Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
December 2014
Acknowledgments
This report would not have been possible without the time, commitment, and expertise of the following individuals:
Project Team
Dr. E. Gordon Gee, Chair, Quality & Value Initiative for Ohio Higher Education
Jack Hershey, President and CEO, Ohio Association of Community Colleges
Deborah J. Merritt, John Deaver Drinko/Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
Dr. Terrell L. Strayhorn, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise,
The Ohio State University
William Ashley, Strategic Communications Director, Center for Higher Education Enterprise, The Ohio State University
Research Team
Stuart Heckman, Graduate Research Associate, Center for Higher Education Enterprise, The Ohio State University
Rashea Hamilton, Graduate Research Associate, Center for Higher Education Enterprise, The Ohio State University
Danyell Lewis, Graduate Research Associate, Center for Higher Education Enterprise, The Ohio State University
William Johnson, Graduate Research Associate, Center for Higher Education Enterprise, The Ohio State University
Victoria Lazur, Undergraduate Research Associate, Center for Higher Education Enterprise, The Ohio State University
Photo Credit: American Spirit. (1998) Circa 1998. [Online]. Available from http://shutterstock.com [Accessed 11 December 2014]
Table of Contents
Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................4
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................12
Purpose.......................................................................................................................................................13
Process........................................................................................................................................................13
Guiding Principles...................................................................................................................................15
Recommendations of the Quality and Value Initiative..............................................................16
Recommendation 1................................................................................................................................17
Recommendation 2................................................................................................................................19
Recommendation 3................................................................................................................................20
Recommendation 4.................................................................................................................................21
Recommendation 5................................................................................................................................22
Recommendation 6................................................................................................................................24
Recommendation 7................................................................................................................................25
Recommendation 8................................................................................................................................26
Recommendation 9................................................................................................................................27
Appendix....................................................................................................................................................28
Executive Summary
The State of Higher
Education in Ohio
In order for Ohio to compete with other
states, and for America to remain competitive
around the globe, it is critical to strive for
student success and overall excellence in
higher education.
In Ohio, a true commitment to excellence is
evidenced in many forms. Great teaching
and learning. World-class research. Diverse
and relevant course offerings and degree
paths.
Choices ranging from classic
residential campuses to commuter options
and online classes.
Course studies for
traditional high school graduates as well as
lifelong learners.
Finally, a commitment to quality and value.
Consumers apply these standards to most
things they buy. So, too, will they apply them
to their purchase of higher education.
The conversation on higher education across
Ohio is reflective of the national dialogue both the state and the nation suffer from a
“skills gap.” Employers say there is a shortage
of workers with the talents and skills
necessary for business to compete. Rising
tuition rates, gradual reduction in
government funding, mounting student
debt, and the uncertainty of finding
adequate employment after graduation to
shoulder this debt leaves many wondering if
a college education is worth the time, money,
and effort it demands.
Institutions of higher education must also
respond to the changing demographics of
their students. While some campuses may
still see strong representation from the
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
historically traditional college student (18-22
years old, on-campus residents), many see
increasing numbers of non-traditional
students—often older, commuting, and
working part or full time. In fact, according to
national
education
data,
these
non-traditional students now comprise up to
75 percent of all postsecondary students
(https://www.insidehighered.com/news/201
4/10/07/two-thirds-non-first-time-studentsdo-not-graduate).
The demand for higher education has never
been greater. Ohio’s focus must be on the
current and future supply, and that supply
must deliver high-quality education and add
value to Ohio students and employers.
Higher Education
Reform in Ohio
The recommendations contained in the
Quality and Value Initiative report offer a
foundation for the next wave of reforms
sought and enacted by the Governor’s
Administration, the Ohio General Assembly
and the Ohio Board of Regents since 2011.
The first wave was landmark Construction
Reform in 2011, making it possible for Ohio’s
public campuses to employ the advanced
architectural and construction options
employed for years in the private sector.
Next came an innovative collaboration
among the state’s public college and
university Presidents on capital facilities. In
2011, Governor John Kasich created the
Higher Education Funding Commission with
the goal of streamlining capital funding
requests from the state’s public colleges and
universities.
4
Executive Summary
For the first time, Ohio’s public colleges and
universities worked collaboratively to create
requests for capital funding from a limited
pool of resources in a way that could best
serve all of Ohio.
Building on the theme of collaboration,
Governor Kasich led a third wave of reform.
His target: the state’s higher education
funding formula. In September 2012, he
again called on the state’s college and
university Presidents, this time to help revise
the formula to reward student success and
completion, not just enrollment. The effort
and resulting new formula put Ohio squarely
at the forefront of the national conversation
on higher education funding.
Most recently, Governor Kasich in October
2013 enlisted Dr. E. Gordon Gee, President
Emeritus of The Ohio State University, and the
Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey
to lead an effort to ensure that the state’s
public colleges and universities deliver
maximum quality and value to everyone they
serve. The initiative found a home in the
newly created Center for Higher Education
Enterprise (CHEE) at The Ohio State
University, a research and policy center that
promotes the role of postsecondary
education in a global society.
In this latest effort, collaboration continues to
be a key theme because of the positive
impact it can have on both the quality of new
and innovative programming and the
associated costs and value of providing such
programs.
Process
The project and research team spent months
in consultation with stakeholders in the
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
higher education community, both within
Ohio and nationally.
In addition to
discussions with higher education leaders,
faculty, students, state policy makers,
research organizations, and the Ohio
business community, the team gained
perspective from national leaders in higher
education policy. The research group met
with
Daniel
Greenstein
and
the
Postsecondary Success team of the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, who shared a
vision of a postsecondary education system
that fuels social mobility and economic
development. The team also learned from
ITHAKA, a nonprofit organization that helps
institutions implement digital technologies
to advance sustainable methods of research
and teaching.
The project team also held six listening tours
throughout the state. Led by Dr. Gee and
Chancellor Carey, these sessions brought
together higher education leaders, faculty,
staff and students, as well as leaders from
regional industries, K-12 institutions, and
technical and career centers. Input received
at these sessions helped the team make
critical connections between high school
preparation, higher education, and Ohio
employers, and served as a foundation for
many of the recommendations in this report.
Recommendations
Quality and value in higher education are
multi-layered and complex. The research
team understands that while tuition levels
are an important part of the conversation,
lasting improvement will come from
long-term, sustainable strategies in a variety
of areas.
5 5
Executive Summary
Recommendations for reform were shaped
by a set of guiding principles thoughtfully
developed by a diverse group of stakeholders
from Ohio’s higher education community,
including the Ohio Board of Regents, the
Inter-University Council of Ohio, the Ohio
Association of Community Colleges, the
Office of the Governor, the Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities of
Ohio, and the Ohio Business Roundtable.
These principles take into consideration key
objectives
including
innovation,
cost-consciousness, inclusiveness, diversity,
accountability
and
transparency,
collaboration, and integration across
segments of the “education pipeline.”
campuses.
One cannot discuss quality and value in
higher education without discussing the cost
to consumers. Certainly cost—that is, tuition
or price less any aid—is at the forefront of the
conversation when students and families are
considering their higher education options.
While this report does not make specific
recommendations about tuition levels, state
spending, and funding formulas, it does
make recommendations for fundamental,
systemic changes—empowering students to
complete degrees more quickly, or allowing
them to earn a degree for an established
competency, for example—that can result in
significant cost savings for consumers.
Technology-enhanced advising systems will
facilitate
deeper,
more
substantive
engagement among students, advisors, and
instructors to improve both student success
and faculty members’ ability to enhance
curriculum in response to increasing student
performance. They allow advisors to take a
more proactive approach to their counseling
rather than waiting for students to come to
them, and—particularly at larger universities
—can prevent students who may need a little
extra support from falling through the cracks.
The report makes nine recommendations in
five major categories:
Academic Advising &
Technology
Ohio college and university leaders should
commit to reinventing the student academic
advising structure so that it is more
data-driven and collaborative within
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
A recent study that surveyed 230 institutions
nationwide revealed one in 10 students has
never met with an academic advisor.
Data-driven approaches and tools can
improve academic advising by monitoring
student progress, helping map degree paths,
and aiding in course selection to improve
student retention and degree completion.
Such programs are being used to bolster the
outreach capacity of advisors with
mechanisms such as alerts when a student
misses class, online scheduling with text
message reminders, and student preferenceand performance-based course selection.
They also provide students with a greater
value for their dollar through improved
degree completion times, and in some cases,
can provide detailed student portfolios of
work that can in turn be provided to potential
employers.
In Ohio, Sinclair Community College is a
leader on this front with its Student Success
Plan (SSP), designed to increase “the
persistence, success, and graduation rates of
targeted students.”
