Andrew Rossi’s 2011 documentary, PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES, provided a glimpse into the changes going in newspaper journalism, one of the key institutions of the modern era. In Ivory Tower, his latest documentary that premiered at Sundance this week, Rossi turns his attention to the university. Based on his last effort, it should be interesting and ignite more conversations about the future of higher education. Below, Forbes contributor, Dorothy Pomerantz, interviews Rossi.  Her article can be found here: Is Higher Education Worth It? Documentary Filmmaker Andrew Rossi Investigates.  Other documentaries about higher education that you might want to check out: College Inc.  Declining by Degrees Radio Documentaries (multiple)

Historically, continuing education schools (CE) assumed responsibility for tackling some of the more important tasks facing universities. Online programs were often first tested in continuing education. CE catered to the non-traditional learner long before this group became the norm across higher ed. The financial model of CE forced these schools to be market focussed, well before the budget/tuition crisis hit higher ed proper. Things are not about to get any easier for CE, particularly for those schools that rely in whole or in part on non-credit programming. Alternative education providers - from outside of colleges and universities - are getting their acts together and are likely to capture a growing share of the non-credit education market. Examples include: General Assembly offers both f2f  (London, New York, Toronto) and online courses in the related fields of technology, small business and design. Codecademy provides free programming lessons on Python, JavaScript, PHP and more. Udemy  offers online courses on a number of practical subjects like Excel as well as general interest courses like "Capitalism in Crisis: The global economic crisis explained." Nomadic Learning offers a set of short courses (e.g. 5 hours in duration) on topics such as Critical Thinking and Strategic Thinking. "Maker" culture, which really took off in 2013, promotes the idea that we need to get back to "making stuff" (rather than just consuming or manipulating); it’s the ultimate in learn-by-doing. See here for more on their education dimensions of Maker culture. Alternative providers like these are growing in number. Course quality is improving and learners seem more inclined to accept the legitimacy of non-university learning providers. The days when colleges and universities could use their formidable reputations to reach into the non-credit market unchallenged are over, and the economics of the Internet makes it easier than ever for small companies to compete with the once dominant footprint of higher ed. Let’s be clear, we need these new learning providers. We are living through what appears to be a "jobless" economic recovery and people need a range of options - at different price points - in order to quickly retrain themselves for a rapidly changing job market. A robust and diverse continuing education market is a priority for the 21st century and our government leaders and regulators should be crafting policy to make it happen. In a second post on this subject, I will consider some of the tactics continuing education schools might explore as they adjust to the rise of alternative education providers.

NMC (New Media Consortium), in collaboration with ELI (Educause Learning Initiative) have released the eleventh edition of the Horizon Report, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Here’s some of what they wrote about Learning Analytics: Learning analytics is an educational application of "big data," a science that was originally used by businesses to analyze commercial activities, identify spending trends, and predict consumer behavior. The rise of the Internet drove research into big data and metrics as well as the proliferation of web tracking tools, enabling companies to build vast reserves of information they could study and apply to their marketing campaigns. Education is embarking on a similar pursuit into data science with the aim of improving student retention and providing a high quality, personalized experience for learners. Learning analytics research uses data analysis to inform decisions made on every tier of the educational system. Whereas analysts in business use consumer data to target potential customers and personalize advertising, learning analytics leverages student data to build better pedagogies, target at-risk student populations, and assess whether programs designed to improve retention have been effective and should be sustained outcomes for legislators and administrators that have profound impact. For educators and researchers, learning analytics has been crucial to gaining insights about student interaction with online texts and courseware. Students are beginning to experience the benefits of learning analytics as they engage with mobile and online platforms that track data to create responsive, personalized learning experiences.   This video accompanies the report:

