Five Minutes with ACHE

IMPORTANT INFORMATION and OTHER TIDBITS:

• On August 6, 2010, the Federal Register posted the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for open comment.  This MOU, as described in the Federal register, is intended for ALL “institutions receiving tuition assistance payments; and procedures for other education programs for Service members and their adult family members.”  If your institution has any military member receiving any tuition assistance for his or her education, it is highly recommended that you review the MOU, currently available on the Federal Register. Comments are open until October 5, 2010 .

• ACHE congratulates the University Professional and Continuing Education Association’s (UPCEA) new Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Robert J. Hansen, on his selection for this important position.  Dr. Hansen and I spoke on the phone and discussed the current state of continuing higher education and the challenges we all face.  Dr. Hansen brings a wealth of experience to the position.

• One of our own, Dr. Scott E. Evenbeck, has been named to the position of president of The City University of New York’s New Community College.  Scott is a past president of ACHE and has continued to serve ACHE and continuing education students in many capacities.   CONGRATULATIONS Scott!  We are excited for you as you embark on a great adventure as the founding president of a new college.

• The ACHE 2010 Conference in Albuquerque is drawing near.  Perhaps I can pique your interest with a few highlights:
  • Our Keynote Speakers will touch on topics that are at the forefront of our current work environments:  for-profits, how to take advantage of opportunities even in tough economic times, and how to lead continuing education in new environments.
  • Our Symposium on "Moving Forward with the National Agenda" on Saturday, October 23rd, will include a panel of continuing education organization leaders from the United States and Canada. The Symposium will focus on future trends in continuing education and serving adult learners to meet the new national agenda where working adults must continuously improve their skills to advance and remain competitive in the workplace. 
  • The Early Bird Registration date of September 7 is quickly approaching!
  • The Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town reservation group rate deadline is September 27 and rooms are filling up quickly. The group rate for this year is $159 per night. Make your reservations today!
  • And for those planning to extend your stay in the Land of Enchantment over the weekend, we have special rates available at the three Heritage Hotels and Resorts properties in Santa Fe.   The group code to access the rate for each of the three Santa Fe properties is “ACHE.”
    • The Lodge at Santa Fe $129
    • Hotel Plaza Real  $159
    • Hotel St Francis $179

As we head into the new academic year, I encourage you to remember your own professional development.  We should professionally nourish and enrich ourselves so that we can assist others in their own academic and career pursuits.

May your enrollments be high this year and may your programs grow!

rox 

Roxanne Gonzales
ACHE President, 2010

Yet, ACHE finished 2009 on a positive note. The 2009 Annual Conference made a profit of just under $30,000 and the association as a whole finished the year in the black by approximately $25,000. Our institutional member roster listed 202 schools with a total overall membership of 1360.

As we come up on our 2010 Annual Conference, the executive committee of ACHE would like to provide a quick overview of the state of ACHE to date.

• We're about where we were this time last year with regard to institutional member schools; there are currently 200 listed in our database
• Our overall membership is up to approximately 1400 members
• Registration for our Albuquerque conference is strong, as is participation and interest in our exhibitor and sponsor program
• You can track the progress of the association by viewing the minutes of the midyear board meeting and executive committee calls on the ACHE Community. Once you're logged in, select Document Library.

A proposed budget for 2011 and the view of the membership at the close of September will be available to all attendees at this year's Annual Luncheon & Business Meeting in Albuquerque, to be held from 12:15-2:00 p.m. on Friday, October 22.

Overall, ACHE is weathering these tough economic times well. But the strength of our organization is based on you, our membership, and your participation. We hope to see you at our 2010 conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And we hope you'll bring a friend, either to Albuquerque or to your local regional meeting in 2011. The more you get involved, the stronger we'll be.

President Roxanne Gonzales is very interested to hear about success stories in continuing education, things that your units are doing to change the lives of adult students. In addition, we are always looking for articles on the following topics:

• Experiences in marketing a continuing education program
• A profile of a unique continuing education program at your institution
• Experiences as a professor in adult continuing education
• Article or book reviews

Proposed Amendment of Constitution and Bylaws, Article III; Section 6: (page 6)

Amend by striking out current wording and inserting new wording.

Current wording: "The Executive Vice President will submit the books of the Association to a certified public accountant for auditing at least annually."