6 6
Executive Summary
The SSP has improved graduation rates,
student retention, and degree progression.
Completion By Design (CBD) efforts are of
increasing significance to postsecondary
education, as well. CBD is a $35 million
initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation to improve completion rates
among low-income adults at community
college. In Ohio, Sinclair Community College,
along with Lorain County Community
College and Stark State College, are leading a
CBD effort through the Ohio CBD Cadre.
readiness, and provide one of the most
cost-effective ways to deliver postsecondary
degrees and/or certifications. It is likely to be
of particular significance to Ohio’s older,
non-traditional learners.
Western Governors University is leading the
way on this front with a fully online CBDP
offering degrees in business, education,
nursing, and information technology. The
University of Wisconsin’s Flexible Option
program allows institutions within the UW
system to offer CBDPs.
In Tennessee, Austin Peay State University has
successfully implemented Degree Compass,
course-recommendation software that uses
Netflix-like technology to help students
select courses. The program has been able to
predict a student’s success in the selected
course(s) with a high degree of accuracy.
CBDPs are a new platform in Ohio at a time
when the workforce needs it most. Efforts are
underway for the acceptance and
implementation
of
competency-based
education, including the Ohio Board of
Regents PLA (Prior Learning Assessment)
With a Purpose program.
Competency-based Education
Ohio colleges and universities should
establish
regional
organizations
representative of K-12, higher education,
businesses, and communities to strengthen
the connections among workforce trends,
educational opportunities, and community
needs.
The State of Ohio should help its colleges and
universities develop online competencybased degree and certificate programs that
reach working adults who seek affordable
and convenient training in specific industries.
Competency-based
degree
programs
(CBDPs) award degrees based on the
demonstration of competencies rather than
on time spent in a classroom. This can be an
innovative way for non-traditional students
who are also working, raising children, etc. to
earn a degree. CBDPs can be more efficient,
more effective, and fairer in that they reward
learning that takes place outside the
classroom.
Constructive
collaboration
among
institutions on CBDPs will ensure
high-quality programs, improve workplace
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
Colleges and universities are considered
anchor institutions that are vital to economic
growth and community stability (U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development), yet citizens in Ohio’s small,
rural counties tend to lack the educational
training to meet workforce demands (Ohio
Board of Regents, 2011).
There is a need for greater unity among K-12
schools and higher education institutions,
businesses, and communities to achieve the
goals of an educated workforce.
7
Executive Summary
Regional organizations can help the state
retain students at Ohio’s postsecondary
institutions by providing internships and
learning opportunities that connect students
directly to local job opportunities. Research
suggests that students who earn degrees in
Ohio tend to stay in Ohio, and also earn
higher incomes compared to those without
postsecondary degrees or certificates.
Rural areas in particular can benefit from
collaboration, where communities seek
specialized training for specific area
industries. Collaboratives can also greatly
reduce costs for students who would
otherwise have to live away from home to
pursue a degree, or students who must work
while pursuing a postsecondary education.
Efforts to this end are already underway in
Ohio. “Straight A” funded partnerships such
as the Ohio Appalachian Collaborative and
Ohio Pathways to Prosperity support
collaboration among local school districts,
industries, communities, and postsecondary
institutions. Other organizations including
the Central Ohio Compact, Southwestern
Ohio Council for Higher Education, and
Northeast Ohio Council for Higher education
work to connect education and training to
the demands of their local communities,
businesses, and industries.
Year-Round Education
Opportunities
The State of Ohio and its colleges and
universities should fully utilize their facilities
and resources in the summer months.
Greater utilization of facilities can help
reduce students’ overall higher education
costs by decreasing their degree-completion
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
time. It also increases state and institutional
ROI on capital investments that would
otherwise sit idle and unused.
This recommendation is not without
challenges, however. Opponents argue that
doing so would reduce faculty opportunities
for research, student opportunities for
summer work and internships, and also that
current summer enrollment numbers do not
adequately
support
the
increased
maintenance costs of operating these
facilities year-round.
Other challenges exist with respect to
financial aid, which is typically disbursed to
students between August and May. Some
aid, such as the Federal Pell Grant program, is
not available for year-round instruction.
There are a number of steps that colleges and
universities can take to address these
challenges, including improving course
options during summer months, offering
greater rewards or incentives to faculty, and
providing summer financial aid to students,
among others.
Several institutions across the nation have
instituted year-round education programs
including Purdue University, University of
Minnesota, BYU-Idaho, and Dartmouth
University.
Ohio should expand opportunities for
student internships, while assuring that
those experiences are meaningful for
postsecondary students. The Board of
Regents could play a key role in aligning Ohio
higher education and industry expectations
for internships, as well as in helping assure
ongoing quality.
8
Executive Summary
High quality internships and co-op programs
bridge the gap between higher education
and the workplace. They are important
resources for students, both from a
networking perspective for the hands-on
experience that a classroom cannot
duplicate. Research clearly indicates that
businesses value interns or co-op students.
They use these programs as pathways to
employment, with a strong majority of
interns receiving full-time employment
offers.
In Ohio, several regional and statewide
internship programs exist, including
statewide
industry-specific
programs.
Businesses, students, and institutions all
benefit
from
successful
internship
programming. Institutions should work with
businesses to identify the skills they seek in
graduates and assist them in creating
internships that help students learn those
skills.
Thoughtful, high-quality internships can
prepare students not only for work, but also
for citizenship and community involvement.
In addition, internships can provide relatively
low-cost credits to students, and universities
should seek out ways to create these
high-quality internships without increasing
costs to students.
Professional Standards for High
School Guidance Counselors
The State of Ohio should adopt official
standards for the role of professional school
counselors in Ohio high schools.
High school is one place where all students
can access a college preparation curriculum.
High school counselors have the potential to
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
improve college readiness and success, but a
lack of unity in state policy between K-12
schools and postsecondary education is
contributing to a lack of college readiness.
Studies show that high schools that spend
more time on college counseling are
associated with higher enrollment rates at
four-year institutions, and that students have
an increased belief that education is relevant
and important to their future.
Well-trained, empowered counselors are an
important resource for students trying to
navigate the path from high school to
postsecondary education and careers.
Effective counseling makes that path clearer,
and allows students to move forward armed
with appropriate expectations, a familiarity
with their next steps, and the ability to
proceed with confidence.
Nearly two-thirds of states require some form
of school counseling in primary and/or
secondary education. Many of those states
have adopted the American School
Counselor Association National Model
program to assist with uniformity and
standards among schools and counseling
programs.
While some Ohio schools do employ college
counselors, Ohio law does not require it. Of
the schools that do employ counselors, there
are no standards to ensure they can and do
appropriately focus on career and college
counseling.
Innovative Teaching Models
Ohio should support improved and
innovative teaching practices at every level of
postsecondary education.
9
Executive Summary
We should incentivize and reward faculty,
whatever their appointment status, who are
reimagining the postsecondary classroom
experience for 21st century students.
The majority of postsecondary teaching
today is done by adjunct professors,
part-time instructors, and other non-tenured
faculty, compared to 1970 when nearly three
quarters of campus instructors were
tenure-track professors. And while many
teachers are interested in classroom
innovation, there are few incentives that
encourage such innovation. Additionally, for
varying reasons, some faculty resist changes
in the classroom, be it disagreement with the
substance of the change, concerns about
autonomy and academic freedom, or a need
to focus on the demands of research
requirements.
This report notes, however, that in today’s
economy, effectively educated workers are as
essential for business development as
commercially valuable research.
A recent article in the The Chronicle of Higher
Education noted that across the country,
faculty incentives continue to place a greater
value on research rather than pedagogy (The
Chronicle of Higher Education, September
15, 2014). The article suggests that in order to
improve student success—which leads to
greater retention and degree completion—
colleges
need
to
embrace
more
student-centered instructional practices. This
would include greater collaboration among
faculty to develop learning goals across a
series of courses and within academic
departments.
The Ohio Eminent Scholars program
provided state money, often conditioned on
matching institutional funds, to recruit top
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
scholars to universities located within the
state. This successful program offers a
potential model for stimulating similar
innovation in teaching practices. A statewide
network of instructors with demonstrated
success in teaching would establish a
dialogue among faculty and institutions to
highlight successful classroom innovation
among Ohio postsecondary institutions and
scale them throughout the state.
Some
innovations may directly reduce costs to
students (for example, online courses, once
developed, can be less expensive to deliver),
and other innovations could help students
better coordinate studies with work or family
obligations.
The State of Ohio should invest in creative
technologies that its colleges and universities
can utilize for innovative teaching models,
including online and hybrid learning.
Nearly one-tenth of Ohio’s postsecondary
students are pursuing degrees fully online,
and another 14 percent are taking at least
one course online.