In my first post on continuing education (CE), I argue that institutions that rely in part or in whole on non-credit programming would begin to lose its share of the student population to new educational providers outside of higher education. Emerging alternatives like Udemy, General Assembly, and Codecademy are marketing increasingly sophisticated learning experiences at prices far below university rates. Traditional universities are finding ways to successfully expand the reach and impact of the CE schools. Of course, not all tactics work for all universities, at all times. Strategies and tactics are always context-specific. The six tactics below are particularly relevant to comprehensive and selective institutions. 1. Develop hybrid programs in key disciplines to serve urban professionals. Comprehensive universities in major urban areas are well positioned to offer hybrid programs to urban and suburban professionals. If designed well, hybrid programs combine the best of web-based learning with socially engaging face-to-face learning in convenient locations, which older, elite institutions typically occupy. For adult learners, this model is easier to fit into their daily lives and blends familiar educational formats with the best use of technology. For the institution, hybrid programs make best use of prime real estate and quality instructors. Hybrid programs also expand the school’s capacity for online learning while serving students, who have historically sought out both web-based and lifelong learning. 2. Take the lead for the university on competency-based programs. Adult learners tend to be more pragmatic about their reasons for enrolling. The social dimensions of the university matter less to this group. They want to have a good experience, certainly, but learning is foremost. Their time is precious. For this reason, CE schools are well suited to offer competency-based programs that allow learners to progress at their own pace. To be sure, shifting to a competency-based education model is not easy to do in traditional institutions. But CE schools typically have the necessary independence to try new approaches. CE schools were created, after all, as separate units within the university precisely because the university "proper" could not easily incorporate different business models into the fold. And the obstacles specific to implementing competency-based programs - student loan and registration systems - are less challenging for many CE programs. But most importantly, the competency-based model brings into focus two key drivers of success in the adult education market: recognition of prior learning and convenience. 3. Expand the size of the total market by providing non-traditional learners low-risk opportunities to engage with the institution. The numbers of learners considering "taking a night class" far outnumber those who actually enroll in CE. The CE school can capture a greater share of the market by providing learners with educational opportunities that require less investment and risk (time and money). For example, rather than require enrolling in a four-month course, the CE school can develop multiple entry points for learners in key disciplines. This allows the hesitant learner to dip her toe in the discipline before committing more time and money. The key to this strategy is to ensure that these options are structured and promoted in such a way that each of the student’s engagement with the school leads easily to subsequent engagements. 4. Invest in instructor recruitment and support to maximize one of the school’s key advantages. Instructors represent a major portion of operating costs for CE schools. They are also a key driver of student satisfaction and repeat customers. The CE school, with its affiliation with a selective institution, is well positioned to secure high-quality instructors, who can drive growth. Professionals interested in part-time teaching work typically prefer to be affiliated with prestigious institutions, as it serves their broader social and professional objectives. The CE school can establish a competitive advantage in their markets by taking steps to ensure that their recruitment, support and supervision of instructors is best in class. 5. Partner with nationally-recognized organizations to expand the scope and appeal of new CE offerings. Prestigious universities are in a unique position to develop effective partnerships with other respected organizations and institutions. By offering events, courses and programs with carefully selected partners, CE schools can extend their reach into new subject areas and attract new learners. Ideal partners are those with a nationally-recognized brand, expertise in specific domains, and a desire to establish a presence in major urban markets like New York, Chicago and Toronto. Many well-known cultural, professional and educational institutions are exploring new revenue streams; representative partnerships include the Smithsonian Institute (science), MOMA (art), IDEO (design) and The New York Times (journalism). 6. Implement tools that allow students, faculty and the leadership to measure learning. Adult learners are driven by results. The quality and pace of learning is key to their satisfaction and, thus, to the success of the CE school. One way to increase the value to these students is to provide meaningful and immediate feedback on their learning progress through learning analytics. Data that explains in clear terms what the student knows (knowledge) and can do (skills) will help busy adult students become more effective and efficient learners, and guide them along a more direct path to achieving their educational goals.

