This article, posted today on Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,405786,00.html), is a must read for those of you contemplating earning a degree from an online school. As I have blogged about before, diploma mills abound and attract thousands of unsuspecting people. One of my blogs in particular to direct your attention was from last October — Prospective Online Student — Beware!.
Isn’t this a great time of year? Fall is right around the corner which means cooler weather, fall foliage for those of us lucky enough to be in region that has it, schools are back in session, and, of course, college football. I will be heading in just over eleven days to Charlottesville, Virginia to watch my team, the University of Virginia, do battle with the University of Southern California. We are coming off a good year last year but have lost considerable talent at key positions. USC just continues to reload. I hope we can make a game of it. I will stay optimistic.
Along with the onset of all these great things comes the fact that enrollment and registration for Liberty University Distance Learning Program’s fall subterms is underway. I continue to be amazed at our enrollment numbers. We are currently pacing about 45% above where we were same day last year. Based on our current size that is nothing short of a significant increase.
I think a good portion of this increase can be attributed to several new initiatives that we have launched in the past few months including lead scoring, better accountability in our lead flow processes, implementation of programs to enhance our students’ experiences, and better communication protocols among our over 500 deployed adjuncts.
One thing I have tried to convey to the highest levels of the university is this: If the rate of external change exceeds the rate of internal change, your business is on the brink of stagnating or declining. If we are not consistently reengineering ourselves — processes, programs, people — then we will stagnate. If you are in the online space, let me ask you this question: “When was the last time you spent concentrated time with your senior leadership or managers looking at what you could do, enterprise wide, to improve? Your answer will predict where your school is heading.
Liberty University Online Academy is continuing to see increased interest among prospective students and solid enrollment numbers. We are currently offering start dates monthly so convenience is a consideration. I anticipate we will continue to see enrollments at a steady pace throughout the year, although if our historical data plays out to be accurate, August and January will be a largest enrollment months.
Another major benefit to our online academy is the fact that the curriculum and academic calendars can be customized to suit the needs of the individual student. And this really goes to the heart of a major problem facing the U.S. public school system — curricula is monolithic and stardardized. It doesn’t accomodate the different learning styles of the individual student. In fact, I have found that learners, at times, become very unmotivated in this scenario. Now don’t get me wrong, there is still good to be found in our educational system. My four children received their education in a public school setting and I have a son, a daughter, and a daughter-in-law who are teachers. My wife and I were satisfied with the education our children received, but we were assertive with them to make the most out of their experiences.
I have heard it summarized this way – in the 1800s teachers in a one-room schoolhouse would have no problem customizing their approach to each student. But at the turn of the 19th century, as schools filled up with 30 or 40 kids in a room, standardization became the norm. Schools turned into factories and ever since have resisted all efforts to break from a monolithic batch-process approach.
This is why I feel that computer-based learning, especially for high school students, will become more accepted and prevalent in the next decade. This attached chart reflects my assumptions.
These online curricula will include a full range of offerings from AP courses, to supplemental curriculum, to full fledged programs like Liberty University Online Academy. If our educational system is to meet the growing global demands, we must implement a student-centric model which can be best accomplished through innovative online learning.
This time of year generally fosters the thought of young people either heading off to college for the first time or returning to school. In fact, I have been through four college freshman “move in days” so I know firsthand that August is synomous with dog days, start of college football, and move in days. Tomorrow, my wife and I will be taking our youngest, Scott, back to James Madison University for his second year so here I go again.
Most online schools, although generally having multiple start dates throughout the year, show an enrollment increase of some degree during this season. It’s just a natural result of people thinking that August is when colleges begin their academic year. So – if you haven’t followed through yet on your resolutions to return to school and finish your degree, why not start now and begin by taking that first step? Here are some basic guidelines that I share with prospective students:
1. Start with the basics — Why don’t you begin with something that is attainable like filling out an application or two, getting your previous transcripts evaluated, or filling out financial aid paperwork?
2. Give yourself a reward — Set specific milestones and, if you hit them, plan to give yourself some type of reward.
3. Let others know — Accountability is key!
4. Don’t give up — Set a plan and even if you stumble along the way don’t ever give up.
5. Enjoy the journey — What you are embarking on will make you better. Along the way, don’t forget to smile, have some fun, and enjoy what you are learning.
A colleague of mine emailed me an article this morning entitled “Taking the ‘A’ out of Asynchronous.” I thought this excerpt in particular was relevant as it relates to my post yesterday.
7/1/2008
By Matt Villano
As mainstream collaboration modes evolve, the way schools are tackling online information sharing is changing, and it’s changing fast.
The good news is, that time has arrived: As mainstream technology has advanced and the cost of web conferencing has dropped, a growing number of institutions are finding creative ways to achieve synchronous collaboration. What’s more, the innovations are infinite, and have uses even beyond eLearning or blended learning in real time. At institutions such as Ivy Tech Community College (IN) and the University of Houston, these tools are revolutionizing traditional faculty office hours; at The University of Georgia and a school in the California State University system, they’re allowing students to redefine teamwork in virtual space. Elsewhere, synchronous collaboration technology is enabling IT workers at Rice University (TX) to build programs together. And at Arizona State University, a campuswide rollout has boosted collaboration across the board. Read the rest of this entry »