Five Minutes with ACHE

• Officers, regional chairs, and committee members who enthusiastically served ACHE and our field – with newly elected folks who stand ready to go
• Successful webinars offered to our membership
• A new Strategic Plan (your input requested!) that is rich with strategies for both our present and future. It's ready for your review and then Board approval in October
• A joint venture for ACHE with UPCEA, the Summit on the Future of Online Learning, held in Chicago, September 15-16, 2011
• New and strengthened relationships, conference engagement, and ongoing dialogue with colleagues from associations like CAP, AAACE and our Canadian friends in CAUCE
• Involvement and inclusion in representing our field of adult higher education at the national level 
• A new initiative led by our Council of Past Presidents, described in the Strategic Plan
• A revitalized strategy for conference development and delivery with our home office leadership
• Active participation of our Officers in regional meetings and presentations across the country
• An active Journal of Continuing Higher Education, expertly led by Dr. James K. Broomall as Editor
• A solid fiscal year, with a budget keenly managed by our home office
• And… coming soon… our international conference with the theme Sustainable Leadership:  Bold Thinking about Who We Are!

So here we are – the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Continuing Higher Education will take place in less than a month.  The program offers exceptional opportunities to be infused with ideas and strategies for shaping and sustaining ourselves in today’s world.  As you will soon experience, the 2011 Program Committee has worked on a program designed to challenge your thinking, energize your creativity, and strengthen your leadership. Check out the sessions!  Our keynote speakers, Dennis Snow, Kristen Betts and Jim Wexler are not to miss.  While preparing their own presentations, they have also worked together with extraordinary synergy. 

Their thoughtful preparation, made with ACHE in mind, promises timely information for our sustainability.  No matter what your role or type of program, they will arm us with strategies, data, and technology to inform and prepare us as innovative leaders.  Each has created something special just for for us – please take a look when you have a moment!  Click on their names for their personal links... much food for thought.

While at the conference, please visit our exceptional Exhibitors and Sponsors!  When you stop by their booths or see them in sessions, please extend a warm welcome and thanks – they offer critical support services and make so much of what we do possible. 

The conference will close with our annual Symposium of Association Presidents discussing future trends in continuing higher education, and in light of the overall meeting content, they may perhaps just entice us to go boldly where we’ve not yet been.  Your voice will be encouraged and most welcome, and the panelists will surely challenge us to meet our agenda of increasing complexity and challenge.

As many of you know, ACHE is often a family affair for me with Tom, my husband, and Adelyn, our most perfectly wonderful 7 year-old.   I am grateful for your ACHE hospitality as we embarked on this journey together as a family.  “Five minutes” would not nearly be enough time to express my gratitude for Tom and Addy – my real sustenance. 

My professional “home team” at Neumann University played a significant role, too. This team includes Jil Donnelly, Debbie Knoblauch, Dr. Sam Lemon, Jackie Martin, Janet Schramm, Nancy Tracy, Beth Mullen, and countless others who kept NU moving forward and helped me in unimaginable ways.  I also wish to recognize Dr. Gerry O’Sullivan, our Vice President for Academic Affairs, who tirelessly extends to me his time, support and guidance – and made this year possible.  Thank you!

With my year as ACHE president coming to an end, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate and welcome incoming ACHE President Charles Hickox, who will take over as president at our upcoming Orlando meeting. Look for his first editorial in the November issue of Five Minutes with ACHE.  Lead with great joy, Charles, and savor every moment – it goes by quickly! 

See you in Orlando. 

Peace,
Tish

Betts, K., Hartman, K., & Oxholm, C. (2010). Re-examining & repositioning higher education: 20 economic and demographic factors driving online and blended program enrollments. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks 9(1). The Sloan Consortium. ISSN: 1541-2806. http://rmcp.dcollege.net/playlists/18337/213945.pdf

Betts, K., & Lynch, W. (2010). Online education: Meeting educational and workforce needs through flexible and quality degree programs. iJournal 24(72).  California Community Colleges. http://www.ijournalccc.com/articles/node/72

Betts, K., & Lanza-Gladney, M. (2010). Academic advising: Ten strategies to increase student engagement and retention by personalizing the online education experience through online human touch, Academic Advising Today, 31(1). National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/AAT/documents/33-1.pdf

Betts, K. S., Urias, D., Betts, K., & Chavez, J. (2009). Higher education and shifting U.S. demographics: Need for visible career paths, professional development, succession planning & commitment to diversity. Academic Leadership On-Line Journal 7(2). ISSN: 1533-7812.http://www.academicleadership.org/emprical_research/623.shtml

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.

This year’s theme is “Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology”. It is clear that we are in the midst of rapid and ongoing changes in the way that we communicate and represent ideas and these changes have profound consequence for how we know, learn, think, and teach in higher education and beyond. The dizzying pace of transformation is seen in emerging means of access, such as mobile and cloud computing, new forms of communication such as video streaming and instant messaging, and innovative modes of participation represented in social media. The 5.5 million college students who currently study online are at the forefront of this rapidly evolving landscape. It is crucial that we understand how to leverage the new media ecology to support student learning.

Our understanding needs to be rooted in solid research that can promote best practices. This year’s conference will create opportunities for learning, networking, and sharing that will make this a reality. Our keynote and plenary speakers each have a unique perspective on the promises and pitfalls of the new media ecology. Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project has vast experience in studying the impacts of the digital age on the citizens of the United States. Lee’s insights on topics ranging from the digital divide, health, safety, gaming, teens, and social networking in the age of the internet will provide breadth in our investigation of the new media ecology for learning. 

Additionally, Cable Green, Director of Global Learning at Creative Commons will help us to focus in depth on the new Open Educational Resources movement which inevitably leads to discussions of the vital topic of the economics of higher education. Cable’s participation also marks the opening of a new track in the 2011 conference dedicated to issues surrounding Open Educational Resources.

Rounding out our lineup of speakers is internet pioneer Howard Rheingold, author of many books including the best sellers Virtual Reality and The Virtual Community, as well as Smart Mobs. Howard is credited with coining the term “virtual community” in his early writings with The WELL (labeled “the world’s most influential online community” by Wired Magazine). Among Howard’s many areas of interest and expertise is the use of new media in educational settings. He will contribute his recent thoughts in a plenary presentation on social media and the new culture of learning.

We eagerly anticipate your participation in this year’s meeting. We believe that the theme and speakers we have identified are timely and essential and we look forward to your contributions. The many forums for participation include both face-to-face and online modes. Our new venue, the award-winning Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin featuring the Mandara Spa, 17 spectacular restaurants and lounges, five pools, a white sand beach and much more promises to be a well-appointed backdrop to the stimulating conversations at this year’s event. With more than 580 proposals this will be the most extensive program to date - the full conference schedule will be available in August. Early bird registration and hotel reservations are now open. Don’t miss the 17th annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning!

For additional information on the conference, visit our website at www.sloanconsortium.org/aln , call (781) 583-7561, or email conference@sloanconsortium.org.