Bo Sosnicki teaches general biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Microsoft Office applications and environmental science - all exclusively online - at community colleges and universities across the US. He has served as a faculty mentor for new online instructors and is a consultant to The Saylor Foundation. How did you first get into online teaching?   Around 2002, I was an adjunct at a few community colleges in Virginia, and was asked if I would like to design and offer online general biology courses. Since I had a background in course and lab design, as well as a strong technology background, I accepted. I then began to teach and design biology courses at a number of schools, including Carteret Community College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Southeastern Community College, Coastal Carolina Community College, among others. What are the biggest changes you’ve encountered since you began teaching online? Finding new and innovative ways to communicate with students, faculty and administrators. With the advent of many tools, including e-mail, instant messengers, cell phones, discussion boards, chat rooms and live meeting areas, we can be in touch with each other constantly. I have not used social media, but many faculty and colleges have gone that route as well. The other big change has been the online curriculum. When we first started designing online classes, we basically put our typed lectures and Power Points into the course and let students go at them. Over the years we have added a lot more diverse, creative, and interactive capabilities. What’s been your migration process from textbooks to courseware? This is still evolving. It’s a work in progress. I do think courseware is much easier since the structure is already there and we can modify it. I can spend more time interacting with students. I have seen so many students in the on-campus classrooms, as well as the online environment, make little use of the paper or e-books. While teaching on campus, I asked a student why, after a month into the term, his textbook was still shrink- wrapped. He said he would get more money for it at the end of the term if it stayed that way. What are the biggest differences between textbooks and courseware? Interactivity and the ability to keep the content up-to-date. Web-based courseware like Acrobatiq’s makes the learning more interactive. And now assessments are possible, as well as the ability to track what students are doing. Changes in content do not happen a lot, but in the sciences, they can be drastic at times. If you keep a text for 2-3 years, new studies in climate change or progress in alternative energy sources are significant. Having up-to-date material without having to purchase the next version of the text would be great. After teaching biology online for 12+ years, what have you learned about getting creative with the curriculum and content?  Students all learn differently, so having many avenues to reach them is important. Going through one unit like mitosis, I like pairing written lecture material with short movies and activities, where students have to manipulate the chromosomes to show each stage. And then take quick assessments along the way. I like to do this in my on-campus courses as well. With mitosis and cell reproduction, bringing in the topic of cancer, which affects all of us, helps students see what they are learning means something. I use articles like The Median Isn’t the Message by scientist Stephen Jay Gould to discuss issues that they may have had in their lives. During your career, you’ve served as an online mentor. How do you help instructors teach more effectively online?   As a frontline defense, I fielded questions regarding teaching online, content, etc.  We also set up areas where departmental online faculty could share materials and experiences with each other. I always stress communication with students. Attention spans of the current generation can be short. Or the technology just makes it seem that way. You do have to construct your class using a diverse set of activities. You need to make modifications for cultural changes in our society, and give information in smaller bites, and allow students to stop and come back. What would you say to instructors, who care about improving student outcomes, but are reluctant to change what they’ve always done? Some faculty will never change. However, educational models are constantly changing and we need to do what is best for students and give them the tools to learn better. How would you like to see online learning evolve? What improvements would you like to see? I’d like to see the integration of different tools at a reasonable price. Up to this point, no LMS or courseware has made a complete package that integrates all of the possible tools, such as resident e-mail, chat, science labs, videos and virtual lectures. Also, the ability to pick and choose content and tools, and not pay for the entire set if it’s not needed.

