The global economic downturn has had a profound impact on nearly all industries. Higher education is no exception. As students struggle to find affordable options for continuing their educations, institutions of higher education have found it increasingly difficult to conduct “business as usual” in the face of shrinking government funding, dwindling endowments, and increasing enrollments. Read the rest of this entry »
I received an email from a student asking me what he could do when people state that American Military University (AMU) or American Public University (APU) are “diploma mills” or unaccredited. I thought I would post my response.
The “myths” that AMU or APU are diploma mills or unaccredited are invalid. In most cases, the myths are more than likely disseminated by individuals who do not care for online colleges and universities. Faculty and staff members of accredited institutions that operate partially online or totally online have heard the negative perceptions about online education for years and have worked hard to demonstrate the evidence that supports learning in online programs. A May 2009 study published by the U.S. Department of Education entitled Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies stated that students learn better in online programs than in face-to-face programs . The researchers examined over 1,000 published research papers involving online and face-to-face learners.
Chip and Dan Heath co-authored the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die that I reviewed on this blog in November 2008. Chip is a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Dan is a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE). Their latest book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, is a theoretical and practical cookbook for individuals who are interested in making lasting changes in their companies, communities, and/or their lives.
The authors point out that for an individual to make a change, changes must be made in their environment, heart, and mind. Unfortunately for most of us, the heart and the mind generally do not agree. The Heaths cite more than a few psychological studies that profile the conflicts and benefits between the emotional and rational sides of our thinking. In order to make change successful, both sides have to be satisfied. Companies have people who are more emotional and people who are more rational. Successful teams need to recommend solutions that meet the needs of both of those emotional/rational profiles.
In December, I wrote a post about why the frequency of my writing slowed and would continue to slow. The explanation was simple: I had entered a doctoral program and was engaged in the final writing stage of my dissertation. I am pleased to say that I satisfactorily completed all the requirements for my doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania including defending my dissertation. Now that I have had a couple of weeks to savor the accomplishment, I am ready to resume some of my “free time” activities that I postponed or slowed in order to go back to school and earn my doctoral degree. As I begin to resume blog posts, I thought I would share my reflections on my area of studies.
When I completed my MBA from Tulane’s Freeman School of Business in 1978, I thought I had completed all of my formal academic studies. After graduation from Tulane, I sat for and passed the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant), and the Fellow exam for the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Maintaining those certifications required annual continuing education hours, but not academic credits. Usually, I could earn 40 hours of credit per year by attending a couple of two day seminars along with a single day seminar.
I recently had the chance to read a research report titled “With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them,” published by Public Agenda with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The authors of the report surveyed over 600 young adults between the ages of 22 and 30. The purpose of the survey was to compare the answers of students who dropped out of college to the answers of students who graduated within the three year (for community colleges) or six year (for four-year colleges) standards as measured by the U.S. Department of Education. Jean Johnson and Jon Rochkind, along with Amber Ott and Samantha DuPont, wanted to validate the reasons why students depart from colleges before graduating and see if the students themselves offered reasons different than many of the recent research studies.
The authors point out that according to the U.S. Department of Education, only 20 percent of community college students graduate within three years and only 40 percent of four year college students graduate within six years. In fact, only 27 percent of college students attend the traditional residential college that most people envision as the idyllic college environment. Even more telling of the changes in college student profiles, 45 percent of students attending four year colleges reported working more than 20 hours per week and 60 percent of students attending two year colleges reported working more than 20 hours per week.
In September 2007, American Public University System (APUS) signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) as a charter signatory. There are now more than 600 signatories to the commitment. Each institution is required to complete and submit a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory within one year of signing the commitment (click here to view APUS’ GHG Emissions Inventory) and within two years of signing, signatories are required to complete and submit a Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP is a statement of measures the university has already taken and measures it intends to undertake to address and mitigate its GHG emissions and carbon footprint.
Aside from these specific requirements, there are several others which are more flexible, allowing schools to be creative in how they implement them. One such requirement is that of public engagement and education. To implement the requirements of the commitment, APUS has established a Sustainability Committee. This group, comprised of interested employees, is tasked with researching and proposing strategies to fulfill APUS’ requirements. The group has already brought several well-researched and worthwhile proposals to our leadership team for review and consideration. Most recently, the Sustainability Committee established a Sustainability blog which will help provide some public outreach and education on issues related to sustainability.
Committee members will provide articles for the blog and from time to time, the Committee may publish articles from guest authors. Focusing on issues of sustainability in higher education, APUS actions related to sustainability, and issues of sustainability in general, the blog is intended to create an engaging and meaningful dialogue about the topics. I encourage you to take a look at APUS’ latest blog and I know that the Committee will appreciate any comments and suggestions that you may have.