Although questions remain about how to
best develop and implement online courses,
it is clear that they are an important part of
access to higher education.
Collaboration among institutions and
implementation of technology in the
classroom can provide exciting and
unprecedented experiences for students and
encourage them to engage more deeply with
the subject. Collaboration also leads to
improved economies of scale for institutions,
which can lessen the impact of one-time
start-up costs for new technologies and
ultimately make instruction more convenient
and accessible in more ways by more
students.
10
Executive Summary
The report makes one overarching recommendation to guide the implementation of
all other recommendations:
Good governance and strong leadership are
at the heart of these recommendations. We
believe that college and university trustees
should align institutional policies with the
guiding principles of quality and value.
This recommendation emphasizes the need
for strong leadership and long-term
commitment to principles of quality and
value, which can sometimes be in conflict
with traditional institutional goals such as
mass expansion or national rankings.
Conclusion
This report sets the stage for a fourth wave of
higher education reform intended to
transform the delivery of education to
accommodate the evolving demographics of
higher education students today.
These recommendations do not address
every challenge facing higher education and
the learners it serves. Further, the project
team understands that state leaders and
policymakers are already engaged in several
initiatives to improve quality and value. This
report seeks to complement, not compete
with, those efforts.
Ohio is setting the national pace on higher
education reform.
Enactment of these
recommendations will only serve to
accelerate that progress.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
11
Quality & Value Initiative Introduction
In October 2013, Ohio Governor John Kasich
called on Dr. E. Gordon Gee and Board of
Regents Chancellor John Carey to lead an
effort to ensure that the state’s public
colleges and universities deliver maximum
value and quality to everyone they serve.
state government and higher education
institutions to promote both quality and
value. The following report presents the
recommendations, along with information
on the process of the Quality and Value
Initiative and its guiding principles.
This request built upon two earlier
collaborations led by Dr. Gee to transform
higher education in the state. In 2012, Ohio’s
public college and university presidents
made history by working together to
successfully identify the higher education
capital construction projects that were most
important to the state. They succeeded, and
their collaborative approach won widespread
praise. Responding to that success, Gov.
Kasich charged Dr. Gee and the presidents
with crafting a new, performance-based
higher education funding formula that
rewards completion and graduation, not just
enrollment figures. That new formula,
adopted in 2013, ties 50 percent of a
four-year institution’s state funding to
student graduation rates and aligns
community and technical college funding to
course completion.
The Governor’s Quality and Value Initiative is
the next step in Ohio’s collaborative
approach to solving the most pressing issues
in public higher education. For several
months, Dr. Gee’s team consulted with Ohio’s
higher education leaders, faculty, and
students; state government; national
research organizations; and the Ohio
business
community
to
develop
recommendations that will address ways for
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
12
Purpose
The ills of American higher education are
well-known and often discussed: tuition rates
and student debt burdens have climbed,
government spending has fallen, graduates
are not securing employment that merits
their investments, and high schools are not
adequately preparing their students for a
higher education. Never before has higher
education suffered such strict scrutiny, as well
as widespread apprehension, over whether
or not a college education is worth the time,
money, and effort it demands.
The convergence of these concerns,
combined with Ohio higher education’s
transformative shift into a culture of
collaboration, offers a singular moment to
tackle the industry’s pressing issues and,
once again, place Ohio on the forefront of
innovative policy solutions.
Process
The project team of the Quality and Value
Initiative took a holistic approach to
discovering the challenges facing Ohio
students. The process of developing
recommendations included a broad tour
across Ohio to hear from a breadth of
stakeholders in higher education. The project
team also met with national leaders in higher
education policy—the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation and ITHAKA, a non-profit
organization aimed at improving higher
education research and teaching through
technology—to better understand the
broader scope of issues facing American
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
colleges and universities.
Finally, a small research team was assembled
to analyze those issues through the lens of
maximizing quality and value for Ohio
students and their families.
The Ohio State University’s Center for Higher
Education Enterprise (CHEE) led the research
efforts of the Quality and Value Initiative.
CHEE hired four graduate research associates
to conduct research on the topics found in
the Quality and Value recommendations. The
researchers came from across Ohio State’s
campus and represent diverse approaches to
the challenges of higher education, including
family resource management, educational
psychology, education policy, and arts
education
and
administration.
Each
researcher
completed
comprehensive
literature reviews, benchmarking reports,
and analyses on the recommendation topics.
Those reports provided empirical and
programmatic
foundation
to
our
recommendations.
Research
summaries
for
each
recommendation are located in the appendix
of this report, and the full analyses will be
hosted on the Board of Regents’ website.
Most importantly, project staff needed to
hear from higher education leaders, faculty,
staff, and students across Ohio about their
needs and challenges. As Figure 1 shows, Dr.
Gee and Chancellor Carey led a statewide
tour to meet with these stakeholders engaging in six regional visits.
13
Purpose
Owens
Community
College
Engineers’
Club
University of
Cincinnati
Participants across the state included not
only the higher education community, but
also leaders from regional industries, K-12
institutions, and technical and career centers.
The feedback received from these
discussions was invaluable, and framed many
of the recommendations listed in this report.
Full details of each tour can be found at the
Board of Regents’ website.
Similar to the processes supporting the
recent changes to Ohio’s higher education
capital and operating budgets, the staff of
the Quality and Value Initiative began this
project by crafting a set of guiding principles.
Instead of attempting to define “quality” and
“value”—terms that have wholly different
meanings and objectives for various higher
education stakeholders, from students to
faculty to employers—we aimed to craft
outcomes that, if met, would mean our
recommendations had facilitated genuine
and lasting improvement of Ohio higher
education.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
Cuyahoga
Community
College
Columbus State
Community
College
Figure 1
Stakeholder
Regional
Visits
Ohio
University
To ensure widespread benefit of the
recommendations, the staff of the Quality
and Value Initiative enlisted several
stakeholders to assist in creating the project’s
guiding principles. The following groups
were represented in that process:
- Ohio Board of Regents
- Inter-University Council of Ohio
- Ohio Association of Community Colleges
- Association of Independent Colleges and
Universities of Ohio
- Office of the Governor
- Ohio Business Roundtable
14
Guiding Principles
The recommendations for simultaneously
maximizing the quality and value of Ohio
higher education are driven by a
commitment to:
1.
Ensure educational opportunities and
success for all by fostering an inclusive
approach;
2.
Embrace continuous improvement in
and innovation of teaching and learning,
research, service, and organizational
effectiveness;
3.
Respond to market forces and support
a culture of cost consciousness within higher
education;
4.
Encourage diversity of approach in
education, taking into account student,
faculty, staff, and employer needs;
5.
Promote integration across segments
of the education pipeline;
6.
Further accountability through
transparency and metrics;
7.
Advance economic growth in
communities, the state, and nation; and
8.
Utilize collaborative approaches to
solving the world’s most pressing issues.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
Recommendations
of the Quality &
Value Initiative
Genuine, lasting improvement in the quality
and value of Ohio higher education will not
occur simply by directing institutions to
lower tuition or by persuading the state to
increase spending on its colleges and
universities. While those actions might
alleviate the immediate concerns of Ohio
students and merit serious consideration, we
believe that long-term and sustainable
strategies are required for the systemic
challenges facing higher education quality
and value.
Therefore, we offer these recommendations
for the benefit of students attending all
public institutions of postsecondary learning
in
Ohio. We
focus
primarily
on
recommendations that will enhance
associate and baccalaureate programs, but
many of the recommendations could benefit
post-baccalaureate programs as well. Our
team aimed to tackle the major issues in Ohio
higher education, while taking into account
that our recommendations do not address
every challenge. We also recognize that state
government and Ohio higher education
institutions are already engaged in several
initiatives aimed at increasing quality and
value, including programs in dual-enrollment
and remedial education.
15
Recommendations of the Quality & Value Initiative
1.
Ohio college and university leaders
should commit to reinventing the student
academic advising structure so that it is more
data-driven and collaborative within
campuses.
2.
Ohio should support improved and
innovative teaching practices at every level of
postsecondary education. We should
incentivize and reward faculty, whatever their
appointment status, who are reimagining the
postsecondary classroom experience for 21st
century students.
3.
The State of Ohio and its colleges and
universities should fully utilize their facilities
and resources in the summer months.
4.
The State of Ohio should adopt official
standards for the role of professional school
counselors in Ohio high schools.
5.
The State of Ohio should invest in
creative technologies that its colleges and
universities can utilize for innovative
teaching models, including online and hybrid
learning.
6.
Ohio should expand opportunities for
student internships, while assuring that
those experiences are meaningful for
postsecondary students. The Board of
Regents could play a key role in aligning Ohio
higher education and industry expectations
for internships, as well as in helping assure
ongoing quality.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
7.