Yes, the concept of "business model innovation" sounds like something a management consultant would conjure up. But I encourage you to suspend your initial reaction. The growing interest in business model innovation during the last five years is in response to challenging conditions facing a number of sectors, including higher education.  And the concept provides a useful framework for imagining new approaches. References to "business model" in Inside Higher Ed, 2005-2013                         A business model is simply the way in which an organization fulfills its mission; how it creates, markets and funds the goods and services it creates for stakeholders - whether they are waste management companies, families buying groceries or students pursuing degrees. Note: Using the business model concept does not imply that higher education is a business, or that it should be more businesslike. Every organization has a business model, whether it’s IBM or Greenpeace. It’s simply a way to analyze how different types of organizations operate. Business model innovation is a product of its time. In the 1980s, the watchword was "quality." (Ford’s slogan was "Quality is Job 1″).  Success was thought to be the result of creating better quality goods and services. More recently, "innovation" has ruled supreme. Quality alone is insufficient. Quality is merely the "price of entry," as Tom Peters said. Now, organizations need to become more creative; to "fail fast, fail often." Business model innovation takes the change imperative to a whole new level. It calls for organizations to not merely innovate with new and better offerings, but to reinvent themselves in order to survive. The concept took hold as we witnessed major 20th century companies and institutions falter: Kodak, General Motors and Sears, for example, as well as entire industries, such as music and journalism. By employing new business models, new organizations emerged and upended established industries. Craigslist cut deeply into newspaper advertising. Blogs pulled audiences away from magazines. Warehouse-style retailers like Home Depot made life difficult for many small retailers. Cirque du Soleil reinvented the circus by creating an entirely new category of entertainment and became a billion dollar company in the process. Components of Higher Education’s Business Model Most non-profit higher education institutions in North America operate under essentially the same business model. The differences lie in what they choose to emphasize. For example, some institutions place greater importance on faculty research than others. But most institutions only hire faculty, who have demonstrated the capacity to do university-level research and teach. Faculty are typically charged with doing both. Clay Christensen, and others, have argued most higher education institutions, regardless of ranking, share a common notion of what constitutes a great institution. Many seek to emulate the more prestigious institutions, thereby creating greater homogeneity in the sector. The elements of a business model can be divided in different ways. I’m using the approach developed by Alex Osterwalder, author and advisor on business model innovation, and others. BusinessModelGeneration.Com Market segments Who does the institution serve? Many universities focus on 18-24 year olds, who have recently graduated from high school. Some universities widen their focus with programs serving adults, who are returning to complete undergraduate degrees. Value proposition What are the reasons students and other turn to your institutions? E.g., Widely-recognized credentials that have value in the labor market; ranking as a top research university. Key activities Which activities are fundamental to your organization? E.g., Research, teaching, evaluating student performance, developing programs in subjects of value to society, and granting degrees. Revenue streams What are the sources of funds that make your institution sustainable and how do you capture these funds? E.g., Government capital grants, tuition, philanthropists and research grants. Channels How does your institution interact with stakeholders? E.g., Through on-campus teaching, conference participation, scholarly journals and media. Key partners What are the other organizations your institution partners with on a regular basis? E.g., Research granting organizations, private companies seeking research partners, and regulatory/accreditation bodies. Cost structure What are your main costs, and how do you go about paying for these costs? E.g., Faculty and instructor salaries, administrative staff, building maintenance and marketing. Key resources What are the key resources that every college and university must possess? E.g., Faculty, buildings and accreditation. Stakeholder relationships How does your organization build and maintain relationships with its key stakeholders? E.g. alumni organizations, university email systems, university social networking (Facebook), learning management systems, and media relations officers. In an upcoming post we will look at the conditions that enable colleges, universities and other educational organizations to carry out business model innovation. "Business Model Innovation in Higher Education, Part 2" Resources Business Model Innovation: A Blueprint for Higher Education Exploring Higher Education Business Models (If Such a Thing Exists) University Business Models and Online Practices:  A Third Way The Higher Education Business Model: Innovation and Financial Sustainability      

