Accreditation in an Era of Open Resources

By John C. Cavanaugh

Higher education is facing the very situation that confronted our colleagues in the P-12 world when home schooling threatened the world order. Initially considered a fringe activity of substandard quality, the sector figured out that if appropriate standards (i.e., learning outcomes) were agreed upon and stated clearly, it didn’t really matter what path students took to get to the knowledge destination.

Higher education needs to take a lesson from that experience and work much harder on specifying our analog of the Common Core State Standards. The tools are there, and have been there for a very, very long time. It just has not been in our self-interest to develop and agree on them. But we’d better, and we’d better do it now. Otherwise, it will be done to us.

Continued at: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/12/14/cavanaugh-essay-how-accreditation-must-change-era-open-resources

2011 Student Retention Practices Report

From Noel Levitz

Download this popular report which rates the effectiveness of 53 student retention practices, based on a national electronic poll of two-year and four-year colleges, public and private. Ratings are included in the report for familiar and emerging retention interventions, the types of students targeted for interventions, and current practices for evaluating and planning retention strategies.

Continued at: https://www.noellevitz.com/papers-research-higher-education/2011/2011-student-retention-practices-report

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2011 Marketing and Student Recruitment Practices Report

From Noel Levitz

Download this popular report which rates the effectiveness of 78 marketing and student recruitment practices, based on a national electronic poll of two-year and four-year colleges, public and private. Ratings are included for common and less-widely-used strategies and tactics, including print/mailing practices, e-communications and Web practices, event marketing, and more. Also included are special sections on search practices, written contacts, and planning and leadership practices.

Continued at: http://noellevitz.com/papers-research-higher-education/2011/2011-marketing-and-student-recruitment-practices-report

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