Five Minutes with ACHE

The Board of Directors met in Albuquerque mid-April and conducted work on behalf of the Association.  A couple of interesting items were:

• The Board voted to work with a UK company, WebsEdge, to film the 2010 conference to help market the 2011 conference.  “ACHE TV” production staff by WebsEdge will be at the conference doing short Q & A with attendees, asking about the personal and professional benefits of the conference to their professional development.  This should be fun and provide a new model of marketing for ACHE – a very exciting venture!        
• The Board approved a move to explore webinars as a means to meeting ACHE membership’s professional development needs in addition to the regional meetings and annual conference and meeting.  More to come on this later at the Business Lunch in Albuquerque. 

Speaking of webinars – as you might recall ACHE partnered with Park University and received one of the ACE/Walmart Success for Veterans grants.  As a part of the grant, ACHE will be offering a lunch-time webinar on June 25th entitled Understanding and Anticipating the Needs of Transitioning Servicemembers presented by Dr. Kathy Snead, president of the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges Consortium (SOC).  Details for the webinar will be posted on the ACHE Home page soon, but please mark the date on your calendar.   

Registration is now open for the ACHE 2010 conference in Albuquerque.  Visit the conference site for details.  Also coming soon, this month’s New Mexico Monthly will be focusing on  historic churches New Mexico! 

Finally, I hope that you have been reading the emails and website information on our ACHE national office candidates.  Please be certain to cast your vote on May 15th for the open positions on the Board and for the Vice President.  The candidates are highly qualified, and I thank them for their willingness to run for an ACHE office.    
 
Adios for now,

Rox

Roxanne Gonzales
ACHE President, 2010

Whether you are going to look on as this ritual commences with envy or the knowledge that you are about to become one of those preparing to take a break yourself, we hope that you will take just a few moments this month to engage as an ACHE member. May means voting for ACHE vice president and the board of directors, and voting will take place May 15-31. For those of you who may not realize, our board of directors and executive committee are deeply engaged in the work and direction of our association. In other words, your vote matters with regard to the direction in which this assocation moves. We've been sending out emails with candidate profiles over the last week and will continue to do so as the election nears. Right before election day, we will send you an email with voting instructions, a link to the ballot, and your ACHE Community log-in information so you'll have everything you need to log in and vote. A link to the ballot will also appear on the homepage of our website.

There are other great things happening with our assocation this summer. Once in particular is a very exciting opportunity made possible by a Success for Veterans Grant from the American Council on Education (ACE) in conjunction with Walmart. ACHE and Park University are partnering on a webinar designed to inform continuing educators who work with veterans on best practices in the field and recent federal policy changes that will affect how that work is accomplished. The webinar will be held on June 25th; more information and registration materials will be sent out over the next few weeks. We'll also be continuing work on the 2010 ACHE Conference and Meeting and will be letting you know of that progress through emails and our website. And just a reminder: registration for the conference is currently open.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to let us know

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

Name: Eric Cunningham
Title: Associate Dean
Organization: Columbia College
Region: Great Plains
Candidate For: Board of Directors; Director-at-Large

Profile: I am a second career continuing educator having spent more than twenty years as an Army officer in a variety of assignments. Two of those assignments were on university campuses in the ROTC departments at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and the University of Missouri (MU). At MU I served as the Professor of Military Science and the Chair of the department. After retiring from the Army I joined the staff at Columbia College (MO) in what is now the Division of Adult Higher Education (formerly the Extended Studies Division). Our division manages an extended campus network, a large evening program on the main campus and a very robust online campus. During my 14 years with the college the extended campus has grown from 22 to 34 campuses and the online campus was conceived. Our division has a very close relationship with the military services. Seventeen of our campuses are on military installations.

I have been a member of ACHE since 2002 and have served the Great Plains Region in every leadership capacity. During my years in regional leadership positions, the regional conferences grew in attendance three-fold and the quality of the programming was significantly enhanced. Above the regional level, I continue to serve on the Committee on Inclusiveness. The friendships I have made among ACHE colleagues are among my most cherished aspects of my higher education career. I regularly call on my ACHE colleagues, and they on me, for a variety of professional reasons.

