Ever wonder what faculty think about for-profit vocational education? This is the slide deck from Carol M. Booton's dissertation oral defense, December 9, 2013. The phenomenological study used a systems thinking framework and rich pictures to explore faculty members' perceptions of academic quality at two for-profit vocational colleges in Portland, Oregon.
Measures of Dispersion and Variability: Range, QD, AD and SD
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Faculty Members' Lived Experiences With Academic Quality in For-Profit On-Ground Gainful Employment Programs
1. Faculty Membersâ Lived Experiences with
Academic Quality in For-Profit On-Ground
Gainful Employment Programs
School of Business and Technology
Northcentral University
Chair: Dr. Meena Clowes
Carol M. Booton
3. Background
ď˘ Government investigations led to
questions about the quality of education
provided by for-profit career colleges
ď˘ Low student retention, job placement, and
loan payback rates compared to public
community colleges
ď˘ Gainful EmploymentâDebt Measures Rule
ď˘ Sets standards for student retention, job
placement, and loan payback rates
ď˘ Emphasizes performance outcomes
ď˘ Implies if students graduate, get jobs, and
pay back their students loans, they
received a quality education
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Carol M. Booton Oral Defense
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4. Problem
ď˘ Academic quality in for-profit
vocational education isâŚ
ď˘ Hard to define
ď˘ Multidimensional
ď˘ Gainful Employment standards
alone are not adequate to describe
academic quality
ď˘ Students, parents, faculty,
employers, and taxpayers care
about academic quality
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5. Purpose
ď˘ To expand understanding of
academic quality in for-profit
on-ground Gainful Employment
programs by gathering the lived
experiences of faculty who
taught in on-ground Gainful
Employment programs offered
at two for-profit institutions in
Portland, Oregon
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7. Research questions
ď˘ Q1. What are the lived experiences of faculty regarding
academic quality in for-profit on-ground Gainful
Employment programs?
ď˘ Q2. What are faculty experiences of academic quality regarding
inputs into the education system?
ď˘ Q3. What are faculty experiences of academic quality regarding
processes into the education system?
ď˘ Q4. What are faculty experiences of academic quality regarding
outcomes from the education system?
ď˘ Q5. What are faculty experiences of academic quality regarding
the institutional environment of the education system?
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8. Methodology: Phenomenology
ď˘ Phenomenology is the study of
lived experience
ď˘ A qualitative approach using in-person
in-depth interviews
ď˘ Based on the interaction between
interviewer and participant
ď˘ Interpretive quest to understand the
life-world of the participant
ď˘ Problems of bias and preconceptions
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9. Systems thinking tool: Rich pictures
ď˘ 10 faculty members who taught in
Gainful Employment programs
drew ârich picturesâ of their
experiences
ď˘ Rich pictures
ď˘ A combination of symbols, icons,
and text
ď˘ Often used in systems thinking to
reveal hidden beliefs and experiences
ď˘ Served as a form of data triangulation
Rich picture (F6)
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12. Data collection: Interview protocol
ď˘ Definition of academic quality
ď˘ Systems framework
ď˘ Inputs
ď˘ Processes
ď˘ Outcomes
â Gainful Employment Rule
ď˘ Institutional environment
Rich picture (F7)
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13. Data processing and analysis
ď˘ Data processing
ď˘ Transcribe interviews
ď˘ Scan rich pictures
ď˘ Data analysis
ď˘ Read and code
ď˘ Organize by
ď˘ Systems elements
â Stakeholder groups
â Themes
Rich picture (F8)
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14. Findings: Inputs
ď˘ Faculty Input
themes (35)
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Innate
Experience
Attitude
Behavior
ď˘ Student Input
themes (13)
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Innate
Experience
Attitude
Support
ď˘ Administrator/owner
Input themes (6)
ď˘ No themes emerged
ď˘ Institution Input
themes (25)
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Facilities
Resources
Climate
Policy
Awareness
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of attributes assigned to that category.
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15. Findings: Inputs
F9 said,
âItâs this really weird thing
about college teachersâŚ
you throw a book at them
and say here, go teach.
