Van Davis
A Road to Somewhere

Last month I asked our readers to contemplate whether or not we’re “on a road to nowhere” as we prepare for the fall and beyond. Today, I want to take a look at where we are on that road and consider what this journey may look like for the next several months.

A Road to Somewhere
Van Davis
Avoiding a “Road to Nowhere:” What We Must Do ...

In 1985 The Talking Heads released “Road to Nowhere.” That song, and that metaphor, have been on my mind a lot lately as I think about where higher education is going in the fall and beyond.

Avoiding a “Road to Nowhere:” What We Must Do This Fall
Van Davis
Update on Federal Regulations Impacting ...

I suspect many of us feel a bit like Phil Connors right now—every day seems like the last as we go through a seemingly endless series of Zoom meetings, emails, and revisiting many of the same issues over and over as circumstances require us to reevaluate and revise former decisions. High on that list of issues is likely questions about federal regulations and regulatory relief in this time or remote education.

Update on Federal Regulations Impacting Distance Education During the Pandemic
Van Davis
Fall and Beyond: Higher Education in the Age of ...

Even before the COVID-19 global pandemic, higher education was struggling to make sense of what David La Piana and Melissa Mendes call a VUCA world in The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution: Real-Time Strategic Planning in a Rapid-Response World. Originally coined by the US military to describe a post-Cold War world, VUCA stands for:

· Volatile– The world is rapidly changing and is no longer static.

· Uncertain– The world is unpredictable.

· Complex– The world is interwoven and interconnected.

· Ambiguous– We no longer understand what the change levers are or even the extent to which everything is interconnected.

Fall and Beyond: Higher Education in the Age of COVID-19 and Other Disasters
Van Davis
Regulations Review #1: Regular and Substantive ...

This post will examine the proposed changes to the distance education and credit hour definitions. We’ll have another post early next week that will dig deeper into the proposed changes related to direct assessment and competency-based education as well as a few other select issues such as proposed changes to the credit hour definition, calculating financial aid eligibility for correspondence education, and defining an instructional week for asynchronous delivery.

Regulations Review #1: Regular and Substantive Interaction

The Future of Higher Education Policy Under President Trump

The Future of Higher Education Policy Under President Trump

 “Higher learning has been central to the American story, written over centuries, empowering individuals not only to advance their own station, but also to engage in our democracy – to preserve and protect those freedoms.” – Ted Mitchell, Under Secretary of Education, retrospective address at Northeastern University, January 12, 2017

Every four or eight years our nation’s capital undergoes a changing of the guard as the president and their administration is replaced by a newly elected president with their own staff and political appointees. Some years the change has little impact on education policy, but some years, like this one, the change is likely to be significant. As America watches a new administration take office Friday, it’s an excellent opportunity to look back at the Obama administration’s higher education policy and anticipate what the future will hold under President Trump.

Interpreting What is Required for "Regular an Substantive Interaction"

Interpreting What is Required for "Regular an Substantive Interaction"

As greater numbers of students move into online and competency-based education programs, we have seen new interest in understanding the Department of Education’s regulations. In particular, faculty and administrators seek to understand how the Department interprets rules requiring courses to include “regular and substantive interaction,” especially in distance and competency-based education.

Those of us in online education have long known that interaction between faculty and students as well as among students in both online and face-to-face courses can be the difference in whether a course is a quality learning experience. In fact, ensuring meaningful interactions among class participants should be a priority for any modality—be it face-to-face or online.

Eleven Areas Impacted by Competency-Based Education at an Institution

Eleven Areas Impacted by Competency-Based Education at an Institution

Developing and implementing competency-based education (CBE) programs involve more than just curricular considerations and changes; they impact and can change both the academic and non-academic policies and practices across an institution. Today we are taking a look at understanding the impact that CBE can have on an institution, later posts will focus on the need and complexities of determining a business model for the CBE program and managing the change that CBE brings to institutions.