My goals for ACHE include: 1) Increasing our membership in the face of hard fiscal times in higher education; 2) Outreach to underrepresented groups and to areas of the country and specific institutions who have no ACHE affiliation; 3) Outreach to younger continuing education professionals.

I have had the privilege of serving ACHE in the following capacities:
ACHE Great Plains Region (formerly Region 8)

• Immediate Past Chair, 2008-2010
• Chair, 2006-2008
• Chair-elect, 2004-2006
• Secretary, 2003-2004
• Regional Conference Host 2005 & 2006
• Program presenter 2007 & 2010

ACHE National

• Annual meeting planning committee – Madison, WI
• ACHE Leadership Institute participant 2006 & 2007
• Presider at numerous ACHE annual meetings

Name: Francine Fink
Title: Dean, Center for Accelerated & Professional Studies
Organization: Becker College
Region: New England
Candidate For: Board of Directors; Director At Large

Profile: I have been privileged be a member of ACHE since 2003 and have served the New England Region in several leadership capacities: Chair Elect, Chair, Past Chair, Nominating Committee Chair, Treasurer, committee member of professional development programs and Spring Conferences, as well as workshop presenter and participant in panel presentations. On a National level, I served as Treasurer for the Newport National Conference and served on the local planning committee.

I believe that attending a National meeting is as much about my continuous learning as it is about getting involved. Being a session moderator, day chair, hosting regional business meetings, supporting onsite registration and initiating informal discussions continues to provide the rich learning experiences that come with being a servant leader. Throughout my 20 years plus experience working in the field of adult education, I am constantly reminded of the transformational power of education – one student at a time. Each semester, students tell me about how education changes their lives, and I feel privileged to have chosen (or it chose me) a career that continues to make a difference in the lives of so many adults, their families, and communities.

Although there are common threads that will drive strategic goals for ACHE over the next few years, I have listed a few goals for your consideration:

1)  Leveraging government initiatives such as "Accelerating Achievement" or “Achieving the Dream" programs as part of a National Outreach/Marketing Campaign with the expectation of increasing members at both the regional and national levels.
2)  Developing a Leadership/Mentoring program for new and seasoned professionals that can be delivered in multiple formats resulting in a recognized credential through the delivery of an evidence-based research project, white paper, or publication that can be shared multiple stakeholders.
3)  Commission a study to determine retention and graduate rates for adult learners in both public and private institutions of higher education resulting in the development of regional and national benchmarks.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit my profile for your consideration.

Name: Elizabeth Oliver
Title: Assistant Dean
Organization: Bronx Community College
Region: Northeast Metropolitan
Candidate For: Board of Directors; Director-At-Large

Profile: My goals include positioning the association for international recognition through development and execution of a strategic 21st Century organizational plan. The plan would articulate the continuing higher education mission supported by a diverse membership and recognition by a wide range of international educational, political, and social entities. I am committed to diversity, inclusion, and using technology to enhance communications and association services to the widest audience possible. I share the current vision of greater alignment among the regions and look forward to working within that model as ACHE expands its reach. My personal value that informs these endeavors is one of professional/personal service.

Recipient Regional Exemplary Program Award (2005)
Membership Chair (Regional)
Program Committee (Regional)
Vice Chair (Regional)
Chair (Regional)
Membership, Recruitment and Retention Committee (National)
Committee on Inclusiveness (National)

Name: Thomas Fuhr
Title: Director
Organization: SUNY Potsdam
Region: Northeast
Candidate For: Vice-President

Profile: First, let me say that I am very much honored to be nominated for this position.  Since joining ACHE in 1998, I have learned so much and made many close friends by attending both our Region II (Northeast) and our annual conferences. I've also developed a deep appreciation for the significant role each of us play in fulfilling the personal and professional educational goals of adults, their families and the communities in which they reside.

