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Scroll down for a synopsis of general and concurrent sessions. Please check the schedule for more information.
Opening Keynote:
'The gates unbarred', the current and future of Higher Ed in the global knowledge economy.
Hunt Lambert explores the reality of MOOCs, discussing why free is great and only worth its price, and why a student would choose to pay tuition for the same course they can get online for free; the industry structure forces driving change in higher education, and his strategy for Harvard’s presence in the online world.
Speaker: Hunt Lambert is Dean of the Division of Continuing Education at Harvard University.
General Session:
CE Leaders Emeritus Panel: Using Our Experience to Challenge Convention
This general session taps the experience and expertise of four recently-retired CE leaders, to discuss the questions: 1. If you had unlimited resources (people, finances) and no constraints to deal with (school politics, etc), what programs (or types of programs) would you create? 2. What directions would you recommend your former CE units take as they forge ahead without you? All four panelists have been active in UPCEA for many years, so are familiar with the variety of challenges facing CE units. This session is not meant to look back at what these leaders did, but rather to look forward to new innovative ways to move CE units successfully into the future, in concert with our theme, Challenging Convention: Risks and Rewards.
Panelists: Sue Nesbitt, retired from University of Connecticut, Sybil Smith, retired from Brandeis University, Dave Watson, retired from St. Joseph’s College, and Bill White, retired from Worcester State University
General Session:
Here if You Need Me: Inspiration for Adult Learners
Educated at the Parsons School of Design/The New School and Georgetown University, Braestrup originally thought of herself primarily as a writer. She had published a novel, Onion, in 1990, after all, and occasional essays in national publications. This became more difficult as children arrived but she expected to be able to continue combining motherhood and the writing of fiction and non-fiction for the foreseeable future.
Then her husband, Maine State Trooper James A. Griffith was killed in a car accident while on duty in 1996. Kate Braestrup was left a widowed mother of four children between the ages of 3 and 9. Life would not and could not ever be the same.
As it happened, Griffith had spent the last year of his life thinking about, researching and finally committing himself to the study of theology. As a part-time student, he planned to "pick away" at a Masters in Divinity, and become a Unitarian Universalist minister, a plan that was naturally discussed extensively with his wife. In this way, unwittingly, he had prepared the way for Kate Braestrup to recognize and develop her own vocation. She entered the Bangor Theological Seminary in 1997, at the age of 35.
Thirty-five, incidentally, made Braestrup one of the younger students at the seminary: It appeared that ministry was increasingly a second career and indeed, it seemed extraordinary that it could ever be anything else. How, the gray-haired students wondered, could a kid just out of college possibly "minister" to anyone? "They don't KNOW anything yet!" a classmate memorably declared.
As she and her classmates "picked away" very enjoyably at their degrees, it struck Braestrup that education, while perhaps not entirely wasted on the young, is nevertheless a blessing that older students know how to absorb, revel in, and transform into all the ministries mature people get up to, whether they call these "ministry" or not.
Ordained in 2004, Braestrup has served since 2001 as chaplain to the Maine Warden Service, joining the game wardens as they search the wild lands and fresh waters of Maine for those who have lost their way. She offers comfort to those who wait for the ones they love to be rescued, or for their bodies to be recovered. Braestrup will speak of her adventures with the wardens, her encounters with hope and loss, courage and grace, and what she has learned and continues to learn about the power and endurance of love.
Speaker: Kate Braestrup, Chaplain, Maine Warden Service, community minister, and best-selling author
Lunch and Learn
After a short presentation by President-elect Bea Gonzalez, enjoy a buffet lunch while informally connecting with colleagues to discuss topics of interest to CE staff. Join one or more groups, each of which will focus on one the following topics: (1) Personnel Management: Strategies for Supervising Staff, (2) New Program Development, (3) Challenges with Providing Online Courses, (4) Alternative Paths to Degree Completion, (5) Diversity & Inclusion within UPCEA, (6) Organizational Changes in CE.
Concurrent Sessions:
You're a CE Administrator -- Now What?