For "Part 1″, visit "Business Model Innovation in Higher Education, Part 1".  Concerns about the financial sustainability of higher education have become louder and more acute in the last couple of years. Student loan debt levels have reached new highs; operating costs continue to rise. This, coupled with the near-universal belief in the importance of higher education, and the potential of technology in the 21st century, has stimulated sincere interest in identifying new ways of "doing higher education." Previous commitments by higher educational leaders and policy makers to "improve quality" and "drive innovation" are being transcended by a growing interest in the concept and practice of business model innovation. The Value of Business Models The process of defining a business model has two core benefits: It creates clarity about how the institution operates and determines success. It makes identifying new ways of operating more likely. However, analysis of business models points to a difficult truth: it is extremely challenging and rare for an established organization − such as universities − to change its business model. Although the need for change may be strong, and the organization may have the necessary resources to enact change, history suggests that few organizations are capable of making significant changes to the business model. (For a breakdown of the various elements of a business model, see "Business Model Innovation in Higher Education, Part 1"). Consequently, new business models typically emerge from new entrants; those companies and institutions without entrenched practices. Examples of Business Model Innovation in Online Higher Education The higher education sector is structured so that it is next to impossible for new institutions to enter the market easily. This is due to high entry costs, accreditation delays, and deeply entrenched philosophies of education.  As a result, there are few truly "new entrants" in the market. Nevertheless, a few new enterprises have emerged. Below, are some of the enterprises that are employing new business models successfully in online higher education. Western Governors University. Launched in 1999, WGU offers competency-based, online programs, primarily for adult learners. Regularly cited as an example of institutional innovation. Southern New Hampshire University. Formerly New Hampshire College, SNHU reinvented itself as a primarily online, non-profit institution - using some of the tactics that drove growth among for-profit institutions over the past decade. Coursera. Founded by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, Coursera draws on the resources of elite institutions to offer MOOCs to self-directed learners for free or low cost. StraigherLine. Founded in 2009, StraigherLine offers online courses than earn credit for $99 a month.  Courses are evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Education. Fullbridge XBA. An alternative to a traditional MBA, the program simulates the challenges of the 21st century workplace by providing a full time, lecture-free, immersive boot camp where collaborative learning is combined with fundamental business exercises and e-learning modules. Measurement of Learning as the Driver of Innovation If new business models represent one of the most promising ways to increase options for students, then the question becomes, "How can the sector go about enabling these new entrants?" While some, like StraighterLine CEO Burck Smith, believe new entrants should be able to offer college-level credit, most administrators, faculty and policy-makers will likely prefer more moderate changes. Any changes we choose to make need to be based on the measurement of learning. Let’s focus less on the source of learning - the input - and more on the impact and value that each provider of learning can generate. If we use learning outcomes as the guide for shaping policy, we will move in the right direction, toward an educational landscape in which the best learning solutions rise to the top. And those that rely on surrogates of quality - such as high tuition and exclusivity - will be forced to adopt new and better tactics for serving their learners.        

  When it comes to creating, funding and distributing instructional resources in digital higher education, there are two fundamental approaches being used today, each with its own set of practices and business models. The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach involves small-scale, low-cost development of online courseware, primarily by lone instructors, who are working with limited support and funds. The instructional materials are typically used only in a single course. This is essentially a cottage-industry approach; its origins based on the deeply ingrained traditional classroom model. In the ISS model (Investment, Specialists and Scale) approach, instructional materials are created by teams of professionals, with a wide range of skills, and draws on a far greater level of investment. Scalability of the materials is key: the expectation is that the materials will be used in dozens, if not hundreds, of courses. The ISS model assumes that individual instructors don’t typically have the time, resources or skill sets required to consistency produce high-quality online learning experiences for students. Read the full article at University Outlook Magazine. Page 48.  

Larry Rudiger, Senior Lecturer, at The University of Vermont (UVM), has been teaching psychology for almost 20 years. He has a long-standing interest in using the best, most effective instructional technology to improve teaching and learning. How did you first get into online teaching? In 2006, I was invited by the UMV’s College of Continuing and Distance Education to teach Introductory Psychology online, and have done so continuously since then. In 2008, I mounted a course in organizational behavior and have taught it during the past four summer terms. I’m teaching it now. I also developed a course in social psychology in 2008, which I’ve taught online three times. Finally, I converted Introductory Psychology to a self-paced, mastery-based format in the summer of 2012. This approach was developed by Diane Reddy and Ray Fleming at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Students progress through a series of about 30 modules, each equivalent to about one third of a conventional textbook chapter. They take a 10-item, 5-minute quiz and must miss no more than one question to proceed. If they need to re-take the quiz to meet that standard, there are different test questions. Diane and Ray are conducting a large scale randomized, controlled trial, and I’m confident that it will demonstrate what was shown on prior research: students do at least as well as those in a conventional course. And they have found better learning outcomes among students who are at risk to underperform. What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve encountered since you began teaching online? Well, first, the technology is still pretty limited in many ways. During the