If elected vice-president for ACHE, my primary goals will be twofold.  First, I would like to broaden and expand (nationally and internationally) our membership to ensure that ACHE remains a strong and meaningful association that continues to play a central role for each member as he or she strives to meet the challenges and opportunities of our profession.  Specifically, I would like to build upon current president Dr. Roxanne Gonzales’ initiative to explore greater opportunities for collaboration with CAUCE, our continuing education colleagues across the border in Canada.  In addition, I believe that it will become increasingly important for the continued health of our Association to explore similar collaborative relationships with various other associations that share our passion for adult and continuing education.  My second proposed goal will be to work with the Board, our region and committee chairs, and our members to identify specific strategies that will thrust ACHE into a more active and central role at the state and national levels in the development of meaningful and effective programs and policies that increase access, affordability and degree completion rates for adults.  While we have made so much progress over the last ten years or so in meeting these challenges, there is so much more our Association can and must do. 

I currently serve as the Director of Extended Education with the State University of New York at Potsdam since 1998.  In addition, I teach face-to-face, hybrid and online courses for our graduate Organizational Leadership program.  My prior experiences, also directly in continuing education, were with a multi-campus community college in Maryland (Montgomery College) and a private four-year college in Pennsylvania (Mt. Aloysius).  In addition, during the 1980’s,  I ventured out in the for-profit world working as a Sales and Marketing director for a family-owned land development and construction business in Maryland.  In retrospect, what this particular experience taught me was how to grow and survive in a business environment, and above all, that my life’s calling was to return to the continuing higher education environment. 

ACHE National

• Member, Board of Directors, 2008 – present
• Albuquerque 2010 Conference Program Committee and Day Chair Coordinator
• Charlottesville 2004 Conference Program Planning Committee
• Research Committee, Acting Chairperson (2008- 2009) and current member
• Committee on Inclusiveness, member since 2006
• Presenter and co-presenter at several conferences

ACHE Northeast (formerly Region 2)

• Chairperson, 1998 - 2002

Name: David Grebel
Title: Director of Extended Education
Organization: Texas Christian University
Region: South
Candidate For: Vice President

Profile: I owe much of my development and identity as a continuing educator to my predecessors and friends in ACHE. You helped to shape my understanding of the important role we play, and you provided expertise, guidance, support, and encouragement in facing the opportunities and challenges of our profession. And you’ve taught me one very important lesson - the work that we do matters. We make a difference: we renew people, we reengage our institutions, and we revitalize our communities. We serve as connectors bringing individuals, groups, and organizations together in meaningful ways. We grow and learn. We serve. We give voice to others. ACHE continues to be an organization that makes a difference even as it faces the challenges of shifting membership numbers, geographic concentration of membership, growing specialization within the profession, and tighter financial realities. Its vitality is expressed in the strengths of ACHE – its strong informal networks and meaningful relationships, the breadth of its members’ expertise and experience, and its ability to remain close to its constituents. Perhaps our greatest challenges continue to be how we express the importance of our work within our institutions and how we can expand the network that supports and encourages our members in their work. Our ACHE membership represents an outstanding group of complex and diverse practitioners even as our shared mission is straight-forward – to advocate for lifelong learning and the individuals and institutions who champion adult learners. We have a solid foundation and members deeply committed to that mission.

To support our mission and to build on the work of our members, as Vice President I would like to: 1) investigate new professional development paths for emerging professionals; 2) continue to develop strategic partnerships with other lifelong and adult learning organizations; 3) increase the opportunities for participation, leadership and voice; 4) further strengthen the connections between us through robust communication including further use of social media. These steps will continue to enhance our role as the inclusive network for lifelong learning professionals.