There are many internal and external pressures that CE administrators must be fully aware of, understand the rationale of campus politics and issues, and have strategies in place to address these while helping to enhance the unit's success. The CE administrator needs to better understand a broad range of topics and issues that strongly impact the CE unit. I have defined five objectives for this presentation: (1) Share “what I think I’ve learned”; (2) External factors that impact CE; (3) #1 internal factor that impacts CE; (4) Day-to-day actions; and (5) Strategic actions. I anticipate this approach will generate discussion and sharing of experiences.
Presenter: Bill McClure, Executive Director, Continuing & Professional Education, UMass Amherst
Collaborative Partnerships: No Stone Unturned
Saint Joseph’s College maintains collaborative partnerships with a variety of institutions and associations. Generally, partnerships are viewed as a means to facilitate workforce development. This can be for an institution directly or for the larger community as a means for reducing structural unemployment. Workforce development of single institutions varies considerably as some, such as hospitals pursuing magnet status, may require a substantial portion of their workforce to obtain higher degrees within a very short period of time. Other organizations may be looking at succession planning as their leadership begins to retire. Often, prior learning assessment works in conjunction with workforce development as a method of expediting degree completion. Assigning staff to focus on these projects is essential. Colleges must also be prepared to fling the net wide and use as many avenues to partnership as possible.
Presenters: Suzanne Murphy, Assistant Director of Continuing Education and Training, and Gwendolyn DeCicco, Assistant Director of Business Development, Saint Joseph's College
Online Learners 2013: What Do They Want and How Do They Want It?
Who goes to school online? Why? What do they want and need? A recently completed national study of 1,500 fully online learners provides information and data that every college and university needs to understand as they make plans for the future. Consider the following: -- Nonprofit institutions dominate online education. About two-thirds of online students attend not-for-profit institutions -- with a wide array of public institutions leading the way. This will only grow as nonprofits gain their footing in the online education space. -- The vast majority of online students enroll at an institution within 100 miles of where they reside -- and most enroll within 50 miles. These students are increasingly selecting the institutions that they have known all their lives in lieu of institutions from far off. -- Nearly one quarter of fully online students are under the age of 25. What is the impact of this on so many continuing education units that have pioneered their institutional efforts in online education? In this session, Scott Jeffe will share key data institutions need to think with, and Adrienne Franciosi will discuss how Lasell University has shaped its programs to meet the demands and preferences of today’s online learners.
Presenters: Scott Jeffe, Director, Market Research, Aslanian Market Research, and Adrienne Franciosi, Director of Graduate Admission, Lasell College
Pitfalls & Opportunities: An Evolution of Westfield State University's Non-Credit Programming
Westfield State University’s robust non-credit programming extends from award-winning summer programming for kids and teens to workforce development programs, online offerings through third parties, and PDP classes for in-service teachers. The workshop will outline all of WSU’s non-credit programming and will provide lessons learned and best practices for non-credit programs. WSU is the recipient of 2 UPCEA outstanding program awards for non-credit programming. The presenters will also discuss the importance of non-credit programming for the institution, the community, and regional and national workforce needs along with sharing information on national workforce development statistics and other resources for those embarking on non-credit programming at their institutions.
Presenters: Meaghan Arena, Associate Dean, Graduate & Continuing Education, and Jessica Tansey, Program Development Associate, Division of Graduate & Continuing Education, Westfield State University
UPCEA's New Consulting Initiative: Strategic Transformation for Continuing and Online Education
Over the course of this academic year, the UPCEA will be building a model for expanding consultative services for the membership. This effort will help showcase the important work of our sector of higher education, and help institutions evaluating their operations and exploring new, potentially transformative strategies for the future of continuing education and online learning at their institutions. In this interactive session, Jay Halfond, Boston University’s former dean of Metropolitan College and the 2013-14 UPCEA Innovation Fellow, will share our preliminary plans for this initiative and seek your input and ideas. This will be a unique opportunity to help shape and contribute to this important effort.