Distance Education Policy: Our Comment on the Education Department's Proposed Regulations

Distance Education Policy: Our Comment on the Education Department's Proposed Regulations

Earlier this week Blackboard joined together with eight other organizations committed to distance education to co-sign a letter to the Department of Education on proposed regulations that could impact distance education programs. Collectively we represent over 3,000 colleges and universities, all committed to providing students with access to high quality distance education programs.

The Faculty Role in Competency-Based Education vs Traditional Education

The Faculty Role in Competency-Based Education vs Traditional Education

One of the prevailing and unfortunate myths surrounding competency-based education vs traditional education is that faculty are not as important in competency-based education and the role of the instructor is de-emphasized. Some faculty fear that CBE will be used as a way to minimize the role of full-time faculty and lead to a further adjunctification of higher education. Closely related is the fear that the quality of student learning in a CBE program is less than that found in more traditional programs because the role of the instructor has shifted from being the primary conveyer of knowledge to that of a guide helping students navigate mastery. These myths and fears are just that, though – myths and fears. The strongest CBE programs still rely on faculty to be at the heart of the program, responsible for the development of the competencies and curriculum, and providing students with critical input as they develop knowledge and mastery.

Five Strategies for Implementing a Competency-Based Education Program

Five Strategies for Implementing a Competency-Based Education Program

For decades higher education has been inundated with calls for change; the most recent ones being driven by a national conversation on making higher education more affordable and expanding access to quality programs that prepare graduates for the workforce. Many of these institutions are turning to competency-based education as a way to answer these calls for change.

We believe that despite the challenges that an institution might face while developing competency-based education, the rewards are so much higher. Institutions, though, are discovering that the most difficult piece of CBE program development is not curriculum and assessment development, rather it’s all of the myriad pieces of program development unrelated to the curriculum. CBE uses an andragogical model of student learning and support that places the learner rather than the teacher at the center of the learning paradigm, and it creates a similar shift in administrative functions and offices across the institution.

The Road Ahead to US Federal Higher Education Policy Issues

The Road Ahead to US Federal Higher Education Policy Issues

On November 8, 1965, surrounded by faculty, lawmakers, and former teachers on the gymnasium floor at his alma mater, Southwest Texas State University, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Higher Education Act of 1965. At the time Johnson claimed that the bill would “swing open a new door for the young people of America… [T]his means the path of knowledge is open to all that have the determination to walk it.”

Exploring New Approaches to Higher Education: The Expansion of Competency-Based Programs

Exploring New Approaches to Higher Education: The Expansion of Competency-Based Programs

Competency-based higher education—which is built on the idea that degrees should be awarded based on a student's demonstrated mastery of knowledge, skills, and abilities as opposed to time spent in a classroom, or “seat time”—is a key topic of discussion especially as Congress works to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the key piece of legislation that dictates federal policy over higher education.

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Congress Proposes Changes to Student Data Usage and Privacy Regulations

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Congress Proposes Changes to Student Data Usage and Privacy Regulations

We live in a society awash in a sea of data. The collection and use of millions upon millions of data points allows for an unprecedented level of personalization when we log into service providers like Amazon, Netflix or iTunes.  Our data, the record of the most personal and private parts of our lives, fuel the algorithms that order our lives.

But, there is a darker side to the ubiquitous presence of our personal data.

We decry the ability of the National Security Agency to access phone records. Librarians staunchly advocate the right of patrons to keep borrowing histories private.  We monitor our credit after massive data breaches stretching from national consumer outlets to the federal government. But we reserve our most critical and contentious conversations around data and privacy for discussions of student data usage and privacy.

Texas Addresses Student Costs through Innovative Baccalaureate Program

Texas Addresses Student Costs through Innovative Baccalaureate Program

Clay Christensen is well known for his work on the impact of disruptive innovation on a variety of industries and fields, including higher education. According to Christensen, higher education is at a crossroads that leaves it “both at great risk of competitive disruption and potentially poised for an innovation-fueled renaissance.” How higher education leaders respond to this crossroads seems the stuff of almost daily discussion. One response in Texas is the partnership forged between the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the College for All Texans Foundation, South Texas College, and Texas A&M University-Commerce.