the college experience for adult and online learners

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How will you become more competitive in the adult student market? The US Department of Education projects that over the next eight years enrollment of adult students in higher education will climb at more than double the rate of traditional students. Becoming more competitive in the adult market means schools must learn how to identify possible program innovations around adult student needs and create program innovation. The best adult programs are structured around the following categories:

Program delivery variations Multiple locations Varied course formats Accelerated degree completion Individualized degrees Modularized curricula Self-paced study

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FYI...From the Kansas City Star..........As more students question whether to take on massive tuition debt in a slow job market, many private colleges are offering discount deals that cut, freeze, or even eliminate tuition altogether for incoming students. Here are some examples from across the country.

Posted on Tue, May. 15, 2012

More private colleges offering tuition discountsBy TONY PUGH, McClatchy Newspapers  The cost of a college education continues to increase faster than inflation; a phenomenon that's roiling family budgets and spurring calls for action on Capitol Hill. But with a little digging, parents and students can find cost-cutting deals and programs that make the paper chase a lot more affordable. While public colleges and universities are hiking tuition to make up for dramatic reductions to state higher-education funding, private colleges - which usually receive no state funding - have greater latitude to cut costs. That's one reason that average annual tuition increases at public colleges have been more than twice as large as those at private colleges over the last decade, according to the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center. As more students question whether to take on massive tuition debt only to end up with degrees but no jobs, many private colleges are offering discount deals that cut, freeze or even eliminate tuition altogether for incoming students.

Duquesne University in Pittsburgh is slashing tuition by 50 percent for freshmen who enroll in the school of education this year. The price cut is good for four years for students who stay in the program. 

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High-achieving freshmen who enrolled at Seton Hall University by Dec. 15, 2011, will get a tuition discount of $21,000 - or 66 percent - for the 2012-13 school year. The same deal probably will go to freshmen for the 2013-14 school year. "In these tough economic times, Seton Hall understands the financial concerns of families and is offering this program to help make a first-rate private Catholic education as affordable as a public education," reads a website passage from the school's office of undergraduate admissions. 

Other schools - such as Ashland University in Columbus, Ohio; Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky.; and the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston - are rolling out three-year bachelor's degree programs for the coming school year. Students who can handle the intense workload can shave 25 percent off the cost of a four-year degree.

  . . . . .  Some private colleges even waive tuition altogether for eligible students; eligibility standards vary.The discounts serve as a publicity driver for some schools, while providing students greater predictability on costs.

 Burlington College in Burlington, Vt., is a prime example. With fewer than 200 students, the small liberal-arts college takes up only half of its 80,000 square feet of building space, so there's plenty of room to grow. The school hopes to reach 300 students in the immediate future and top out eventually at 750, said Christine Plunkett, Burlington's vice president of administration and financing.

To help make that happen, Burlington is cutting tuition 25 percent for the summer semester, which begins later this month. The college won't raise tuition for the 2012-13 school year, either. And it guarantees that current and incoming students for the fall semester will pay the same tuition - $22,400 - for the next four years as long as they stay enrolled full time. Assuming a 4 percent annual tuition increase each year, the rate freeze will save the average Burlington student about $5,100 over four years, Plunkett said. Typically, only eight to 12 students enroll for summer classes at Burlington. This year, 20 have signed up for the discounted summer semester, and enrollment doesn't close for three more weeks.April 7, 2023 80

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According to the College Board Survey

of Adult Learners, adult learners have different profiles, motivations, and preferences than traditional students

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The single most important reason (90%) for an adult learner to return to college

is for his/her job/career

Source: College Board Survey of Adult Learners

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Adult learners have a balancing act

FAMILY WORK

SCHOOL

ADULT

Visual courtesy of CAEL

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Student Engagement

“Student engagement is simply characterized as participation in educationally effective practices, both inside and outside the classroom, which leads to a range of measureable outcomes.” This operational definition is borrowed from Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, and Hayek (2007)

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Roughly 35% of undergraduates at four-year institutions actually attain bachelor’s degrees within four years; only 56% graduate within six years (Knapp, Kelly-Reid, & Whitmore, 2006).

Those who are actually engaged in educationally purposeful activities, both inside and outside the classroom, are more likely than their disengaged peers to persist through graduation.

This assertion has been empirically proven and consistently documented by numerous higher education researchers.

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Vincent Tinto

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Tinto, the most frequently cited scholar on student retention, contends that engagement (or “academic and social integration” as he has called it), is positively related to persistence (Tinto, 2000).

He notes that many students discontinue their undergraduate education because they feel disconnected from peers, professors, and administrators at the institution.

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Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research

The Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research (CPR) promotes student success and institutional effectiveness through research and service to postsecondary institutions and related agencies. Center personnel and associates assist Indiana University and other postsecondary institutions and agencies in gathering and using data for decision making and institutional improvement, focusing on initiatives related to student access, assessment, learning, and persistence and the policies and practices that promote student success, educational effectiveness, and institutional development.

The Center hosts the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its affiliate surveys (Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, Law School Survey of Student Engagement, Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement) and the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) research project.

http://cpr.iub.edu/index.cfm

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George D. Kuh is Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education at Indiana University Bloomington. He directs IU’s Center for

Postsecondary Research, home to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) which has been used by about 1400

colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.

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The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) obtains, on an annual basis, information from hundreds of four-year colleges and universities nationwide about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development.

The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college. Survey items on The National Survey of Student Engagement represent empirically confirmed "good practices" in undergraduate education. That is, they reflect behaviors by students and institutions that are associated with desired outcomes of college.

http://nsse.iub.edu/

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Attrition rates are higheramong nontraditional students

57%50%

43%

28%

0%

20%

40%

60%

Two-Year Institutions Four-year Institutions

Nontraditional TraditionalSource: NCES “The Condition of Higher Education”

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I LOVE THIS QUOTE:In our college, if you don’t teach, your job is to

help students get to class in the best condition for learning. Everybody has that

responsibility. When someone violates that, they violate more than a policy. They violate

a core value.— Bill Law, President, Tallahassee Community College (FL)

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Conclusion

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No one can predict the future. But effective leaders aren't sitting around and waiting

for it to happen either.

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"If you always do what you've

always done, you'll always get what you've always

got.“--Anonymous

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Retention is Everybody’s Business

“Improving the Quality of Student Life and Learning is

what you are paid to do.”David S. Crockett, Senior Executive

Noel-Levitz

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Questions

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Robert Hill, Ed.D.Program Professor

[email protected]

Nova Southeastern UniversityAbraham S. Fischler School of Education

1750 NE 167th StreetNorth Miami Beach, FL 33162-3017

(954) 262-8613 or (800) 986-3223, ext. 28613