MAE 2010 Volume: 5 Issue: 2 (March)
Ashford Launches Online Learning Publication
To prepare students for the challenges of online learning, scholars from Ashford University developed and wrote The R-Model for Learning Online and Achieving Lifelong Goals. The new book covers all facets of the online education experience and cites such principles as relevancy of classes, readiness, restructuring, reasoning, learning insights, developing relationships and reflective activities.
Asking questions via web dialogue helps to enhance thinking, learning and listening capabilities, the authors claim. They also point out that writing is a central means of actively participating, building relationships and demonstrating active learning online. Another observation they make is that many students use social networking platforms as part of their daily lives and see the online classroom environment as an extension of their private lives.
California Lutheran Creates Military Lounge Website
California Lutheran University’s California Institute of Finance recently created a military lounge Website where servicemembers can hear testimonials from other military students, experience the virtual classroom and get questions answered about the GI Bill and other pertinent issues. The concept of the online platform is to simulate the feeling of a real military lounge, where people gather to relax and interact.
Harry Starn, the associate director of the California Institute of Finance, said members of the military have engaged a great deal with this online resource and continue to perform extremely well in the program. Starn earned his bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and has been teaching in California Lutheran’s online MBA program since 2005.
The number of veterans in undergraduate and graduate programs at CLU has nearly doubled in the last year, up from 27 for the fall 2008 term to 49 for the fall 2009 term. The biggest increase has been in CLU’s Adult Degree Evening Program.
Goshen Reverses Ban on National Anthem
In an effort to make students and visitors feel more welcome, Goshen College, a small institution with ties to the Mennonite Church, has decided to reverse its ban on the national anthem. According to John Roth, a Goshen College history professor, Mennonites have tried to avoid the song because its lyrics describe war and the use of military force to defend the nation.
After Goshen President Jim Brenneman announced the decision in January, hundreds signed an online petition protesting the reversal and numerous letters expressing concern have been sent to administrators.
“We’re very aware that not everyone on our campus that’s part of this community shares the same views,” remarked Jodi Beyeler, the director of Goshen’s campus news bureau. “We believe that everyone here should feel like this is home.” Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) announced that it will freeze undergraduate day tuition for the 2010- 2011 academic year. “We will not raise our tuition,” SNHU President Paul J. LeBlanc said in a statement. “Others will elect to do the same this year, but the history of tuition freezes is that within one or two years they are followed by even steeper tuition hikes because nothing about how those institutions do business has changed. We will stop price escalation by challenging the long accepted models of how we should do business.” In moving forward, LeBlanc cited three examples of how the university intended to position itself.
The first example is through a continuation of its three-year program. Students enrolled in the program can save 25 percent of the cost of an undergraduate degree. SNHU has offered a three-year, competency-based option for 13 years. The option is based on integrated and team oriented learning applications.
The second example is to offer undergraduates the option of paying 40 percent of the cost of its main campus program by attending classes at one of SNHU’s satellite centers and living at home. “We had a hunch that a market existed for such a program when we launched it more than a year ago,” added LeBlanc. “Now, in its second year, it has doubled in enrollments and garnered national attention.”
Lastly, SNHU plans to leverage its relationship with its community college peers. Students accepted into a community college for their first two years can transition into SNHU’s program for the final two years. The coursework will be coordinated so 60 credits will transfer into SNHU degree credits. “This is rare for most four-year colleges,” pointed out LeBlanc, who also noted that the university will not implement transfer fees and offers additional grant aid to even out the cost differential. “As we move forward, we may even offer classes on or adjacent to the community college campus for those students who are more comfortable in the learning spaces to which they have become accustomed,” he said.
Western Illinois University Opens Veterans Resource Center
On Veterans Day, Western dedicated the University’s Wright Residence at 333 N. Ward St. as the new Veterans Resource Center. Blandinsville veterinarian, Dr. Ken Wright, and his wife, Betty, donated his boyhood home to Western three years ago. The Veterans Resource Center, which was formerly housed in the Student Assistance and Parent Service Center in the University Union, serves as a one-stop location where veterans, guard members, reservists or current military members can receive individual assistance with any question or concern they may encounter. The Wright Residence Veterans Resource Center also features computer access, a study room, lounge and a threeseason porch. In addition, five student-veteran peer assistants work with student-veterans. The university boasts numerous on-campus resources for veterans and the flexibility of academic program offerings, including online courses and the unique Board of Trustees/ Bachelor of Arts (BOT/BA) degree program. “The BOT/BA degree program, which was established in 1972, serves adult students who are unable to attend a traditional college program due to other obligations, like military service,” explained Rick Carter, director of nontraditional programs at WIU. “In addition, rather than requiring a specific major, the program allows the student to design her or his program to meet individual educational goals. Students may also be eligible for academic credit for college-level learning that was done in a non-collegiate setting, such as the military or on-the-job training.”
Veterans Resources has also joined forces with the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs to sponsor a service center on the WIU-Macomb campus each month. In addition, the WIU-Quad Cities campus recently entered into a partnership agreement with the Rock Island Arsenal (RIA), which allows current and potential college students interested in completing college proficiency exams to complete the exams at the RIA.
The WIU-QC exam facility, which is open to the public, is the first testing site in the Illinois Quad Cities. The agreement between Western and the Arsenal allows individuals the opportunity to complete an exam, such as a College Level Examination Program test, in person on Arsenal Island. A full-time WIU academic adviser, whose office is at the Arsenal, will assist in administering exams, provide course and program information and advise students how to register for classes at Western.
Adjuncts at St. Francis Move to Unionize
Adjuncts at St. Francis College in New York recently won a vote to unionize, affiliating with New York State United Teachers, American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. The move, which was made possible with a 96-47 vote count, is aimed at helping adjuncts receive better pay and benefits.
“A union at St. Francis will give adjunct faculty the opportunity to speak to the administration with one collective voice about issues which we deem important,” remarked Michael Fontana, an adjunct professor of the department of fine arts. “This ability to voice our concerns is something which is desperately needed at St. Francis and just as vital as our desire for parity with our full-time colleagues. We are denied access to health care, regular pay increases and a fair approach to pay compensation based on experience and time in service to the college, and we need a union to right these wrongs.”
Adjunct faculty members plan to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement that will reflect the kinds of gains their peers at Marymount Manhattan College, Pace University, Fashion Institute of Technology, City University of New York, and other unionized colleges and universities around New York City have made. ♦