summer, having very close deadlines can be a challenge for students, particularly when storms sweep through a region and they lose power and Internet connectivity. Making a course self-paced helps, but I wouldn’t use that instructional design for all courses. I always build in bonus points, so if a student misses one or two deadlines, it won’t sink their grade. Anything to share about getting creative with the curriculum and content? I have students read four journal articles, and I offer coaching on how to do so. One of the articles has a sustainability angle, which is a UVM signature feature in many courses across the curriculum. For my supporting materials, I developed online ‘lectures’ that are a mix of talking heads (my head), and PowerPoints, with scripts and captions available to students. In addition, I have ‘concept checks,’ which review the points made in the presentation in a Q/A format. Students answer them, then immediately get feedback. Do you have any suggestions or tips to help instructors teach more effectively and connect with students in an online/hybrid environment? I’m most satisfied with the short videos in my self-paced course, as a mechanism to establish presence and personality. Then, I basically write a lot of e-mail. I keep track of all e-mail for a course with a single e-mail address used by me and the teaching assistants (I always have them and recommend them). That way, I’ve got a one-stop e-trail of mail sent and received to individual students. My other technique is a matter of philosophy: there’s no finger wagging. And you have to wag your finger while saying that! But seriously, I always assume that apparent disengagement is because of something that’s going wrong in the student’s life. I talk to them in terms of their plans and goals, and how are they progressing on those scores. If a student is inappropriate (this is rare), then first I address the issue. Then I let the student calm down a bit. Then I will reflect about the *impression* that the behavior would make on another instructor, or a boss, or whatever. So my coaching and feedback is about that: how can I help you always make the best possible impression? What would you say to instructors, who care about improving student outcomes, and are looking for a better alternative, but are reluctant to change what they’ve always done? First, be honest.  How good was your prior way of doing things, anyway? How do you know? How can you be so sure of the relationship between learning outcomes and something that you’ve historically done in person? Second, think about the time typically spent in the classroom. You’ll be spending that doing other things. But if you’re really worried, run a timer or something and again, be honest. Third, ask students! What’s working for them (or not)? But − and this is somewhat specific to Introductory Psychology − I really make a big push for the use of efficient learning techniques. I have been won over by the work coming out of of Elizabeth and Robert Bjork’s research lab at UCLA. I’ve had really interesting discussions (in-person and via e-mail) with students, who recognized their own resistance to changing how they learn, and I just try to help them be gentle with themselves.  How would you like to see online learning evolve? What improvements would you like to see? Basically, more truly effective learning tools and environments that are rationally tied to the type of material (or skills). More granular data on how students are performing on individual learning objectives; and continued use of emerging learning and memory research.  And further refinement of the learning environments pioneered by Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative, now under development at Acrobatiq.       ​  

Long discussed, it appears that gamification is about to make its appearance in higher education. The idea is to leverage the addictive, engaging quality of games for educational purposes. Or for social issues. Aqua Republica (right), is one of the new "serious games" focused on raising awareness of our limited natural resources. Aqua Republica is an example of online "serious games" that help raise awareness of social issues. Many questions remain about how games will fit into higher ed, but it’s an exciting development. Just wish there was a better word than "gamification" to describe it. Learning analytics is another much-discussed innovation.  The  New Media Consortium’s 2014 Horizon Report on Higher Education reports that "students are beginning to experience the benefits of learning analytics as they engage with mobile and online platforms that track data to create responsive, personalized learning experiences." Analytics is less an innovation than a stimulus for innovation. Compare games to analytics.  Games typically offer a relatively prescribed set of uses. Each game allows individuals to learn certain things in certain ways. The prescribed quality of games is part of its value; features and resources are organized toward a particular end. This makes it more likely that the intended learning objective is met. Analytics is different. Its use is less prescribed. A student will interact with curriculum and other learners. This activity will produce information. But what we choose to do with that information can vary widely. The same data sets can be used in multiple ways, for multiple ends. It’s this multiplicity of uses that makes analytics less an innovation in the traditional sense, and more a stimulus for innovation. A single set of data can be used: by regulatory entities to analyze the impact of policy decisions to provide feedback to students to help them better understand how they learn most effectively by faculty to measure changes in new cohorts’ level of familiarity with the subject at the start of the semester by institutions seeking to allocate student support resources more effectively to reconfigure learning materials  in real-time to best suit the immediate and unique needs of each student There are many possible applications. Many more have yet to be conjured up by innovative educators. In a subsequent post, we’ll look at the importance of "institutional fit"  - how certain technologies fit more easily into the organizational design of higher education and how fit can influence its impact.