St. John Fisher College
March 24, 2004
Blending Liberal Arts
with Professional Programs
Colleges must expand their student markets,
while maintaining their core values
Tom Kennedy, CEO
New Ventures of Regis University
Denver, Colorado
The Higher Education Landscape
• Changing demographics
• Digital & online issues
• Virtual universities
• Corporate universities
•For-profit universities
The Higher Education Landscape
•Higher Education enrollments climbed by 21%
between 1980 and 2000 adding 2.5 million students.
•It is estimated that between 2000 – 2010 enrollments
will rise by 19% adding another 2.8 million students.
•Half of Higher Education enrollments are part-time.
•Part time enrollments more than doubled between
1970 and 2000.
•The fastest growing part-time group is age 35 and
older.
The Higher Education Landscape
•From 1980 – 2000 for-profit Higher Education
institutions grew 5 fold from 165 to 789,
outnumbering public 4 year institutions.
•In 2002 the University of Phoenix served 116,300
students in 116 campuses in the USA and Canada.
•In 2002 DeVry University served 47,000 students
in 21 campuses in the USA and Canada.
The Higher Education Landscape
The Internet
•In 2000, 50% of the population of the USA used the
Internet, 114 million weekly.
•95% of public schools in the USA are now linked to
the Internet.
•In 1999 there were 800 million pages on the
Internet. The best search engine could only access
about 16% or 128 million of them.
Universities must navigate the World Wide Web
•“Digital Immigrants” vs “Digital Natives.”
•The cost of digital plant competition is high.
•Students expect superior web capability in universities.
•Conversion to online programming is costly
The Good News
•More students are projected to enroll.
•More older adults than ever are enrolling.
•The population is aging.
•Slow growth of the labor force will increase need for
education.
The Challenge
•Many of the new traditional age enrollees are in
lower economic brackets.
•A host of for-profit schools are taking many of the
older adult students.
“Learner focused, market
responsive”
“Formation for traditional aged
students
Transformation for adult learners”
What adults look for
Characteristics of
Accelerated Programs
•Centralized Curricular Approach
•Seminar-Based Small Group Dynamics
•Working Professionals as Faculty
•Customer Orientation
•Credit for Prior Learning
•Extension Site Orientation
Accelerated programs
A University Vision…
Supportive of
Adult Learner Programs
•Market Responsive
•High Quality
•Designed for Adult Learners
•Accessible Academically
•Provides Convenient Locations
•Provides Multiple Format Options
•Provides Excellent Customer Services
•Mission Connected
Tools needed
Traditional 15 Week Format
Classroom
Contact
Independent
Study
or
40 hours
Accelerated 5 Week Format
Classroom
20 hours
and
Directed
Study
75 hours
Accelerated programs
Degree Completion Option
Degree Structure
Major
Major
Prerequisites
General/Liberal
Studies Core
Residency
Transfer
Options
Other College
Credits
CLEP
Portfolio
Electives
Accelerated programs
Semester, 8 Wk., & 5 Wk. Comparisons
SEMESTER
8 WEEK TERMS
FA 8 WK 1
5 WEEK TERMS
FA 5 WK 1
FA 5 WK 2
FALL
FA 8 WK 2
SP 8 WK 2
SPRING
SP 5 WK 1
SP 5 WK 2
SP 8 WK 2
SUMMER
FA 5 WK 3
SU 8 WK1
SP 5 WK 3
SU 5 WK 1
SU 5 WK 2
SU 8 WK 2
SU 5 WK 3
Accelerated programs
Accelerated Learning Models
Research
•Research Model
•Student Perceptions
•Alumni Perceptions
•Performance Measured by Experts
•Comparisons with Traditional Models
•No Trends Favor either Format
•No Statistical Differences
Accelerated programs
Working Professionals
as Faculty
•Seen as Relevant to Working Adult Students
•Can Integrate Current Business Issues
•Quality Control in Assessment Process
Accelerated programs
Faculty Assessment
Process
•Interview
•Presentation
•In-Basket Exercise
•Essay
•Leaderless Group
•Evaluation (50% approval rate)
Accelerated programs
Faculty Selection
Process
•Academic and Experience Qualifications
•Assessment Process
•Orientation
•Internship
•Mentoring
•Development
Accelerated programs
Student Services
Career
Counseling
Bookstore
Adult Student
Financial Aid
Business Office
Registrar
Library
Advising
Student services
Quality Standards for Adult Programs
•Mission Congruence
•Learner focused and market responsive
•Leadership and staffing
•Appropriate organizational structure
•Planning and resource allocation
•Quality curriculum design and content
•Student support services
•Faculty effectiveness
•Facilities and auxiliary services
•Assessment and continuous improvement
•Student fit
Tools needed
Accelerated Learning
Studies
“Recent studies in which researchers compared the
learning of younger (traditional) students enrolled
in 16-week courses with the learning of adult
students enrolled in 5-week versions of the same
courses suggest that accelerated courses provide
levels of learning indistinguishable or greater than
those demonstrated by the younger students in
conventional courses.” (Wlodkowski & Westover, 1999;
Wlodkowski, Iturralde-Albert, & Mauldin, 2000).
