21. Technology Method Model Internet (90s) ALN For-profits; systems Databases Standards Assessments ALN, Modules Competency Social Networking Personal Learning Environments Learning Paths Open, Personalized
Introduce ourselves, workshop coverage Ask participants to introduce themselves, identify their institution and roles Note interactivity welcome and Q&A as we move along Identify participant resource materials, including worksheets used throughout workshop Note any “housekeeping” items – e.g., breaks etc
What are the biggest challenges you face today at your institution? What do you hope to gain from this workshop that might help these challenges?
Our view of why this workshop is important and what we hope you will gain today – in addition to the reasons you have mentioned – include the presentation of models, success measures and other resources that will fit your particular institutional needs … real examples and some fictitious mini cases to further your thinking about how to improve operational effectiveness … and specific ideas for how we can manage in our dynamic HE environment…
1. Differentiate between business models and operational models 2. Discuss various business models: incremental, alliance (partnerships), cost or profit center, overhead/service center, independent for-profit Other models?
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY: Discuss the business model used at your institutions ; have groups list models on flip chart so we can capture and discuss 2. Note similarities, differences and ask them to reflect on the effectiveness of their models
Reinforce how an operational model differs from a business model – e.g., it is an overarching and organizing framework Introduce WCET’s “web of services” – a holistic approach to organizing and managing operations, especially as institutions increase in size. [Note that this is a handout on their workshop materials so easier to read and digest after conclusion of workshop.] Discuss “spillover effect” and the importance of implementing a systemic approach to services and operations
GROUP ACTIVITY: Divide groups (by institutional type, level of experience with online learning, and/or participants’ role/responsibilities at their institutions) and have them discuss how their operations reflect or differ from the WCET model
Survey was a convenience sample and heavy on Doctoral and Master’s respondents but remember besides associate they are largest providers of online learning degrees Other demographics? 90% of the respondents had 25 or less programs/certificates or degrees available The degrees offered were masters, bachelors, credit certificates, customized corporate programs, and associates in that order
Read goals It is interesting to note that the goals of online learning
Is this what you mean? I think we need to stay away from yet another “model” discussion here since we’re using both business and operational models and this is likely to cause confusion.
After we received the data, we attempted to see if their were any ways to relate the financial models to business functions. To remind you our list of functions are available in the paper but they loosely connected to three areas critical to successful online learning delivery: business planning or decisions like Student services Curriculum planning
What doomed Global Campus? The failure of UK eUniversity Why do others succeed? OFTEN UNDERESTIMATED! NOT THE SAME AS REPLICATING CLASSROOM OR BOLTED ON MODEL… E.g. UMass Online, Western Governors U (identify proper competencies, assess these, award degrees when competencies met –self-paced), UMUC, Grand Canyon Discuss why strategic linkage of business aspect with mission, vision, values is important and communication of those
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY: Mini Case Studies (handout)
Why is this important? Stakeholders demand accountability. If we assess learning, why wouldn’t we assess operational effectiveness, ROI, etc? Note the ROI conundrum…take care in thinking of this as all-encompassing metric for online programs. What do we measure? Qualitatively and quantitatively…for students: retention, graduation rates, time to degree, employment, etc. Faculty: quality of the hire, retention, promotion, contributions to teaching, research, service, etc. Administration: enrollments, new programs, endowments, ROI, etc. How do we measure? Balanced Scorecard, Dashboard, others? Let’s look at these…
Balanced Scorecard is an applicable model to evaluate higher education institutions’ effectiveness (i.e., efficiency and effectiveness) Note that Vision and Strategy are at the core… The other key pieces… Do any of your institutions use this measurement or something similar??
UMUC is an example of one institution that has utilized the Kaplan and Norton framework. Note that the vision and strategy are at the core…and the other components include the student perspective, the financial perspective, internal perspective and growth and learning. The student perspective focuses on how students see the university. With that lens, the institution focuses on quality. Like most public institutions – as well as an increasing number of privates today – the university’s fiscal health is a key concern. And with a focus on accountability as well, this is an area that is important to all stakeholders… The internal perspective allows the senior leadership to examine various processes to determine the areas in which the college excels and where it needs to improve. For institutions that are experiencing growth, this is particularly important since processes need to be revisited and streamlined in many cases. And since we are in the business of teaching and learning, the area of “growth and learning” is critical too. The question we must ask ourselves is: how can we continue to improve and create value for our students…not only is technology advancing rapidly but student demographics are shifting and we need to continuously reexamine processes and practices to meet evolving needs…
The “Dashboard” is another tool to measure a variety of higher education outcomes – at student, program, institutional levels Do any of your institutions use this measurement or something similar??
It’s been suggested that we link the measures that we use to specific needs and populations…For example, if we are interested in X,….
Robertson and Cox provide an interesting way for us to think about the change process… In their work at their own university (University of Worcester in the UK), they undertook a major change initiative. From their reflection on that change process, they likened the phases to the metaphor of a spiral… 1 st phase: the tight spiral 2 nd phase: a loosening of the spiral 3 rd phase: evolving into a galaxy-like spiral Let’s look at these…
They describe the first phase as the “tight spiral of change” because the initial energy and impetus typically comes from senior management at the center as the core driver for change.
They note that in the 2 nd phase of the change process, there is a loosening of the spiral as offshoots emerge, generating additional energy and impetus – and no longer entirely dependent on the core to feed its growth and development while still maintaining strong links to the core (senior management)…in short, culture change is underway…
In the 3 rd phase of the change process, the energy is not driven just by the core as it was initially but is generated by teams…although still benefitting from the momentum emanating from the core. Robertson and Cox see this spiral metaphorically as “a sun and its galaxies, moving in unison towards a common goal.” The “spiral” metaphor provides some food for thought regarding our own change processes – especially since we know that top-down change inevitably is resisted and that bottom-up approaches typically are only partial solutions…
Aligning institutional goals, assessing value on investments, and understanding the volatile higher education marketplace are all issues that colleges and universities wrestle with… Equipping ourselves with comprehensive models, tools to measure success – and learning from a variety of experiences – can help us leverage the opportunities this dynamic environment offers.