Ohio colleges and universities should
establish
regional
organizations
representative of K-12, higher education,
businesses, and communities to strengthen
the connections among workforce trends,
educational opportunities, and community
needs.
8.
The State of Ohio should help its
colleges and universities develop online
competency-based degree and certificate
programs that reach working adults who
seek affordable and convenient training in
specific industries.
9.
Good
governance
and
strong
leadership are at the heart of these
recommendations. We believe that college
and university trustees should align
institutional policies with the guiding
principles of quality and value.
“...we believe that
long-term and
sustainable
strategies are
required for the
systemic challenges
facing higher
education quality
and value.”
16
Recommendation 1
Ohio college and university leaders
should commit to reinventing the
student academic advising structure so that it is more data-driven
and collaborative within campuses.
A major impediment to ensuring quality and
value for Ohio college and university
students is ineffective academic advising
systems.
Unclear
degree
pathways,
infrequent meetings with advisors, and
disconnects between faculty and advisors all
compromise students’ quality of instruction
and the value of their investment in
postsecondary education and training.
Some Ohio institutions, fortunately, have
been identified as national leaders in using
technology to dramatically increase the
capacity of academic advisors. These models
use data and web-based systems to inform
the advising process, personalize learning,
clarify degree requirements, and align
student support. The approach has proven to
increase student success through more
substantive engagement with academic
advisors and faculty.
Sophisticated academic advising systems
include software that can alert advisors when
students are absent from classes, allow
students to schedule advising meetings
online and receive text-message reminders,
and guide students through course
selections using Netflix-like technology,
among other services. All of these actions can
dramatically improve student retention and
persistence to course and degree
completion.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
The effective use of new advising systems
requires more than investments in
technology and training. It requires a
fundamental shift in campus culture from
one that places student academic support
primarily on advisors to one that engages the
entire academic community to increase
student success. The first step in adopting a
new data-driven model, therefore, is helping
colleges and universities learn from the
experience of institutions that are currently
utilizing these systems.
To do so, the Ohio institutions that have
pioneered new data-driven advising systems
should host a summit for higher education
leaders on the best practices of developing,
implementing and monitoring these
innovative systems. Sinclair Community
College has developed an exceptionally
advanced advising system; this Ohio
institution arguably boasts the most
advanced advising system in the nation.
Sinclair also maintains an open-source
program that is available to any institution at
no cost. This program could possibly be
brought to scale at the statewide level.
Sinclair’s investment in academic advising
has directly increased student success.
Between 2005 and 2011, students who used
Sinclair’s new advising system were five times
more likely to graduate than their peers.
Furthermore, students who used this
innovative system in the 2010 academic year
had a 37 percent higher retention rate than
students who qualified for the program, but
chose not to participate.
17
Ohio’s college and university leaders would
greatly benefit from learning about Sinclair’s
experience, as well as about advising
innovations at other institutions. By
leveraging this work, Ohio’s institutions of
postsecondary education can strategically
plan for using technology-enhanced advising
to boost the performance and success of
their students.
Impact on Quality
Technology-enhanced advising systems will
facilitate
deeper,
more
substantive
engagement between students and their
advisors. These systems will also help faculty
collaborate with advisors in guiding students
toward success. By recording every instance
of academic guidance, innovative advising
systems will allow faculty and advisors to
build on one another’s work. In all of these
ways,
technology-enhanced
advising
systems will give students the best available
academic guidance. That guidance, in turn,
will enhance the quality of students’ overall
academic experience.
Technology-enhanced systems have the
potential to improve academic quality in
even more far-reaching ways. Sophisticated
systems encourage faculty to think more
deeply about the particular skills and
knowledge their courses impart. As students
identify learning goals through their advising
system, faculty receive input about those
goals. Faculty will more consciously design
their courses to further students’ educational
paths. In particular, advising systems may
make faculty more sensitive to the skills (such
as communication, negotiation, and problem
solving) that students need to obtain the
highest value from postsecondary education.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
Impact on Value
By giving students access to advanced
technology that clarifies course and degree
pathways, academic advisors will have more
time and opportunities to engage students in
degree planning and career counseling. The
combination of technology and personal
advising will give students better academic
support for the same dollars.
Data-driven advising systems also play a
crucial role in helping students complete
academic requirements in a timely manner.
Students will enroll in the courses that best
suit their needs, working responsibly and
efficiently toward their degrees. These
systems would engage students in more
productive degree planning, which would
greatly reduce the chances for academic drift.
Student will save thousands of dollars by
maintaining degree pathways and avoiding
unnecessary courses and credits.
Technology-enhanced advising systems,
finally, can deliver added value to students. A
comprehensive system doesn’t merely
document credits for graduation; it can also
deliver a detailed portfolio of the student’s
work. Students can use these portfolios to
demonstrate their capabilities to employers.
A sophisticated system could even
incorporate written documents, videos, and
other demonstrations of a student’s
competencies attached to an online
portfolio.
18
Recommendation 2
Ohio should support improved and
innovative teaching practices at
every level of postsecondary
education. We should incentivize
and reward faculty, whatever their
appointment status, who are
reimaginig
the
postsecondary
classroom experience for 21st
century students.
The
reward
structure
for
Ohio’s
postsecondary teachers results in few
incentives for them to embrace innovative
teaching models. Even though some faculty
are interested in using technology,
experiential learning, and other pedagogies
to enhance their students’ learning
experience, they have few incentives to
develop these new approaches. Some faculty
are rewarded primarily for research
productivity; others bear heavy teaching
requirements that discourage innovation.
If the State of Ohio wants to increase the
quality and value of students’ higher
education experience, then it should
encourage faculty members to reimagine
their teaching models. The state should
partner with its colleges and universities to
establish the Ohio Eminent Educators cadre a group of the most forward-thinking faculty
and instructors across the state. This
program, like the Ohio Eminent Scholars
initiative, would demonstrate the state’s
commitment to excellence in higher
education. The Ohio Eminent Educators
program would show that the state’s
economic growth depends not only on great
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
researchers, but also on exceptional teachers.
The state should select new members of the
cadre each year, using a competitive process
in which institutions would nominate
teachers of any status for the honor. Ohio
Eminent Educators would be rewarded with
statewide recognition and grants to support
the innovative work in their classrooms.
Impact on Quality
In addition to improving their own
classrooms, the Ohio Eminent Educators
would serve as “first movers” modeling
innovative practices for their colleagues. The
program thus would enhance educational
quality throughout Ohio’s public institutions.
The Ohio Eminent Educators would also form
a statewide network of faculty pursuing new
instructional models. Their interaction would
refine practices and transfer knowledge
among institutions. To stimulate this
interaction, the state should support an
annual conference on Innovation in
Education. Ohio Eminent Educators would
demonstrate their work at these conferences,
furthering their own learning while sharing
their ideas with others.
Impact on Value
Some innovative teaching methods may
directly reduce costs to students. Once
developed, for example, some online courses
may be cheaper to deliver than traditional
classroom-based instruction. The Ohio
Innovative Teachers may also discover ways
to offer cross-campus courses, reducing costs
to students at both locations.
19
Other innovations may help students reduce
costs by allowing them to more effectively
coordinate academic experiences with family
obligations or full-time work. Self-paced
courses, for example, can serve these
students.
Perhaps most important, innovative teaching
methods will increase the value that students
receive for each dollar they spend on higher
education. Today’s citizens and employees
need more skills and knowledge than ever
before. To achieve those educational goals
within traditional time frames, students need
deep educational experiences during every
credit hour. Incentivizing faculty to pursue
innovative teaching methods will help Ohio
provide its students the best educational
value for their tuition dollars.
Recommendation 3
The State of Ohio and its colleges
and universities should fully utilize
their facilities and resources in the
summer months
Education is the only industry in Ohio that
lets its capital facilities lay partially dormant
for up to a quarter of each year. This lack of
utilization is costly for colleges and
universities, and it prevents students from
accelerating their degrees by pursuing
year-round schooling.
There are several barriers that dissuade
institutions from offering a full menu of
summer courses. A complete summer
semester can increase personnel and utility
costs. Summer courses may also interfere
with scheduled maintenance of campus
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
buildings. Some postsecondary institutions,
furthermore, use their campuses to host
summer programs for youth and community
members. These programs play their own
role in establishing pathways to college.
Perhaps most important, federal student loan
programs often fail to offer year-round
financial aid. This funding gap makes it
difficult for students to take summer courses
and for institutions to receive a return on
investment for keeping facilities open during
the summer months.