Just as past and present ACHE members have supported and guided me, I would like to provide leadership, support, and guidance to current and future members of ACHE. I am thankful for the opportunity to have served ACHE in the following ways:

Member, Board of Directors, 2007 – present
Program Chair, 2007 Annual Meeting in Roanoke, Virginia
Member, ACHE Program Committee

• 2010 Annual Meeting Finance Director
• 2009 Annual Meeting Finance Director
• 2006 Annual Meeting Day Chair

ACHE South (formerly Region 7)

• Chair, 2005-2006
• Executive committee, 2003-2007
• Chair-elect, 2004-2005
• Secretary, 2003-2004
• Chair, Local Arrangements Committee, 2006
• Chair, Program Committee, 2005
• Chair, Awards Committee, 1999

Presenter at numerous ACHE annual and regional meetings

Name: Clare Roby
Title: Associate Dean
Organization: California State University, Chico
Region: West
Candidate For: Vice President

Profile: I am honored to have been nominated for Vice President. From my first annual meeting in 1999 to joining the Board in 2008, I have found ACHE to be a valuable resource for new ideas, helpful strategies, and supportive colleagues. I served at the regional level as Treasurer, Chair-Elect, and Chair for Region 9. I have served as Regional Conference Co-Chair and Program Co-Chair as we invigorated the West’s regional activities. I presented “Sustainability and Continuing Education: Doing Well While Doing Good” at the annual meeting in 2006. I am committed to promoting sustainable business practices in continuing education operations and programs, so the chance to share that passion with my ACHE colleagues was particularly meaningful. Currently, I’m serving as Director-at-Large for the ACHE Board and Secretary for the West Region.

My goals for the Association include building on the priorities of our current leadership to position ACHE to help our members meet the challenges faced by continuing higher education: shifting markets, rapidly evolving technology, funding challenges, barriers to access, changing economic conditions, and daunting political climates, to name a few. As the network of leaders for lifelong learning, ACHE is uniquely positioned to help its members garner the resources and knowledge that are necessary for continuing higher education to thrive, not just survive. To that end, my goals for ACHE also include building appropriate, value-add partnerships; strengthening outreach to grow and diversify our membership; continuing the path of effective stewardship of our resources; and fostering the professional development of the next generation of continuing higher education leaders.

I am committed to serving the Association with energy, a passion for lifelong learning, and humble appreciation for the opportunity to be part of ACHE.

JCHE strives to support continuing higher education by serving as a forum for the reporting and exchange of information based on research, observations, and the experience relevant to the field. Issues are published in the winter, spring, and fall. JCHE is published by Routledge.

Manuscript submission guidelines are available online at or through ACHE’s website.

Potential authors should feel free to consult with JCHE editor James Broomall, University of Delaware. He can be reached at jbroom@udel.edu or (302) 831-2795.

Please share this announcement with colleagues and graduate students who may be interested in submitting manuscripts to JCHE. The Journal has published outstanding graduate student work in the past.

The Research Committee urges ACHE members to assist the Committee in contacting current doctoral students and their submission of a grant application. (Please note: members of the Research Committee, national officers and Board members are not eligible to apply for a grant.)

For further information and questions, please contact Dr. Amber Dailey-Hebert, Acting Research Committee Chair at adailey@park.edu or by phone 816-584-6339.

MidAtlantic Christopher Quinn, Chair-Elect & Program Chair Holy Family University Cquinn1@holyfamily.edu Susan Fouts, Secretary Western Carolina University sfouts@email.wcu.edu Renee Cook, Assistant Program Chair Appalachian State University cookdr@appstate.edu William Flora, State Representative for the District of Columbia Radford University wfflora@radford.edu Esther S. Powell, State Representative forNorth Carolina Winston-Salem State University powelles@wssu.edu Jacqueline Martin, State Representative for Pennsylvania Neumann University martinj@neumann.edu Nicole Oechslin, State Representative for West Virginia Mary Baldwin College noechsli@mbc.edu

Great Plains Charlee Lanis, Chair East Central University clanis@ecok.edu Tim McElroy, Chair Elect Northeastern State University mcelroyt@nsuok.edu Paula Hogard, Past Chair The University of Tulsa paula-hogard@utulsa.edu Pam Hockett-Lewis, Secretary University of Oklahoma plewis@ou.edu Marthann Schulte, Treasurer Park University mschulte@park.edu

Great Lakes George Rogers, Chair Baldwin Wallace College gerogers@bw.edu Patti McCanna, Secretary/Treasurer pmccanna@Northpark.edu Pamela Collins, Immediate Past Chair Eastern Illinois University pjcollins@eiu.edu

West Terry Ratcliff, Chair Whitworth University tratcliff@whitworth.edu Gailynn Valdes, Immediate Past Chair Arizona State University Online and Extended Email: gailynn.valdes@asu.edu Clare Roby, Secretary California State University, Chico croby@csuchico.edu

ACHE president Roxanne Gonzales addressed the membership during lunch, urging all to vote for candidates for the ACHE board of directors.  ACHE New England’s own Francine Fink, past chair, was introduced as a candidate.