Proposed amendment: Strike out existing Article III; Section 6 and replace with sentences below. If adopted will read:

"To monitor appropriate utilization of association funds, the Executive Vice President will request Agreed Upon Procedures at least annually in accordance with AICPA Standards appropriate to the size and scope of ACHE . The board of directors may elect to request a full certified audit as needed."

Rationale: To conserve association funds, this move would allow testing of specific financial transactions to determine that the funds of the association are being utilized appropriately, while also giving the board of directors the authority to specifically request a full certified audit at any time.

UK’s dentists went back to the literature on pre-term births and found references to possible connections between infection in expectant mothers’ mouths and pre-term birth. With that in mind and with the concurrence and active partnership of Trover and Hopkins County, they began working with pregnant women, cleaning their teeth, and eliminating persistent oral infection. Average costs were about $100 per woman.

After close to 400 babies had been born to women in the study, clear outcomes emerged. The low-cost dental interventions cut pre-term birth rates to approximately one-third of their former levels. They were now well below the national average; costs to the families and the community were significantly reduced; and the babies’ lifetime health expectations improved markedly.

With their data and methodology reviewed, the dental cleanings and anti-infection efforts became Medicaid reimbursable for pregnant women, making the program financially sustainable nationwide. Steps are now being undertaken to use the same methodology at additional rural Kentucky sites. With success, this could become a national model for rural areas without Ob/Gyns.

Clearly, this was a success story in many areas. Children were born healthier. Their families or Medicaid avoided the high costs of pre-term births. A successful new practice methodology was established. Trover Clinic, Hopkins County Health Department, and the surrounding area benefited from and recognized UK’s value in their lives. UK Dentistry advanced dental and medical knowledge and increased the range of dental practice. Since UK Dentistry students were involved in the study, they learned more and came to see the potential for their own future involvement as practicing dentists in community-based dental research. Financially, the research undertaken by UK Dentistry and its community partners brought in significant federal funding, which is expected to grow as additional sites are added. This funding also makes possible hiring of additional researchers and creates possibilities for additional community-based research addressing community needs. UK Dentistry and its researchers gained prestige for their readiness to engage and their resulting success.

From the university’s point of view, this story is one of many examples underscoring UK’s importance and value to the health, economic well-being, and quality of life of Kentuckians. UK’s president, with good reason, mentions it frequently, stressing the criticality of a community-engaged research university working to improve the quality of life for Kentuckians.

Perhaps you’re saying now, “But my school isn’t a research institution. This doesn’t relate to me.” Actually, it does. This is an example from a research institution, but it works equally well for comprehensive universities, liberal arts schools, and community and technical colleges.

For your institution, it may not be research advancing scientific research in an academic discipline. It may be applying knowledge to community benefit or using the convening power of educational institutions to address some community problem with those impacted by it, whether the need be water supply in Georgia or emergency planning and preparedness in Texas.

Your institution may not turn every engagement activity into a scientific experiment. It need only remain open to working with communities to address their needs. In education, it might mean faculty and postsecondary students working to improve outcomes at a failing K-12 school or faculty members serving as judges or moderators for science fairs or academic competitions. It might mean making available college-level courses for high school students whose academic achievement goes beyond the level of offerings available at their home school. It could be working with K-12 schools to align curricula to maximize success of students going through the elementary, secondary, postsecondary academic pipeline en route to careers. It could mean making courses or degree programs in an area of community need available at times and places that maximize enrollment. Similar examples exist for health, economic development, the environment and natural resources, and culture and community quality of life.

All it takes is readiness to extend your school’s expertise to address a community need or opportunity. Doing so advances your community, builds community support, and enhances your school’s reputation and centrality to the community. You and your institution become strategic community assets.

Join NC State in Raleigh for the 11th annual meeting as we explore how universities "Sustain Authentic Engagement."

Visit the 2010 NOSC Website for more information.

The 2010 National Outreach Scholarship Conference will explore authenticity and sustainability as critical components of engaged scholarship. The important questions of what, where, who, how, and why will be the foci of the Conference reflected in five sections: Program, Place, People, Process, and Philosophy. These focus areas invite a diversity of perspectives and experiences reflecting the academy's authentic and sustained commitment to engaged discovery, learning, application, and integration.

Sponsored by the National Outreach Scholarship Conference partner universities. View a complete list of partner institutions.

To be added to the mailing list for this conference, please email ContinuingEducation@ncsu.edu