Thereâs no preparation⌠I
guess with college, they
figure if youâve got
experience and a degree,
anybody can teach. But
thatâs not true. Thereâs
some people who are
smart, smart, smart, and
you put them in a classroom
and itâs a disaster.â
Rich picture (F9)
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Carol M. Booton Oral Defense
Rich picture (F3)
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16. Findings: Processes
ď˘ Faculty Process
themes (71)
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Teaching
Learning
Interacting
Motivating
Connecting
ď˘ Student Process
themes (19)
ď˘ Administrator/owner
Process themes (42)
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Teacher focus
Student focus
Administrative focus
Stewardship focus
ď˘ Institution Process
themes (6)
ď˘ No themes emerged
ď˘ Acquiring knowledge
ď˘ Applying knowledge
ď˘ Interacting with others
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of attributes assigned to that category.
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17. Findings: Processes
F5 said,
âI tell my students I love
themâŚAnd I do! I donât
do that as a tactic of
manipulation. I do it
because itâs true. But
what I understand is that
when thatâs there, it also
opens the possibility for
the learning process.
Because when thereâs
hostility and resistance,
thereâs blockage.â
Rich picture (F5)
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18. Findings: Outcomes
ď˘ Faculty Outcome
themes (9)
ď˘ No themes emerged
ď˘ Student Outcome
themes (44)
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Employment
Performance
Attitude
Knowledge
ď˘ Administrator/owner
Outcome themes (0)
ď˘ No outcomes identified
ď˘ Institution Outcome
themes (8)
ď˘ No themes emerged
Rich picture (F4)
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of attributes assigned to that category.
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19. Findings: Outcomes
Student employment is important, but is not the only important outcome
ď˘ âThe only output that I can
gauge the quality on is by
the end of a class, a term or
by the end of their program,
do I have some sense that
these people are going to be
okay, and be better for
having this education?â (F9)
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ď˘ âOne of the main reasons I
like my jobâŚis I like my
students. I like to see that
ah-ha moment. That ah-ha
moment, even if itâs few
and far between, itâs worth
coming to school and
waiting for.â (F8)
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20. Findings: Institutional environment
ď˘ 23 attributes were assigned to
the institutional environment
category
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
ď˘
Accrediting agencies
Government agencies
Economy/Competition
Employers
Community
Media
Rich picture (F2)
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22. Conclusions
ď˘ The systems framework revealed
fertile areas for improvement
ď˘ The tool of rich pictures enhanced
understanding
ď˘ Academic quality is
multidimensional
ď˘ The main obstacle to improving
academic quality is the conflict
between the profit motive and the
educational product
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23. Recommendation
ď˘ A proposed model of
academic quality
ď˘ Systems framework
ď˘ Dynamic, not static
ď˘ Areas for improvement
were revealed at the
stakeholder level
ď˘ Further testing of the
model is recommended
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24. Recommendation
ď˘ A composite rich picture
ď˘ The path to academic
quality is a journey
ď˘ The journey ends with a
professional, trained,
worker (satisfied customer)
and a happy employer
ď˘ The main obstacle is the
conflict between profit and
product
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25. Questions
ď˘ All the rich pictures can be seen in
their entirety in the Appendix of the
dissertation manuscript
ď˘ Contact me:
carolbooton@yahoo.com
ď˘ Thank you
Rich picture (F4)
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26. Sources
ď˘
Percentages of for-profit students and loan defaults:
MacQueen, G. (2012, Spring). Closing doors: The gainful employment rule as over-regulation of for-profit higher
education that will restrict access to higher education for Americaâs poor. Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy,
19(2), 1-21.
ď˘
U.S. Government Gainful Employment Rule:
United States Government Department of Education. (2011, June 13). Program integrity: Gainful employmentâdebt
measures. Federal Register, 76(113), 34386-34539. Retrieved from http://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/
FR061311GEDebtMeasures.html
ď˘
Systems thinking tools, rich pictures, and the CATWOE framework:
Checkland, P. (1981/1984). Systems thinking, systems practice. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ď˘
Photo credits: Carol Booton
ď˘
Dedicated to the memory of Karen, Meme, and Pop
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