2018 Summit for Online Leadership and Administration + Roundtable
We know that UPCEA member-led units incubate new initiatives that provide postsecondary access to today’s learners. UPCEA members are the standard-bearers for innovative practices focused on learning design, faculty and student services, program development, marketing online programs, and revenue/cost sharing. Presenters will share their experiences building, refining, or positioning online units for success.
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM
Managing Up, Managing Down, Managing Across: Building a Culture and Infrastructure for Effective Fully-Online Education
Location: Jefferson West
The challenge for digital and online education leaders charged with launching, sustaining, and scaling online education on campuses in the U.S. is not just one of convincing faculty that online education can be “as good” as face-to-face education. Indeed, in many cases, leaders of fully-online educational programs have to work with and gain buy-in from leaders that sit above and across from them. In this panel, we talk about how “institutional buy-in” might happen and what it means to develop a space for innovation and creativity while also making data-informed decisions about what to build and how to build it. This panel will talk out loud about the trials and tribulations of developing online educational programs within the context of institutions, in particular, that have not always seen this as a logical pathway for their own growth and development. It does so while discussing how online leaders engage campus leaders.
Moderator: Jody Cebina, University of North Carolina – Charlotte
Moderator: Karen Pedersen, Kansas State University
Change! How Institutions are Dealing with Organizational Change
Location: Monroe
This presentation will discuss changes that are occurring within specific institutions, changes that are occurring within the field of online learning, and changes that are needed to ensure future growth and development in higher education today. Ray Schroeder will discuss the "Strategic Compass" approach to envisioning future directions of the online program, Rovy Branon will explore how online learning is shaping the new “60-year curriculum” at the University of Washington’s Continuum College, Jason Rhode will share his institution’s experience reimagining distance learning support as a result of a recent institution-wide program prioritization process. Participants will be provided a weblink to materials.
Moderator: Vickie Cook, University of Illinois Springfield
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Building Online Programs within a Highly Traditional College
Location: Jefferson West
How does institutional culture shape the way in which institutions move online? Does it shape whether and to what extent they move online, the types of programs that are offered online, or how they make strategic decisions? This session will discuss specific challenges and strategies related to building robust online programs within a highly traditional college environment and will engage participants in conversation and activities related to their own institutional cultures. A range of strategies for getting approval, starting up programs with limited support, and navigating political and contracting obstacles will be considered, alongside strategies for working with Research-1 faculty members, developing processes and procedures for instructional design, and implementing robust assessment.
Moderator: Erik Nelson, Columbia University
Quality Assurance and the Online Enterprise: Using UPCEA’s Hallmarks of Excellence in Online Leadership to Document Quality Online Operations
Location: Georgetown East
Did you know UPCEA’s Hallmarks map to the C-RAC guidelines used by regional accreditors? Have you wondered how you might create innovation for your institution using the strong leadership models of the Hallmarks of Excellence? Join Hallmark experts as they share how the Hallmarks can inform strategy, create innovation in online leadership, and be utilized as guideposts for all-important accreditor visits. Our speakers will share their lessons learned as Hallmarks reviewers and having participated in the review process. They will discuss why external reviews and self-assessments of online leadership are so important for online program success.
Moderator: Julie Uranis, UPCEA
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Zero to 60: Strategies and Structures for Rapid Online Capability Growth
Location: Jefferson East
In January 2015, Georgetown SCS launched its first online master’s degree; just 3 years later we have over 1000 online students across 15 fully online programs, many of which hold the largest share of their respective markets. And for the first time, this spring new enrollments from online programs surpassed those of our on-campus programs. In this session, we’ll present the strategy we developed which--despite coming late to the online game--allowed SCS to rapidly build capabilities, resources, programs, and enrollments in a financially successful way, while keeping academic quality front-and-center. Our presentation will cover three components of our strategy: (1) how we planned to rapidly scale-up our digital learning operations; (2) our approach to competitive strategy and its application to our online programs; and (3) the structures we put in place the support our strategy. We’ll conclude with thoughts about how our online and digital capabilities will factor into thinking about the future.
Moderator: Gary Chinn, The Pennsylvania State University
8:30 - 9:30 AM
Find, Foster, Flourish: Growth Strategies for Student Enrollment and Retention
Location: Jefferson West
A comprehensive strategy for enrollment and retention is critical to providing an optimal experience throughout the student life cycle. To be successful, institutions must have a clear understanding of what online students think, feel, and want, as well as the current risk factors that contribute to attrition. Each year, The Learning House, Inc. and Aslanian Market Research survey current, prospective, and recently graduated online college students to understand what they look for in an online program. In this presentation, Julie Delich, MS (Learning House) and Daria Tecco LaTorre, J.D. (Alvernia University) share growth-focused enrollment and retention strategies inspired by the findings of the Online College Students report. Attendees will discover insights into how to best serve students in a fiercely competitive marketplace, along with strategies for providing optimal experiences as online student populations evolve and expand.
Moderator: Joshua Steele, University of Arizona
10:00 AM- 11:00 AM
Building Shared Vision and Minding the Gaps: Launching an Inter-College, Interdisciplinary Online Bachelors Degree Program
Location: Jefferson East
While higher education traditionally divides academic content by department and college, the realities of the modern workplace increasingly demand workers who can effectively combine diverse skills. Interdisciplinary degree programs afford students the chance to create pathways that align to their long-term goals, breaking through disciplinary silos. In an online context, interdisciplinary programs distribute risks and rewards across academic units, ideally fostering greater faculty buy-in and enabling faster-to-market development. In this session, we’ll discuss the development and refinement of an inter-college, online bachelor of design degree across three colleges at Penn State. Specifically, we’ll share strategies that were successful, challenges and obstacles we encountered, and roles and resources that supported success from curricular planning through course design to program launch. We’ll consider processes from faculty, learning design, and administrative support (admissions and advising) perspectives, and discuss how we developed a shared vision and identified gaps (curricular and administrative) along the way.
Using Data and Automation to Humanize Student Experiences
Location: Jefferson West
To meet the needs of today’s students, college and universities are turning to automated software and data analysis to enrich the student experience. This session explores the growth in institutions capturing student data and employing automation strategies to enhance learning capabilities and improve student outcomes. We’ll explore how tech is enriching student/faculty interaction and doing so more efficiently, more affordably, and at scales not previously seen.
Sarah DeMark, Western Governors University
Moderator: Joellen Shendy, University of Maryland University College