Accelerated programs
Can an adult program thrive
in a traditional university?
The Survivors
• Top tier reputation
• Substantial endowment
• Unique niche
• Large adult programs
• Extensive online programs
The University of Phoenix Says…
“The people who are our students don’t really want
the education. They want what the education
provides for them – better jobs, moving up in their
career, the ability to speak up in meetings, that kind
of stuff. They want it to do something for them.”
“The University of Phoenix has dropped its requirement that students
have some background in the liberal arts.”
“…the University of Phoenix may well succeed in inculcating mastery
of certain practical disciplines. What is lacking is any concern with, or
understanding of, the broader themes of life – indeed, with the questions
of why the world is as it is and how life can and should be lived.”
Howard Gardner, “The Disciplined Mind”
Making the Liberal Arts Integral to
Adult Programs
Adult Programs Should Include Certain Features:
•Truth
•Beauty
•Morality
“Education consists of more than school.”
“Questions are more important than answers;
knowledge and understanding should evolve
from the constant probing of questions.”
Howard Gardner, “The Disciplined Mind”
Regis University Mission Statement
Regis University educates men and women of all ages to take leadership
roles and to make a positive impact in a changing society. Standing within the
Catholic and United States traditions, we are inspired by the particular Jesuit
vision of Ignatius Loyola. This vision challenges us to attain the inner freedom
to make intelligent choices.
We seek to provide value-centered undergraduate and graduate education,
as well as to strengthen commitment to community service. We nurture the
life of the mind and the pursuit of truth within an environment conducive to
effective teaching, learning and personal development. Consistent with
Judeo- Christian principles, we apply knowledge to human needs and seek to
preserve the best of the human heritage. We encourage the continual search
for truth, values, and a just existence. Throughout this process, we examine
and attempt to answer the fundamental question: "How ought we to live?"
Characteristics of the Core Educational Experience
The specific structure of the core educational experience varies within each of the
University’s three Schools because of the different student populations and
instructional formats in Regis College, School for Professional Studies, and School
for Health Care Professions. Nonetheless, the core educational experience in all three
Schools is characterized by:
•Development of the Whole Person
•Academic Challenge
•Liberal Arts Foundation
•Integration
•Ethical Inquiry and Reflection
•Spirituality and Religion
•Concern for Justice
•Global Awareness
•Leadership
What is required?
•New Structures
•New Procedures
•New Systems
•New Ways of Thinking
•New Ways of Doing
Profile of Regis University
Board of Trustees
President
Provost
VP Student Life
CFO
Dean, Regis College
36,000 Credit
Hours, $21.4 M
VP Administration
VP Development
VP and Dean School
Dean, School for Health
Professional Studies
Care Professions
160,000 Credit
Hours, $50M
20,000 Credit
Hours, $8M
Undergraduate
Education
Graduate
Business
UG and Grad
Business
Information Tech
Info Tech
85,000 Credit
Hours
75,000 Credit
Hours
On-line 72,000 Credit Hours
Regis Profile
Profile of Regis University
Board of Trustees
President
Provost
Regis College
Professional Studies
Health Care Professions
•74 FT Faculty
•110 FT Faculty
•25 FT Faculty
•1400 Traditional
Students
•700 PT Faculty
•900 Students
•14,000 Students
Regis Profile
Staffing Patterns & Major
Functions
President
Chief Academic Officer
Dean
Professional
Studies
Administrative
Assistant
Recruiting/Marketing
Advising
Faculty/Curriculum
Program Staffing
Change?
“…there is nothing more difficult to carry out,
not more doubtful of success, nor more
dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new
order of things. For the reformer has enemies
in all those who profit by the old order, and
only lukewarm defenders in all those who
would profit by the new order…” Machiavelli
New Ventures of Regis University
•Since 1990, has assisted 32 private colleges and universities, nationally and
internationally, to develop and implement accelerated adult education
programs.
•93% of these schools have experienced moderate to exceptional success. We
have never experienced a failure when the partner school adheres to the Regis
model.
•Is a part of Regis University, a Jesuit, Catholic institution serving 16,000
students, 13,000 of whom are adult learners. There are six campuses in
Colorado and two in Nevada.
• Is now a partner with Ana G. Mendez University System (Puerto Rico) in
establishing a dual language accelerated adult education program in Orlando,
Florida.
New Ventures of Regis University
6890 West 52nd Avenue
Suite 201
Arvada, Colorado 80002
Tel: 303.458.4929
Scott Campbell
www.newventuresed.org
Tom Kennedy