To increase the quality and value of their
educational programs, Ohio’s postsecondary
institutions should critically examine their
summer programs. Colleges and universities
may be able to focus scholarship and loan
dollars more strategically to offset gaps in the
federal student aid calendar, encouraging
students to take courses during the summer
months.
Spreading
instructional,
maintenance, and utility costs over the full
year may provide both financial and
programmatic gains. Even access programs,
traditionally reserved for the summer
months, may benefit from fuller integration
with year-round campus activities.
Impact on Quality
A year-round academic program could offer
students more opportunities to fill
prerequisites and structure their academic
careers. Institutions could encourage
departments
to
repeat
popular,
building-block courses during the summer
months.
These summer courses may also offer
opportunities that institutions cannot readily
provide during the traditional academic year.
20
Visiting professors from other campuses
could offer academic opportunities without
tying institutions to year-round salaries.
Experienced professionals, artists, and
business people may be more available
during the summer months to offer their
special perspectives to students.
A more vigorous program of summer courses
will also help students arrange study abroad
and internship opportunities. Students
currently try to fit these essential experiences
solely into the summer months, so that they
don’t miss required coursework during the
fall and spring. Our traditional academic
calendar, however, does not mesh well with
foreign calendars or with activity cycles in
government, business, and nonprofits. By
allowing students to fulfill more of their core
requirements during the summer, we will free
them for a wider range of study-abroad and
internship experiences year-round. This
would also allow businesses, government,
and non-profits to integrate talented Ohio
interns year-round, rather than grappling
with a large influx of intern applications for
summer months.
Impact on Value
Institutions need to examine their operating
costs strategically to determine whether a
year-round campus will raise, lower, or
maintain educational costs. The answer may
vary by institution, depending on personnel,
utility, maintenance, and other costs. Once
freed from the nine-month mindset,
however, some institutions may realize cost
savings by leveraging their capital facilities
year-round.
summer semesters by earning their degrees
more quickly. They will also obtain a wider
variety of experiences, including the
internships and international study that
employers increasingly value.
Students will obtain the greatest value from
year-round campuses if institutions are able
to devote financial aid to that year-round
work. Campuses should work to develop
those funds, either by pressing federal
sources for more flexibility or by allocating
donor funds and other revenue strategically
to the summer months.
Recommendation 4
The State of Ohio should adopt
official standards for the role of
professional school counselors in
Ohio high schools.
High school guidance counselors are an
underutilized source of support staff who can
help strengthen the connection between
secondary education and college/career
readiness. Research shows that, when given
adequate time and responsibility, these
professional school counselors are highly
effective at ensuring appropriate college and
career placement and fostering awareness of
student financial aid options. A recent
national study also found that high school
counseling departments are critical in
enhancing college opportunities for
students; students from high schools that
spent more time on college counseling
enrolled in four-year colleges at higher rates.
Even if year-round campuses do not lower
tuition, some students will benefit from
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
21
However, due to the lack of a clearly defined
role across the state, this group of highly
educated staff is often required to perform
tasks that take them away from their
important college- and career-prep efforts.
While there are national association
standards for how professional school
counselors can best support high school
students, Ohio does not employ these
standards or any other official standards for
their performance. This has led to role
ambiguity for Ohio high school counselors,
who are performing varying services
throughout the state—from proctoring tests
to emotional counseling.
By adopting official position standards for
professional school counselors, Ohio can
greatly increase the quality and value of the
high school to college and career pipeline.
Impact on Quality
By establishing formal standards for the role
of professional school counselors, these
highly trained staff members can focus their
efforts on career and college counseling. This
will help ensure that Ohio students are
successfully bridging the gap between their
high school education and postsecondary
education, career, or military service.
This may also be an opportunity to more
closely align K-12 and higher education by
making professional school counselors more
accountable to the Ohio Board of Regents,
which will strengthen the ties between
secondary and higher education.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
Impact on Value
A disconnect between what is taught to
students in high school and what is expected
of students in higher education compromises
the value of the college experience; some
students feel unable to complete their
degrees, while others require significant
remedial education. High school students
across Ohio are also receiving mixed
messages on important issues in financing
their postsecondary education. All of these
situations dramatically lower the value of the
investments that students make in
postsecondary education and training. The
proper use of professional school counselors
in college and career advising can help
improve the connection between Ohio high
schools and colleges.
Recommendation 5
The State of Ohio should invest in
creative technologies that its
colleges and universities can utilize
for innovative teaching models,
including online and hybrid
learning.
Technology has the potential to transform
the teaching and learning models of
postsecondary education. It offers an
increasing array of instructional systems,
from fully online learning to hybrid models of
in-class and online content. Technology also
presents an opportunity to provide more
affordable course and degree options for
students.
22
Many Ohio institutions are successfully
utilizing these innovative systems, but others
are hindered by the large upfront costs to
structuring and training for online and hybrid
courses. The State of Ohio should help lead its
institutions into these innovative models by
encouraging collaboration and removing
part of the cost barrier. The state should
continue to inventory existing hardware and
software programs, and then share that
information
widely
with
campuses.
Institutions using the same platforms might
be able to collaborate on training and
distribution; institutions seeking to adopt
new programs could learn from more
experienced peers. Where gaps exist, the
state might also achieve economies of scale
by purchasing software and offering training
to educators from multiple institutions.
Impact on Quality
By encouraging collaboration, purchasing
software and supporting cross-institutional
training that can be used by any state college
or university faculty, the state will open the
doors to transformative learning models.
Many faculty and administrators don’t realize
the varied potential for using technology in
their courses; they fear that “technology”
means a one-size-fits-all robotic approach to
learning. When
implemented
well,
technology means just the opposite: It can
bring unprecedented experiences into the
classroom, customize materials for each
learner, and encourage students to engage
more deeply with the subject.
In addition to encouraging the use of new
technologies, the state can play a particularly
important role in facilitating ongoing
experimentation with technology. We are still
at the threshold of leveraging technology for
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
learning: even the most sophisticated
software developers haven’t achieved the full
fruits of these tools. By monitoring
developments, purchasing the most
innovative software, and encouraging
ongoing training, the state can help its
postsecondary system obtain the highest
educational value from technology.
Impact on Value
The start-up costs for new technologies can
add to educational costs, especially when
institutions work individually. The state can
achieve economies of scale that reduce some
of these costs to individual institutions and
students. Over time, technology should also
reduce the cost of some types of instruction.
Online modules and instructional videos, for
example, can be used by many students for
several years.
Technology will play an equally important
role in expanding the types of learning
available
to
students.
Data-driven,
personalized instruction can help some
students master materials—and complete
degrees—that they might not learn with
standard approaches. Technology can also
make instruction more convenient and
accessible, allowing students to pursue
degree programs from a distance or
alongside
family
responsibilities
or
workplace obligations. That education will
provide lifelong value to the students, their
families, communities, and employers.
Data-driven, personalized instruction can
help some students master materials—and
complete degrees—that they might not
learn with standard approaches.
23
Technology can also make instruction more
convenient and accessible, allowing students
to pursue degree programs from a distance
or alongside family responsibilities or
workplace obligations. That education will
provide lifelong value to the students, their
families, communities, and employers.
and to the employers who will eventually hire
them. Also, as previously mentioned, many
students seek internships solely during the
summer months. This increases competition
for scarce positions and makes it difficult for
employers to engage interns in their
year-round work.
Recommendation 6
The Board of Regents—as a link among
higher
education,
government,
and
industry—is ideally suited to take a
leadership role in boosting the quality and
value of the internship experience for
students. The Board should lead a strategic
approach that will (a) identify the skills that
employers seek in postsecondary graduates;
(b) encourage employers to create
internships that help students gain those
skills; (c) place students in those meaningful
internships; and (d) review placements to
assure that students advance learning and
career goals through their internship
experiences.
Ohio should expand opportunities
for student internships, while
assuring that those experiences are
meaningful for postsecondary
students. The Board of Regents
could play a key role in aligning
Ohio higher education and industry
expectations for internships, as well
as in helping assure ongoing
quality.
Internships play an increasingly vital role in
students’ postsecondary education. These
experiences provide a powerful opportunity
to translate classroom learning into
workplace application; at the same time, they
allow employers to partner with educational
institutions in preparing the future
workforce. Government and business seek
student interns for a variety of reasons,
including recruitment, talent development,
and supplemental staffing. Many employers,
however, lack information on how to
effectively engage with colleges and
universities to ensure a mutually beneficial
internship experience, and often use interns
in capacities that fail to build students’ skills
or knowledge of the workplace.
In leading this initiative, the Board can draw
upon expertise generated through excellent
internship programs across the state. A
statewide task force or other working group
might create models for identifying employer
needs, designing internships, placing
students,
and
assuring
high-quality
experiences.