Presenters: Jay Halfond, Dean Emeritus, and Faculty member, Metropolitan College, Boston University, and Robert Hansen, CEO, UPCEA
Service Design: Continuing Ed’s New Secret Competitive Advantage: How to Break Out of the Silo and Deliver Better Value
As education becomes increasingly competitive, we are all wondering where to invest. Should it be the website? Social media? A new call center? What innovative companies are learning is that it's the totality of the customer journey that matters. Consider your travel to this conference. Did you assess the process of booking your flight separately from the check-in process? How about considering the way you were greeted at the gate or when you boarded? Did you consider each of these in isolation, or did you judge the airline based on the total experience? Silos and broken processes don't matter to your students, so it's time to adopt an approach that ensures the promises you make are delivered through your website, your call center, the people your students interact with, and every other channel you use. Because each has dependencies on the other, the greatest competitive advantage will come from delivering a total experience that's better, more humane, and more personable than the alternatives. OUTCOME In this session, learn the value of service design, and how it differs from the design of products. Learn how such approaches as Service Blueprints and Customer Experience Maps will allow you to understand how all the pieces fit together, and where they can be improved. Gain an understanding for how to rank and prioritize investments so, at the end of the day, they all fit together. Stop chipping away at one piece of the puzzle or the other, and adopt an approach that provides the big picture view needed to deliver differentiated value -- and a competitive edge. TOPICS INCLUDE - What is Service Design? - Why Do Services Need Designing? - The Problem with Silos - The Big Picture - Case Studies - Gaining a Competitive Advantage - Uniting the Experience - Understanding People and Values - Insight Gathering Methods - Documentation Approaches (The Service Blueprint, The Customer Experience Map) - Outcomes and Measurement (The Triple Bottom Line)
Presenters: Chokdee Rutirasiri, Founder/CEO, story+structure; Shaun Gummere, Chief Design Officer, story + structure and David Sim, Director of Marketing and Outreach, Brandeis University
Moving from Gut Reactions to Informed Assessments: Creating a Culture of Data-Driven Decision Making
"You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data."-- Daniel Keys Moran, Computer programmer and science fiction writer. In an environment of increased competition, limited internal resources, and heightened enrollment expectations, making decisions based on information—rather than gut instinct—becomes increasingly important to achieving success. During this session, administrators from Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies will illustrate the steps they have taken to create a culture of data-informed decision making within their College. Among other things, the session will highlight the driving forces behind this particular culture change at the College, the types of internal and external strategic enrollment management data that are now used to drive decision making, and the various ways that data is organized and presented to key decision makers in the organization.
Presenters: Brian Murphy Clinton, Executive Director, Enrollment Management, and Rachael Denison, Director, Enrollment Research, Strategy & Data Management, Northeastern University College of Professional Studies
Online and Over There: Innovations in Study Abroad for Online Learners
According to Open Doors, the annual report from the Institute of International Education, fewer than 2% of all American higher education students study abroad. The percentage for adult, and especially online learners, is a tiny fraction of this number. We know the obstacles to study abroad for adult learners are already formidable – jobs, families, and costs – to name a few. The bar goes even higher when we consider our population of online students. How can we offer this population group the increasingly essential exposure they need to have a high quality international academic experience? For the past few summers Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies has offered a short term international field study experience as the centerpiece of an 8-week online class. This interdisciplinary course is open to all master’s students and draws from Education, Project Management, Leadership, Non-Profit Management, and Global Studies programs, creating some formidable interdisciplinary challenges, but also offering students opportunities to work in teams across academic barriers. To our delight, we have seen a number of our international students joining with domestic students on these trips. This presentation will offer an honest assessment of the internal and bureaucratic hurdles, the ups and downs of attracting students from this hard-to-capture population group, and the challenges of transforming a community of online learners from multiple disciplines into an on-ground community of advanced field study scholars for one very intensive week. Getting this right is important. More and more graduate programs routinely offer an international experience; finding ways to include online learners is essential. We know there are multiple ways to approach this challenge. We would like to use our presentation as a platform to open an ongoing dialogue so we can learn from each other’s experiences. We believe there is enormous room for growth for institutions that consider international study an essential innovation in online education.