Our keynote speaker was Kamelia Valkova, Research Analyst with Eduventures, who described current trends in recruiting and retention.
The day was capped off by a presentation called "Trust in the Lives of Older Women®: Starting a Support Group for College Alumna"
by Dr. Ron Hossfess of Elmira College. 

Special thanks to all who presented and attended!

But while retention in online learning is poor in some sectors and for some schools, it is absolutely stellar in others. In fact, if approached with good process, there is a way to make retention in online learning far superior to traditional face-to-face learning. So the fact that the industry average is indeed poor suggests this might not be as much of a myth as it is an industry that has not availed itself of well established best practices for retaining students. Before we explain the difference between good and bad retention, we should discuss why it matters in the first place. There are several reasons.

• First, schools are increasingly being judged on their graduation rates by accreditation agencies, government, school ranking systems, and scholars themselves. Accreditation and government agencies view graduation rates as evidence that we are fulfilling our basic mission, the accountability for which will continue to increase. Graduation rates are a component of numerous ranking systems, and even if rankings are unpopular with academicians, tens of millions of hits a year on rankings web pages prove that students use them to make decisions. We all grumble about it, but we also continue to try to climb the ladder.
• Second, there is the cost. It is very expensive to enroll a student. Depending on the market and the school, it can range from $800 to well over $5000 to get a student to enroll. If they stay one semester - or even worse gain admission and drop at the start of their first course with a full or partial refund - we just lost a lot of money. Even greater are the costs of the student’s investment, societal loss of an educated citizen and worker, and likely negative testimonials about online learning. High retention is the difference between an online program providing marginal resources (or even losing money, as many do) and earning millions for the university, the student, and society.
• Third, students need to graduate as a matter of personal growth and as a matter of national competitiveness. This is increasingly becoming a matter of national economic and education policy.

So what is acceptable? With a well executed, proactive, and personalized retention plan, course retention rates can consistently exceed 90%. As stated, achieving that requires a plan and a good execution of that plan. The plan requires a holistic understanding of the science behind retention as well as an appreciation for and willingness to practice the art of getting students to persist term over term. Retention planning is a complex elixir whose main ingredients include recruitment of qualified students, proactive approach to student preparedness, orientation programs, reducing friction in student services, faculty preparedness and effectiveness, good online instructional course design, an appreciation for the complex lives that online students live, a method to immediately intervene when students struggle or disappear, and retention specialists with just the right coaching skills, personality, and work ethic. It is not easy, but it is achievable. It is based in the concept of customer service, it requires regular proactive action on an individual level, and it requires a level of personal interaction with students that is rarely achieved in face-to-face education. We find that it isn’t the academics that overwhelm students and cause them to fail or withdraw; it is isolation, life, and logistics—textbooks that don’t arrive, the birth of baby, job promotion, husband with cancer, financial aid officers that don’t return calls, technology interruptions, etc.

So why don’t institutions figure out the formula on their own? Most times it is a budget issue; other times it is just a lack of knowledge of the best practices behind online student retention. Too often we think that retention will occur because we have some automated contact service in place. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a science that requires personalized attention. Regarding budgets, investing in retention takes money, time, and effort. Most organizations still rely on faculty to retain students, primarily because it seems that faculty provide the service for free. That reflects well on our budget, but this is not what faculty are trained for, especially if they are adjunct, and it distracts them from good teaching and student learning. The resource issue pervades the industry, and many institutions are unable to practice or even find out what best practices are. That is why decoupling and outsourcing this part of the services supply chain makes sense for organizations, allowing professionals to perform – and finance – those parts of the process. Those who have figured it out have become very, very successful. And so have their students.