Impact on Quality
High-quality
internships
provide
an
invaluable link between education and the
workplace. These experiences also prepare
students for citizenship and community
involvement by introducing them to a variety
of co-workers, supervisors, customers, and
community members.
These gaps do a disservice both to students
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
24
By providing the best possible internships,
Ohio can lead the nation in preparing its
citizens for productive, meaningful lives.
Impact on Value
Internships are relatively low-cost credits for
colleges to supervise. The state and its
postsecondary institutions should be able to
create high-quality internships without
increasing costs. Indeed, institutions could
consider giving students a tuition break for
work done as interns.
Even at current tuition prices, high-quality
internships pay substantial dividends for
students. Students connect with employers,
establish workplace networks, and often
derive paid work from their internships.
Workplace supervisors who mentor interns
effectively can create lifelong relationships
that benefit both students and their former
supervisors.
Recommendation 7
Ohio colleges and universities
should
establish
regional
organizations representative of
K-12, higher education, businesses,
and communities to strengthen the
connections among workforce
trends, educational opportunities,
and community needs.
Each corner of Ohio has unique workforce
and community needs. To better connect
Ohio’s colleges and universities to the distinct
needs of their regions, institutions should
work together to develop regional education,
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
community, and workforce development
collaboratives.
Several regional or industry-specific groups
are already working to meet some of these
ends. Representative collaborations include
the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher
Education, Southwestern Ohio Council for
Higher Education, and Central Ohio
Compact. All Ohio regions can build on these
models. By having all interests participate in
constructive
conversations,
regional
businesses, education institutions, and
communities could more effectively identify
points of common concern and unique
opportunities for partnership.
Impact on Quality
Regional collaboratives can connect
educational institutions to their surrounding
businesses for localized workforce training,
internships, and other areas of mutual
interest. Government and community
leaders likewise can partner with education
to build best outcomes for the region.
Collaborative teams can also play a crucial
role in strengthening the pipeline from K-12
education to higher education and career
training.
Through active communication, these
groups would be able to identify the targeted
skillsets needed in local industries and
communities and then partner with high
schools, career centers, and colleges to adapt
educational curriculum and programs for
workforce development. Collaboration will
particularly benefit rural communities who
seek specialized job training for local
industries; a separate group focused on the
needs of these communities might be
desirable.
25
Impact on Value
Regional collaboratives will be highly
valuable
for
students
who
seek
postsecondary education and training as a
means to secure employment in their local
communities and industries. These groups
can pave the pathways that will connect
degree and certificate programs to the
available jobs in the region.
Collaboratives in each region may also
identify distinctive cost-saving measures. A
business, for example, may be able to provide
facilities for some types of instruction.
Institutions of higher learning, conversely,
may have assets they can share with
businesses and government. By providing
attractive educational opportunities within
the region, collaboratives will greatly reduce
costs for students who otherwise would have
to live away from home to obtain their
degrees. These collaborations can also ease
schedules for students who need to work
while pursuing studies.
Recommendation 8
The State of Ohio should help its
colleges and universities develop
online competency-based degree
and certificate programs that reach
working adults who seek affordable
and convenient training in specific
industries.
Some Ohio industries have critical needs for
trained workers. At the same time, a growing
number of Ohioans have been displaced
from their workplaces; they need additional
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
education to obtain the best professional
outcomes. Traditional degree programs
sometimes fail to serve the needs of these
industries and potential workers. Targeted
programs that incorporate both online
learning and competency-based credits can
better address these needs.
Online learning allows students to pursue
education at flexible times and without
relocating. A competency-based format
complements those advantages by awarding
degrees
or
certificates
based
on
demonstrated mastery of skills, rather than
on the amount of time spent in the
classroom. The combination of these
approaches will allow students to quickly
complete courses in which they have existing
skillsets and prior learning; they can then
focus more time on courses that educate
them in new skills and knowledge.
Innovative programs of this nature will
benefit both students and industries with a
high demand for skilled workers.
Impact on Quality
Following the work completed on the capital
and operating funding systems, this
competency-based program would be the
next step in Ohio’s collaborative higher
education governance model. Although
individual institutions could create degree
and certificate programs, the Board of
Regents would encourage constructive
collaboration. The Board would also review
all programs for quality. Both collaboration
and controls will help assure high-quality
programs using these new educational
models.
26
Well-developed programs will increase
educational quality for some students, while
also improving workplace readiness. In
addition, these targeted programs will
provide useful experience in developing
both online and competency-based
programs. These experiences may inform
other facets of postsecondary education,
offering additional quality down the road.
Impact on Value
Online, competency-based programs are
among the most cost-effective ways to
deliver higher education. An existing
program, Western Governor’s University,
grants accredited degrees to students based
on proven mastery of skillsets that translate
to credit hours. These students pay a low, flat
tuition rate and can earn as many credits as
possible
during
terms.
Online,
competency-based programs will reach an
audience that is essential to build Ohio’s
economy:
non-traditional
students,
commonly with some workforce and/or
postsecondary education experience, who
seek new training in an industry.
This is a new learning platform for Ohioans at
a time when it is needed most. It will likely
lead to the retraining of older Ohioans in
industries that are identified as appropriate
for the competency-based model, and could
be tied to the state’s most in-demand
employment opportunities. Some industries
with existing competency-based programs
include information technology, healthcare,
business, and education.
Quality & Value Initiative
for Ohio Higher Education
Recommendation 9
Good governance and strong
leadership are at the heart of these
recommendations. We believe that
college and university trustees
should align institutional policies
with the guiding principles of
quality and value.
Providing a high quality education at
reasonable value requires careful monitoring
and strong leadership. Some institutional
goals, such as the pursuit of higher U.S. News
rankings, can conflict with principles of
quality and value. Trustees and other
academic leaders should be aware of these
conflicting incentives.
To create a culture of quality and value
throughout higher education, academic
leaders should weigh the impact of each
institutional decision on both the quality of
the institution’s degree and certificate
programs and the value those programs offer
to students. Governing bodies will serve the
needs of both students and the state by
implementing policies that improve
educational excellence while keeping costs
low.
27
Appendix
Research Summary: Technology-Enhanced Academic Advising..............................................29
Research Summary: Incentivizing Innovation in Teaching.........................................................30
Research Summary: Better Utilization of Summer Months........................................................31
Research Summary: Professional School Counselors...................................................................32
Research Summary: Technology for Online and Hybrid Learning..........................................34
Research Summary: Access to Quality Internships in Ohio.......................................................35
Research Summary: Regional Organizations.................................................................................36
Research Summary: Competency-Based Degree and Certificate Programs.....................37
Research References..............................................................................................................................38
Recommendation 1: Technology-Enhanced Academic Advising
According to the 2013 National Survey of Student Engagement of over 230 institutions nationwide,
• 40% of students considered counselors their primary source of advice regarding academic plans.
• One in ten had never met with their advisor at all (Selingo, 2014)
Higher education institutions across the country are experimenting with data-driven approaches to improve
advising and support services, especially with technological tools. These tools can monitor student progress,
map degree paths, and select appropriate courses to increase retention and completion.
INTEGRATED PLANNING AND ADVISING SYSTEMS
Integrated Planning and Advising Services (IPAS) systems use an integrative approach to student success, often
involving data-informed decision-making.
• These sophisticated systems include technology-based efforts that boost the capacity of
academic advisors, including alerts when students are absent from classes, online scheduling
with text-message reminders, and student preference- and performance-based course selection.
• Over 80 percent of schools in the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR) IPAS
Benchmarking survey agreed that IPAS services play a major role in their success strategy, and
90 percent said use of IPAS technology would increase (Yanosky, 2013; Ratliff, 2013).
STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN
Sinclair Community College is leading the way in IPAS systems, with Student Success Plan (SSP), an open source
case-management suite (Little, 2011; SSP, 2013).
• Designed to increase the “persistence, success, and graduation rates of targeted students,”
SSP has successfully improved graduation rates (five times more likely), retention (37 percent),
and progression to degree (85 percent of passing students followed SSP recommendations)
COMPLETION BY DESIGN
Completion By Design (CBD), a $35 million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiative to improve completion
rates among low-income adults attending community college, is also being implemented in Ohio (CBD, 2013).
• The CBD Ohio Cadre has successfully redesigned over 120 academic pathway templates,
incorporating technology and coaching into math curriculum, required new student orientation,
and began developing an institutional policy review tool with Jobs for the Future.
DEGREE COMPASS
Austin Peay State University (APSU) has expanded Degree Compass—course recommendation software that
uses Netflix-like technology to select classes for students (Young, 2011; Delaney, 2013).