Presenters: Mary Thompson-Jones, Director, Global Studies and International Affairs, and Kelly Otter, Associate Dean, Northeastern University College of Professional Studies
LOOK, LEAP, and LAND: Paths to College for ESOL Adults
Adult basic education programs are serving large numbers of underemployed immigrants with college credit from their home countries. Although highly motivated, ABE programs reported their graduates rarely successfully transitioned to college. We will present our collaborative effort to bridge that gap through CE-based programs at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence campus. In 2011, we partnered with two adult ABE/ESOL programs to offer our pre-college Learning Enhancement for Adults Program (LEAP) onsite to these students. LEAP addresses developmental academic skills, social/cultural barriers, and other challenges common to adult learners; but we discovered these adults had very basic academic writing needs not provided by standard ESOL coursework. To address this gap, we created Learning Opportunities for Ongoing Knowledge (LOOK), incorporating academic coaching, individualized tutoring and peer mentoring. Over the first two years, 73 students from 19 different countries have participated in LOOK; 36 have moved to LEAP and 10 have enrolled in college coursework (LAND). Our ABE partners were thrilled with a ten-fold increase in student success. However, LOOK taxed university staff time and funding, and was criticized for mission drift. We will describe the curricula, assessment data, and administrative strategies we have developed, and the revised, more viable LOOK-LEAP-LAND college readiness program we will continue to offer these very challenged (and challenging) students. We will also discuss effects on the stakeholders: the University, ABE programs, our staff, and the students. We will present quantitative data and experiential reports from students and teachers, who were profoundly affected by the experience.
Presenters: Anne Hubbard, Assistant Professor & Coordinator, Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree, and Kathryn Quina, Associate Dean, Feinstein College of Continuing Education, University of Rhode Island
StartUp Approach to Change Management and Marketing in Higher Ed
StartUps or StartUp Companies are able to go-to-market quickly. There are advantages and disadvantages that come with being part of a StartUp. However, there are key attributes of a StartUp's go-to-market strategies that can help grow an institution's digital marketing plan. StartUps are early adopters of technology and have innovative methods of approaching market penetration and growth with limited resources. Often times as marketers in higher ed, we are faced with similar challenges as StartUps, but have difficulty thinking outside the box. Lessons from marketing efforts at Brandeis GPS and how a StartUp approach to its digital marketing efforts have helped. This session will explore why StartUps are able to enter a market quickly and grow quickly or fail. The typical life cycle of a startup's trial and failure cycle is much quicker than that of an average company. Much like a startup if higher ed embraced entrepreneurial, quick proof concept methodology of minimally viable product (MVP) and was agile in their approach to marketing, growth could be achieved. Each decision needs to be thoughtfully calculated, supported and defined for return on investment (ROI) benefits. Continued measurement of enrollment funnel from prospect to alumni needs to be measured and optimized throughout the life time of a client (student's) engagement with an organization to maximize profitability and sustain growth year after year. Analytical data allows us to test, retest, and A/B test concepts at a quicker pace allowing digital marketers to analyze significance and determine trends based on hypothesis. Contrary to belief, not everyone is an expert in Marketing and the ideal target demographic is not one's self. Instead, marketing regardless of its various methods, from Social Media, Inbound, Outbound, Push, Channels, Search Engine Optimization, Content Creation and Search Engine Marketing are all unique and have evolved into an Art. Discussion of how Brandeis Graduate Professional Studies has revamped its digital marketing strategy and implemented its marketing efforts over the past year. A quick view of Brandeis GPS's marketing plan, change management methodology and how that transition has effected the division as a whole. Change for the sake of change is not a good approach to digital marketing, however as digital marketers, change managers, and the head advocate for the various programs we market, the Art and skill is to know "How to rock the boat, but not tip the boat over."
