Thomas Friedman is well-known for his book, The World is Flat.  His 2008 work, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – And How it Can Renew America, is insightful and provocative.  If the global economy and U.S. election were not the two biggest topics in the media, I am certain that Friedman’s latest book would receive more coverage in the press.  Hot, Flat, and Crowded is about the need for a Green Revolution.  More than 400 pages in length, it is not a light read.  If you don’t have time to read a book of this length, seriously consider the CD or MP3 version.  If that’s not an option, borrow the book and read the first and last chapters.

Sometime ago, I wrote about the President’s Climate Commitment initiative.  I stated that I thought it was the right thing to do even though I wasn’t sure that carbon neutrality was achievable in the near term.  Friedman’s premise is that reducing our carbon footprint is the right thing to do for our children and that waiting twenty or thirty more years to start conservation efforts will be too late.

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Dr. Russell Kitchner is Director of Regulatory and Governmental Relations at American Public University System.  I asked him if he would provide a guest blog article on the changing environment of state regulations of distance education programs.

Whenever I contemplate the overarching purpose for investing in higher education, I recall Thomas Carlyle’s proposition to the effect that we should “Let each become all that he was created capable of being.”  I consider this to be one of the guiding principles at the core of higher education as it has evolved in America, and given that ideal, I believe that the critical issue facing American higher education and the individual states is affordable access to quality higher education. For those of us who work toward that end, our responsibility is not to provide everyone with the same context in which to fulfill that objective; it is only to extend an equal opportunity by which everyone may do so.

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This past summer, American Public University System established a chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society.  The Society was founded in 1977 with the intention of recognizing high-achieving students from around the world and across all academic disciplines for their academic excellence.  Offering membership to only the top fifteen percent of college and university sophomores, juniors, seniors, and grad students, an invitation to become a member of Golden Key is a laudable distinction.

Since its inception some three decades ago, Golden Key now has close to 400 chapters worldwide containing some 1.8 million members and more than 8,000 honorary members including former U.S. President Ronald Reagan; Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Reverend Desmond M. Tutu; and, Nobel Laureate and author, Elie Wiesel.  

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Following up on my article regarding Adult Online Learners, I asked Phil McNair, our Vice President for Academic Services to discuss some of our efforts for more interactivity among our students.  Phil’s guest article is printed below.

A concern of many students attending college online is that they are not having a “real” college experience: no football games, no dormitories, no cafeterias or gyms or face to face interaction with fellow students.  Perhaps the biggest difference between online and traditional education is the social component; the sense of community (or lack thereof) one develops over time while engaging in learning activities.  Academics is one component of a learning environment, but not  the only component.  Traditional schools spend a significant amount of resources on the non-academic aspects of their programs with corresponding impacts on their tuition and fees. The budget for facilities maintenance on most large college campuses approaches the annual budget of APUS.  While this reality means that online schools should be able to offer courses for lower tuition than land-based schools, it does not necessarily signify that the two types of learning environments are otherwise equal. 

In short, community matters.  Much research has been done to validate that students who feel a sense of connection, or community, with their school are less likely to drop out than those with weaker ties.  The renowned retention expert Vincent Tinto has published numerous articles that identify community, along with academic quality and support services, as one of the key factors in influencing student behavior.  Students stay where they feel they belong; without a sense of community they may not feel like they are part of something to which it is worth belonging.

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American Public University System and its two universities, American Military University and American Public University, have served online learners, many of them working adults, since the early 1990’s.  Since that time, utilization of the internet, broadband availability and other technologies have continued to evolve and the number of studies reporting methodologies for success has increased as well.

Our institution, like many others, has evaluated the successes of online learners and we have evolved the methodologies deployed in the classroom in order to enhance the learning environment and experience.  (See guest article by Jennifer Stephens about APUS’ outcomes assessment initiatives.)  Still, there is evidence that adult online learners are at the highest risk of not completing their degrees.  Surprisingly, some of the reasons for students’ inabilities to succeed in online classes are not related to the technology or the format of education delivery.   As far back as 1998, researchers identified that “adults’ experiences with the Internet are consistent with the conventional wisdom about the characteristics of adult learners: their ability to pursue self-directed learning and their struggles to balance learning projects against the constraints of time, space, economic resources, and personal relationships.”

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By 1775, the tenuous relationship between the British and the American colonies was at a breaking point.  The colonists were enraged by what they saw as unfair treatment at the hands of the British government.  The British boasted the most superior naval force in the world, and the colonists faced the daunting challenge of asserting American independence without a centralized naval fighting force.  On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, voted to outfit two seafaring vessels.  The vessels were to be armed with ten carriage guns, swivel guns and a total crew of just fewer than two hundred men; their mission would be to intercept British naval ships carrying supplies and munitions to the British army in America.  These two ships would be the first of the United States Navy.

The debate over establishing the United States Navy was long and arduous.  Many felt that the endeavor was a fruitless waste of funds; they believed that the British Navy was far too superior for the United States to even compete.  Others, including John Adams of Massachusetts, were fervent supporters of the development of an American naval force.  It was not until the Congress received intelligence that two British ships were on their way from England to Quebec, unarmed and without a protection convoy that the pro-naval advocates began to gain support.  The vulnerability of the two British ships seemed too good an opportunity to allow pass.  Within only a few days of receiving the information, the Congress authorized the outfitting of the two American vessels.

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