• The statewide program can predict student success based on previous performance, about 89
percent of the time within about 0.6 points of the grade actually received
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
29
Recommendation 2: Incentivizing Innovation in Teaching
Administrators and policymakers seeking to encourage classroom innovation must account for differences in
faculty status, institutional focus, and departmental culture when designing appropriate incentives.
• In 1970, tenure-track professors constituted about three-quarters of campus instructors (Park, Sine,
& Tolbert, 2011). By 2007, the percentage had declined to just over a third—34.5 percent (Kezar &
Maxey, 2012)
• Adjuncts, part-time instructors, and other nontenured faculty now perform the majority of teaching
at community colleges and universities alike (Schuster & Finkelstein, 2006; Bowden & Gonzalez,
2012; American Association of University Professors, 2010)
Rapid changes in higher education over the past 50 years have also affected classroom innovation.
• The percentage of U.S. high school graduates continuing their education leaped from 45 percent in
1960 to 70 percent in 2009 (Simon, 2012)
• Institutions have greatly expanded the remedial courses and academic assistance programs they
offer (Baum et al., 2013). Anecdotal reports suggest that simulations, service-learning, internships,
and other methods of hands-on education are on the rise
• The percentage of postsecondary students taking at least one online course for credit jumped from
9.6 percent in fall 2002 to 32 percent in fall 2011 (Allen & Seaman, 2013)
FACULTY RESPONSES TO INNOVATION
While some faculty are on the forefront of classroom innovation, many resist changes in the workplace. Furco
and Moely (2012) identified eight reasons why faculty resist classroom innovation, including:
• Some have become cynical about short-lived, “faddish” innovations that fail to gain traction and
support.
• Recommendations coming from non-faculty may provoke faculty concerns about autonomy and
academic freedom .
• Some faculty worry about classroom innovations distracting them from disciplinary research,
especially if their institution places a high premium on research productivity
EXISTING MODELS OF INCENTIVIZATION
Institutions have embraced several methods of encouraging and recognizing excellent teaching among
faculty.
• Despite the prevalence of institutional teaching awards, little research exists on their effectiveness
in promoting good teaching. Faculty and administrators assume that these awards will encourage
improvement (Hammer, et al., 2010); others suggest that they do little to motivate (Carusetta, 2001).
• Colleges have tried to encourage excellent teaching by establishing Centers of Teaching that study
pedagogy, encourage best practices among faculty, and support faculty in developing new skills.
The centers vary in their design, funding, and success: Some are small departmental initiatives,
others are university-wide centers that incorporate numerous functions (Trammell & Bruce, 2008).
• Eminent scholars programs (programs that provide state money, often conditioned on matching
institutional funds, to recruit top scholars to universities located within the state) may provide a
model for spurring instructional excellence. In the current economy, effectively educated workers
are just as essential for development as commercially valuable research.
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
30
Recommendation 3: Better Utilization of Summer Months
Proponents of expanding campus use in the summer months for instruction argue that:
• Summer courses speed students’ time-to-degree, which ultimately lowers their higher education
costs.
• Better utilization of otherwise empty facilities increases state and institutional ROI in infrastructure
Opponents of expanding campus use in the summer months for instruction argue that:
• Current summer enrollment numbers do not sufficiently cover the costs of increased maintenance
needs
• Encouraging students to enroll in summer courses decreases faculty opportunities for research and
student opportunities for internships or other work
The Lumina Foundation for Education suggests that, despite its limitations, year-round schooling is one of
most influential changes that higher education institutions can make to ensure the success of adult learners, a
growing population of college and university students (Turner et al., 2007).
Colleges and universities can strengthen summer programs by (Schoenfeld, 1970):
• offering better course options;
• offering greater rewards and incentives for faculty members;
• providing financial aid to students;
• emphasizing research activities; and
• using the campus as a site for continuing education programs.
Examples of institutions that are either piloting year-round education or continuing decades-long systems
include Purdue University, University of Minnesota, BYU-Idaho, and Dartmouth University.
USE OF FACILITIES
Campuses are costly to maintain and current revenue streams for the summer months may not adequately
address these costs.
• Christensen and Eyring (2011) suggest that the cost of maintaining campus facilities is the second
largest cost to colleges and universities after faculty pay and benefits
• year-round operation has the potential to increase utilization of these buildings and generate new
revenue to contribute to these costs
FINANCIAL AID
Between 82 and 97 percent of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking Ohio undergraduates were awarded federal
financial aid during the 2011 fiscal year (Ohio Board of Regents, 2013).
• however, federal aid is generally packaged at the beginning of the academic year and disbursed
between August and May
• the Federal Pell Grant program is the principal federal-aid program and it does not require
repayment, yet the federal government does not offer Pell Grants in the summer months
• state financial aid that is disbursed to students during the summer months is primarily made up of
loans and work-study options, depending on the availability of positions
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
31
Recommendation 4: Professional School Counselors
The college choice process is a daunting task. Adding to the challenge, prospective college students are
receiving mixed messages about the value of a college degree and whether it pays to finance a degree
(Bennett, 2013; Hacker & Dreifus, 2010; Harris, 2011; Yen, 2014).
Research suggests that :
• High schools are the only place in which all students, regardless of educational aspirations, have the
opportunity to gain access to college preparation and the application processes (Conley, 2007).
• School counselors are underutilized or improperly utilized resources that have the potential to improve
college readiness and success (Bridgeland & Bruce, 2011; Lambie & Williamson, 2004).
• Lack of unity in state policy between K-12 schools and postsecondary education contributes to lack of
college readiness and success (Callan, Finney, Kirst, Usdan, & Venezia, 2006).
IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL COUNSELING
Counseling departments are critical in enhancing college opportunities (Engberg & Gilbert, 2014):
• 11 to 12 percent of the variance in college going rates was directly attributable to school counseling
efforts.
• Schools that spent more time on college counseling were associated with higher enrollment rates at
four-year institutions.
Economic research (Carrell & Hoekstra, 2011) found that adding a school counselor:
• reduces misbehavior.
• increases boys’ reading and math achievement by one percentile point.
• is nearly twice as effective at improving overall achievement as hiring an additional teacher.
Schools with more fully implemented counseling programs have better student outcomes compared to
schools with a less programmatic approach (Whiston and Quinby, 2009). Furthermore, comprehensive
guidance programs tend to be associated with the following (Whiston and Quinby, 2009):
• Increased academic achievement.
• Greater satisfaction with education.
• Increased belief that education is relevant and important to one’s future.
THE ASCA NATIONAL MODEL
Nearly two-thirds of states have mandated some form of school counseling in primary and/or secondary
education.
• Many of these states have adopted the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National
Model to guide the implementation and evaluation of comprehensive school counseling programs
• The National Model can be used to bring uniformity and standards to counseling programs in the state
because it identifies the following key components for comprehensive school counseling programs:
• Foundation – program focus, student competencies, professional competencies.
• Management – organizational assessments and tools aimed at improving capabilities of program.
• Delivery – direct student services (e.g., individual help) and indirect student services (e.g.,
collaboration with parents and teachers).
• Accountability – data analysis to evaluate the program’s effectiveness in meeting objectives.
32
Recommendation 4: Professional School Counselors
SCHOOL COUNSELING IN OHIO
In the state of Ohio,
• School districts are not required to employ professional school counselors (Ohio Department of
Education, n.d.).
• There are currently no mandated standards or requirements for comprehensive school counseling
programs (American School Counselor Association, 2014).
• Some school districts have student to counselor ratios that are nearly twice the recommended ratios
by the ASCA (Clark, 2014).
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
33
Recommendation 5: Technology for Online and Hybrid Learning
Online courses and degree programs have secured a footing in higher education.
• Almost one tenth of Ohio’s postsecondary students are already pursuing degrees fully online
(U.S. Department of Education, 2014)
• Another 13.9 percent are taking at least one course online (U.S. Department of Education, 2014)
Questions about the efficacy and cost of these programs, however, remain.
• Well-designed online courses can create learning outcomes that are equal to or slightly better
than those achieved in traditional classrooms (Bowen, Chingos, Lack, & Nygren, 2013)
• Even when overall outcomes are favorable, some learners may suffer (Figlio, Rush, and Yin,
2013)
• Students have also expressed dissatisfaction with online courses, despite achieving excellent
learning outcomes (Moore, 2014)
• A thorough study by the University of North Carolina found that the mean cost of developing
an online course was about $200.00 more than the cost of creating an on-campus course; the
cost of delivering an online course was more than $1,000 higher than the cost of on-campus
delivery (Turcotte, 2010).
Policymakers interested in encouraging online education need to look closely at the resources required by
these courses, their potential payoff, and the ways in which institutions can collaborate to reduce costs and
improve quality.
IMPACT OF ONLINE LEARNING COMPARED TO CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
Researchers have struggled to measure the impact of online learning.