Presenters: David Sim, Director of Marketing and Outreach, and Amy Christian, Associate Executive Director, Associate Director of Administration and Finance, Brandeis University
Organizing for Agility: The Changing Structure of Distance Education Units
As a university’s distance education needs grow in both size and sophistication, the question of effective organizational structures is frequently raised. Are we efficient enough? Are we spending too much time in one area and not in other? Are we making the best use of our resources? Have we achieved the right balance between internal infrastructure and outsourcing, between centralization and decentralization? Are we agile enough to take on new programs? These growth challenges often strain existing resources, challenge the level of service to faculty and student, create bottlenecks and, inevitably, result in trade-offs and dilemmas. In 2012, Boston University’s 27-member Office of Distance Education was reorganized from silo’ d groups of instructional designers and student support personnel to more streamlined cross functional teams. This team structure has resulted in an operation focused more on holistic program challenges rather than on individual course problems, and has honed the department’s ability to be more proactive to the needs of both students and faculty. The new structure has increased efficiency, and allowed the department to be more nimble and effective in solving technology challenges. It has also created clear pathways for employee growth and increased innovation. This session will model BU’s new structure, discuss the benefits of increase efficiency, and explore other institutional models and offer suggestions for institutions that face similar challenges.
Presenter: Nancy Coleman, Director of Distance Education, Boston University
Square Peg in a Round Hole: Developing Student Retention Models in Programs Designed for Adult Learners
Surveying the literature has made it clear that the vast majority of student retention models in higher education do not address the unique attendance patterns or characteristics of adult learners. For example, models that measure retention based on clearly defined entering class cohorts of first-time, full-time students, or on completion rates over a traditional 150% of time to completion (typically 4 and 6 year rates) do not work for our students. Similarly, models that focus retention improvement strategies on residential campus based activities or working an on-campus job are not applicable for our students as the vast majority of them have numerous personal commitments outside school such as military service, full-time employment, or children. During this session, administrators from Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies will provide an overview of their work in the area of student retention for adult learners. Participants will gain an understanding of how Northeastern is measuring student progression in its part-time undergraduate and graduate programs and methods for identification of variables that impact the likelihood of student success. Come learn how Northeastern is trying to reshape the round hole of student retention to address the needs of adult learners!
Presenters: Rachael Denison, Director, Enrollment Research, Strategy & Data Management, and Matthew Hendrickson, Associate Director, Strategic Enrollment Research, Northeastern University College of Professional Studies
Critical CE Trends: Demographic, Marketing, Occupational and Technology Shifts
Continuing education units continue to be on the front lines of educational, technological and workforce innovation. In the last decade, many units invested into online infrastructures, staffing and marketing to meet the demands of a global and mobile-enabled workforce. However, in just the last few years, many of our units have been asked to address MOOC trends, generating new revenues, responding to increased competition, realigning our marketing departments, integrating CRM, developing new programs and supporting other initiatives. How can we better prepare ourselves for the next decade? This session will address changing demographics, anticipated technologies, innovative staffing and organizational changes and new approaches to marketing and CRM.
Presenter: Jim Fong, Director, Center for Research and Consulting, UPCEA
Experiential Curriculum: An Online Challenge
Recent shifts in student demographics and increased understanding of the importance of contextual learning experiences have called for more authentic educational experience. As pedagogic models evolve and differentiated models of support and mentoring are implemented, the critical element that must not be lost is the value of authentic context and interaction. Experiential education enables contextual critical thinking, problem solving and interpersonal interactions, all of which are highly valued in the workplace. Northeastern University has a long history of offering cooperative education to its students, providing rich and meaningful experiences that lend to knowledge, awareness, and perspective. NU’s College of Professional Studies, in an effort to mirror the advantages of co-op-based experiential programming offered through its traditional campus has developed a definition for ‘online experiential’, based on cognitive and learning theories. In addition, guidelines for the measurement and assessment of online experiential education have been developed in order to establish standardized evaluation practices and to provide feedback to faculty and course developers. Plans to implement this assessment tool and to evaluate the value of experiential component for each course and/or program are underway and will be discussed, in addition to the following: • Importance of experiential components for courses and programs • Reasoning behind experiential education, specifically in the online arena • Basis for development of definition • Basis for development of rubric and guidelines • Role of instructor vs. course developer • How else to infuse experiential into (online) curricula • Employer networks? Expert advisory boards? • Greater fluidity and connection between the formal curriculum and the experiential co-curriculum – (Bass 2012)
Presenters: Kevin Bell, Executive Director, Online Curriculum Development and Deployment, and Anne Hammer, Director, Online Programs, Northeastern University