Compass Knowledge Group engages over 7500 students every academic term on behalf of our prominent and highly ranked academic institutions. Our best practices have successfully dispelled the myth of poor retention in online learning. On average, the programs we support have course retention rates consistently above 90-95%. But the gains to these successful institutions, and their successful students, are far greater than that. It is an issue of fulfilling our educational mission and changing lives, one student at a time. After all, that is what education is all about, and online education should be no less.

Allen, IE., & Seaman, J., (2010) Learning On Demand : Online Education in the United States, 2009, Babson Survey Research Group and The Sloan Consortium.

Ali, R., &Leeds, E., (2009) The Impact of Face-to-Face Orientation on Online Retention: A Pilot Study Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume XII, Winter 2009

Angelino, L. M., Williams, F. K., & Natvig, D. (2007). Strategies to engage online students and reduce attrition rates. The Journal of Educators Online, 4 (2),1-14.

Betts, K., (2008) Online Human Touch Instruction and Programming, Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4 (3).

Dagger, D. & Wade, V. P. (2004) Evaluation of adaptive course construction toolkit (ACCT).

Diaz, D. P. (2002). Online drop rates revisited. The Technology Source.

Flood, J. (2002) Read all about it: online learning facing 80% attrition rates, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 3 (2).

Martinez, M. (2003). High attrition rates in e-learning: challenges, predictors, and solutions. The eLearning Developers’ Journal.

Tinto, V. (2006). Research and practice of student retention: What next? Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 8(1), 1-20.

Yukseltruk, E., & Inan, F. A. (2006). Examining the factors affecting student dropout in an online learning environment. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report (ERIC No. ED 494 345)

Given demographic trends and attainment rates among young adults, it is highly unlikely that the nation can meet its growing need for college-educated workers by continuing to focus primarily on recent high school graduates. All states need to increase the postsecondary participation and success of adults, many of whom have some college credits but lack a degree.

The current economic downturn is already funneling hundreds of thousands of over-25 Americans into postsecondary education -- and that trend is sure to intensify as the global, knowledge-based economy demands workers with ever-higher levels of education and training. Overall, this adult-learning boom is a positive trend, and one that holds tremendous promise for individual Americans and the nation as a whole. It is a trend we must embrace if we hope to return the U.S. to a position of global leadership in college degree attainment. We must increase the number of degree-seeking adults, and we must do everything possible to ensure their success.

Through the Adult Degree Completion program, Lumina Foundation plans to provide grants of up to $8 million during the next four years to support large-scale efforts to increase degree completion among adults with some college credits.

I urge you to consider this important grant opportunity.

Best regards,
Jamie P. Merisotis
President and CEO

This symposium is designed to bring together individuals interested in the technological aspects of online learning.  The symposium tracks focus on the technologies that drive online learning, highlighting research, applications and best practices of important emerging technological tools. Experts, intermediate users and novices are welcome to participate in symposium activities that will include face-to-face and virtual components.   

Online registration, proposal submission, and additional information is available here.

In addition to regular session proposals, Sloan-C is also seeking innovative proposals for 2 exciting new presentation formats at this conference:

Great Ideas presentations will highlight effective practices in short fast-paced presentations limited to 15 minutes and 5 slides.  Four “Great Ideas” will be presented in one session that will be part of our live and virtual (streamed and archived) conference.  We are looking for truly outstanding ideas at any level (pedagogy, support services, institutional leadership) which address any of the Sloan-C pillars- access, faculty, satisfaction, student satisfaction, and institutional commitment.  Great Ideas presentations should focus on one specific practice that can be generalized to other situations. Great Ideas are shorter and more focused on one effective practice than traditional conference proposals.  
Virtual posters – If you cannot travel to Orlando this year, why not submit a virtual poster to share your work.  Virtual posters will be posted online and will allow for you to interact around your work with conference attendees in a variety of modes.

Deadline for submission of proposals has been extended through June 7, 2010.  Submit proposals online at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/2010aln/call_for_papers

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