• Controlled experiments are particularly difficult to conduct, because ethical concerns discourage
universities from randomly assigning students to traditional and online classrooms
• The most compelling arguments for increased online instruction rest on any cost savings realized
by universities (Bowen, Chingos, Lack, & Nygren, 2013)
• The courses ripest for online development are those with high enrollment, such as general
education and introductory department courses. Unfortunately, these courses may be ones that
most endanger student outcomes when conducted online (Xu & Jaggars, 2011)
SUPPORT AND INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPMENT
Research suggests that developing online courses requires institutional commitment, financial support, and
continuous assessment for improvement (Garrison & Vaughan, 2013).
• Although faculty repeatedly stress the need for sufficient time to develop online courses,
institutions are least likely to offer this support compared to other incentives. Financial
compensation, short-term training, and longer-term professional development were more readily
available (Herman, 2012)
• Providing appropriate institutional commitment, resources and opportunities for assessment lays
the foundation for a successful online program. The University of Central Florida was able to
establish a prize-winning program of blended online courses by following these principles
(Moskal, Dziuban, Hartman, 2013)
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
34
Recommendation 6: Access to Quality Internships in Ohio
According to an annual internship and co-op survey representing over 264 organizations in 20 industries,
• 97 percent of respondents planned to hire intern or co-op students in 2014 (NACE, 2014).
• 63 percent of surveyed college students graduating in the class of 2013 reported participating an
internship or co-op program (NACE, 2013).
Certain trends highlight the importance of identifying the skills that employers seek in graduates and assisting
them in creating quality internships that help students gain those skills.
• College graduates remain overrepresented among the under- and unemployed (Associated
Press, 2014; Vedder et al., 2013).
• Employers use internships as a pathway to employment; over three-quarters of surveyed
internship programs’ primary focus was to recruit new hires, with about 65 percent of interns
receiving full-time offers (NACE, 2014).
STUDENT BENEFITS
Experience mixed with education is essential, as organizations want candidates who can “jump right in” (CERI,
2013).
• Research establishes that internships allow opportunities for job-related, career-related, and
networking or job-market benefits (Maertz et al., 2014; Feldman et al., 1999; Gault et al., 2000;
Knouse & Fontenant, 2008; Mihail, 2006; Pianko, 1995; Taylor, 1988).
• Finding the “right” internship can be tricky, however; and some research focuses on a studentcentered internship program design (Kanye, 2007).
EMPLOYER BENEFITS
Internships allow businesses to increase capacity, recruit and train new talent, bring a new perspective on the
team, and speed up potential employee acculturation (Maertz et al., 2014; Ames, 1986; Mihail, 2006; Pianko,
1995; Ryan & Krapels, 1997).
• Hiring interns can also cut costs by saving on other recruitment strategies, tax breaks, and
relatively low compensation/benefits.
• However, firms must abide by laws that determine how interns can be fairly used and
compensated (Wage and Hour Division, 2010).
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY BENEFITS
Colleges and universities realize immediate benefits from internship programs by meeting the demand for
experiential learning missing in the classroom and forming stronger business-university partnerships (Maertz
et. al., 2014).
• Long-term advantages include increased investment in the university among businesses and
graduating students, leading to donations, volunteerism, or other types of promotion
BEST PRACTICES
Both researchers and practitioners agree on key elements of quality internships (Page et al., 1999; Maertz et. al.,
2014; Narayanan et al., 2010; NACE, 2013, 2014).
Ohio has several regional internship programs, such as NEOintern of the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher
Education (Farkas, 2013). Statewide programs exist between the Board of Regents (Ohio Means Internships
and Co-Ops) and business sector employees. Industry-specific statewide programs also exist, such as Ohio
Third Frontier for high tech or STEM fields.
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
35
Recommendation 7: Regional Organizations
Research has identified the need for greater unity among K-12 and higher education institutions, businesses,
and communities to achieve the goals of the workforce:
• Colleges and universities are considered anchor institutions that are vital to economic growth and
community stability (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development).
• Postsecondary institutions offer a multitude of intellectual, human, technological, and social
resources that are uniquely positioned to address challenges in local communities, and these
assets enable communities to craft solutions that specifically address their challenges.
• Citizens in Ohio’s small, rural counties tend to lack the educational training to meet workforce
demands (Ohio Board of Regents, 2011).
• Regional organizations can help with Ohio’s brain-drain issue by providing internships and
learning opportunities that connect students directly to local job opportunities.
Educational training and degree attainment are critical not only for individuals and their families, but also for
businesses, industries, and the state.
• The Ohio Board of Regents suggests that those who earn who earn degrees in Ohio tend to stay
in Ohio.
• Those individuals also earn higher incomes when compared to those who do not earn degrees
and certificates from postsecondary institutions.
OHIO’S REGIONAL INDUSTRIES
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services suggests that within Ohio are six regional areas that are
represented by unique industrial clusters. It is important that students’ educational and training experiences
align with the targeted needs of these regional workforces.
• Southwestern industries tend to feature jobs related to manufacturing and financial services.
• Northeastern industries tend to feature jobs related to aerospace/aviation and food processing.
• Central Ohio jobs tend to revolve around the automotive, information technology, and services
industry.
• Western Ohio jobs tend to include the bio-health and logistics industries.
• Many Northwestern Ohio jobs are within the energy industry.
• Southeastern Ohio’s workforce revolves around the business and chemical industries.
BEST PRACTICES IN OHIO
Best practices identified in Ohio have reinforced the capabilities of regional organizations to provide benefits
to multiple stakeholders.
• Straight A funded partnerships are supporting collaboration among local schools districts,
industries, communities, and postsecondary institutions. Example regional programs include the
Ohio Appalachian Collaborative and Ohio Pathways to Prosperity.
• Several other organizations are working to connect education and training to the demands of their
local communities and workforces. These include the Central Ohio Compact, Southwestern Ohio
Council for Higher Education, and Northeast Ohio Council for Higher Education.
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
36
Recommendation 8: Competency-Based Degree and Certificate Programs
In Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (2013),
• 40 percent of the projected job growth is expected to require some form of postsecondary education.
• Nearly 75 percent of job declines are in occupations that typically require a high school diploma or
equivalent.
• The jobs with the highest growth projections tend to be located in the following industries: health,
education, business and professional services.
Changing demographics have also led many to question to appropriateness of the traditional model of higher
education.
• Since 1964, the proportion of “traditional” undergraduate students in the U.S. population has declined
from 36 percent to 24 percent (Selingo, 2014).
• Non-traditional students face different constraints and often balance many other demands (e.g.,
working, raising children, etc.) in addition to educational aspirations (Laitinen, 2012).
COMPETENCY BASED DEGREE PROGRAMS (CBDPS)
Competency-based degree programs (CBDPs) refer to an innovative approach in which degrees are conferred
based on the demonstration of competencies rather than on the amount of time spent in the classroom
(Mendenhall, 2012). Proponents have argued that CBDPs have a number of advantages over traditional
degree programs based on the credit hour. Klein-Collins (2012) suggests that CBDPs have the following
advantages over traditional degree programs:
• Efficiency – CBDPs eliminate unnecessary degree requirements by focusing on competencies.
• Effectiveness – CBDPs aim to validate that student learning has occurred (i.e., demonstrating
competencies) rather than assuming that learning has occurred (e.g., by completing a course).
• Fairness – CBDPs reward learning that may take place outside of the classroom.
The full report highlights several model programs, including Western Governors University, a fully online
CBDP which offers degrees in business, education, nursing, and information technology (Western Governors
University, 2014) and the University of Wisconsin System’s Flexible Option, which allows institutions within
the UW system to offer CBDPs. The full report also identifies efforts in Ohio that show promise for the
acceptance and implementation of competency-based education, including the Board of Regent’s PLA with a
Purpose initiative (Ohio Board of Regents, n.d.).
OBSTACLES
Degree quality and financial aid concerns seem to be the most significant obstacles in wide acceptance and
implementation of CBDPs.
• Some are worried that promoting CBDPs may encourage diploma mills that hand out degrees by using
low academic standards (e.g., Carlson, 2013).
• The importance of seat time and credit hours in administrative issues such as financial aid eligibility
cannot be overemphasized (Laitinen, 2012).
POTENTIAL
CBDPs have the potential to improve college opportunity and access for Ohioans.
• CBDPs are ideally suited for consumers who have some college and work experience because they
can progress towards their degree more quickly (Mendenhall, 2012).
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.),
• 20 percent of Ohioans have some college but no degree .
• 7 percent have an associate’s degree .
For the full report, please see the Ohio Board of Regents’ website.
37
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45
This report was produced by the
Center for Higher Education Enterprise at
The Ohio State University.
46