Pace University 2013 Leadership Forum
Thursday, May 30, 2013 - Graduate Center, White Plains, NY
Notes from Debrief Presentations
Breakout Group 1: Globalization and International Students
Questions: How do we effectively serve international students who come to Pace? What can we do to
maximize the cultural exchange between international and domestic students? Given that a high
percentage of our international students are from China, how to we ensure that other international
students are also welcomed? What are the best means of ensuring international students are actively
involved in Pace student life?
Report: The group talked about what happens when an international student graduates, how does Pace
serve that student. There are issues with shared experiences through student life. We can look to some
of the small programs that we currently have such as the Lubin Semester in the City and create some
scale around those. Use NYC as an asset for our campus and leverage signature programs in PLV to
attract more students there. Some ideas for extending our reach include partnerships or alliances with
international organizations such as UN, Asia Society, NGOs, etc. Look to enhance our international
alumni network.
Breakout Group 2: Globalization and International Education
Questions: Are international experiences a valuable part of a student’s education? What defines an
international experience for Pace’s domestic students? How can we ensure more students are
incorporating international experiences into their Pace education, particularly in Pleasantville? What
linkages between international experiences and the curriculum are most effective?
Report: International experiences are indispensable to one’s education. That does not mean that all
students have to go aboard. Need to build the expectation among students and faculty that every
student should have an international experience. Provide a menu of 10-20 different types of experiences
that students can choose from. Develop partnerships with community-based organizations so students
can have a cross cultural experiences “at home.” Work to identify cross cultural coaches among faculty
and staff.
Breakout Group 3: College Completion and the Changing Definition of a Degree
Questions: The measure of college completion is evolving. In some areas, there is a move towards
measuring competencies rather than credit hours. What is the impact on Pace? How does a move to
competency as the measure of completion impact the value of a Pace education? How should prior
learning or competencies be handled for Pace’s transfer students? How does Pace/should Pace adapt to
this change?
Report: Need to look at what core competences employers want from students. Are we doing what we
say we are doing with regard to professional education. Mentoring is a key component of developing
competencies, which requires funding. Need to partner with employers to ensure that our graduates
have the necessary skills. This discussion assumes that students know what they want when they arrive
at Pace which is not always the case.
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Breakout Group 4: Cost of College and Technology (A)
Questions: Like our competitors, Pace discounts its tuition to ensure that we maintain enrollment. Given
cost pressures and increasing student debt what are our options? Can technological advances and the
increasing availability of digital resources be used to “scale up” good instruction? How can we leverage
technology to improve the value we offer our students. What pedagogical and administrative gains can
be realized through the purposeful implementation of technology?
Report: Need to leverage technology to increase the value that we offer. Look at high-impact practices
and see how those can be brought online. Look at advising capacity – can there be more availability for
faculty to advise/mentor online? A flexible schedule can help the graduation rate. Need to get faculty
thinking about technology and how they do their jobs – need to look at both pedagogy and technology.
Also, use the data that we have on students to help them earlier in their college careers.
Breakout Group 5: Cost of College and Technology (B)
Questions: Like our competitors, Pace discounts its tuition to maintain enrollment. Given cost pressures
and increasing student debt what are our options? Can technological advances and the increasing
availability of digital resources be used to “scale up” good instruction? How can we leverage technology
to improve the value we offer our students. What pedagogical and administrative gains can be realized
through the purposeful implementation of technology?
Report: Look at how we use technology and better leverage technology to help students finish their
degrees. Incentivize faculty to think about alternative teaching modes. Get faculty using new
technologies (i.e., new Blackboard functionality). One issue of student debt is over borrowing. Need to
educate students about financial literacy and making sure they are not over-extending themselves. Look
at compacting core – offering less choice not more to make sure students get what they need.
Breakout Group 6: Changes in Instructional Technology and the Impact of MOOCs
Questions: The rapid evolution of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has sparked many
conversations about the definition of “college educated.” Are MOOCs an acceptable substitute for a
degree that employers and society will perceive as “good enough.” What options does Pace have for
using MOOCs as a component of blended learning? What can Pace offer students in this environment
that would strongly separate us from the pack and enable us to thrive?
Report: MOOCs may work for some student populations but not others. Graduate students are more
focused and mature. An issue is what will employers think of MOOCs – employers feel there are skill
deficiencies now that may not be solved with MOOCs. Need to think about which faculty are more
appropriate for MOOCs. How do you know you are getting through to students with limited feedback?
Need to look at topics that are good for Pace, and leverage our proximity to NYC to be the most
attractive to MOOC students.
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Breakout Group 7: Student Outcomes External Reporting
Questions: There is increasing federal and state pressure to improve reporting of standard outcomes
and to report more outcomes (e.g., indebtedness, employment) coupled with a growing demand for
transparency and accountability from both students and parents. What are the essential elements in
measuring the success of post-secondary education that should be reported? If the current measures
are less than helpful to us and to our students/parents, what are some better measures? How do we
measure success?
Report: There are new measures and competencies that can be developed with help from employers.
Need to work with employers to define necessary skills. Assess each major and get data on outcomes.
Look at additional measures that we can develop that will help Pace understand how outcomes beyond
just the first job – more data on career trajectory. Develop a mentor program with alumni. Develop new
programs beyond UNV101 that help students with post-college success, including financial literacy.
Rethink the core to focus on essentials – too many choices. Benchmark expectations and competencies
year by year to determine what should they know at each stage.
Breakout Group 8: Student Outcomes and Employers
Questions: Employers are expressing dissatisfaction with the skills of recent graduates, they perceive
graduates as unprepared for real workplace problems and behind the curve in both technology and
current management issues. How do we know our graduates are well-equipped for professional
success? How can we ensure we are adequately preparing our students to meet employers’ needs?
Report: Individual schools should have an advisory board of employers to determine how well Pace
grads meet employers’ needs. Develop a clearinghouse of data and share best practices across schools.
Employers think that students lack soft skills, that they are not as prepared for the culture of the
workplace as they ought to be. In CHP there is a capstone integrated into the curriculum which is a
transition course designed to assess how prepared the student is to work. Need more timely data
collection to be more responsive to employers’ needs. Need to inculcate these skills from the beginning.
Need to better integrate data from student services and career services, and share data across these
and other groups.
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