Learning Resources

Abstract: Higher ed's apocalypse is entirely avoidable. Reframing four of higher education's greatest challenges—demographics, defaults, disillusionment, disruption—can help you ask the right questions and create learner-centered experiences while fulfilling your institution's mission. This session will show how Innovation Theory can help institutions thrive in learning's new golden age rather than falling under the scythe of the industry's most daunting challenges, the most urgent of which is COVID-19. The theory-based framework we discuss will give you a new lens through which to analyze your challenges and guide your strategic decision making.

Abstract: Assessment professionals speak their own (important) language, and it can be hard to keep up with critical terminology and trends. This session will help you define assessment-related terms (i.e. goals, outcomes, objectives, standards, etc.) and will provide an overview of assessment and accreditation trends that could impact your institution. We will also provide an overview of how this landscape is in flux due to COVID-19, and how this may impact higher education.

Abstract: In this conversation, William Knight, Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Effectiveness, Miami University, addresses how his team has developed data dashboards for administration and faculty to provide insight into Learning Management System (LMS) use, enrollment projections, and overall student access and success. He then discusses trends he’s noticed at HLC and thoughts on how campuses can begin discussions around staff capacity, curriculum success, and sunsetting programs, ultimately strengthening their sustainability and easing accreditation work.

Dr. Bill Knight has two roles on campus—working on IR and IE, and serving as the accreditation liaison. He is also a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

Host: Nicholas Santilli, Senior Director of Learning Strategy, SCUP, and Former Provost, John Carroll University

Abstract: Until recently, the campus and the institution were the same organisms, as shell and snail. The campus was an analog reflection of the institution's mission and scale. Mission was linked to place and size of place linked to scale. The institution required physical places for all its students, faculty, and staff. This link began to fray in the last decade of the 20th century, as the placeless, non-physical potential of a digital world became more obvious and increasingly functional. What are the physical consequences of these fraying relationships? How must campuses adapt? What remains after the environmental forces of a digital world?

Abstract: Higher education disruption takes many forms and its origins can range from local to international. Integrated planning is something all institutions need to confront disruption, but few institutions understand or practice. This session will discuss sources of disruption and how integrated planning can help institutions prepare for all different types as well as acculturate change conversation on campus. We will work through several exercises that will show you how to develop two to three competencies to address common challenges, allowing you to apply, tailor, and communicate a robust integrated planning value proposition at your institution.

Abstract: FLEXSpace—The Flexible Learning Environments eXchange—and the Learning Space Rating System (LSRS) are tools that can help you plan, design, assess, and improve learning spaces on your campus. In this session, you will learn about the newly released FLEXspace 2.0 along with the LSRS. We'll cover the features and benefits of both tools and how they can be incorporated into the planning process. Come learn how to use these tools to inform designs and support end users from planning through post occupancy.

Abstract: Assessment people speak their own (important) language, and if you're not in assessment, it can be hard to keep up with critical assessment-related terminology and trends. This session will help you define assessment-related terms (i.e. goals, outcomes, objectives, standards, etc.) and will provide an overview of assessment and accreditation trends that could impact your institution. Whether you're brand new to assessment or need a refresher, this session will bring you up to speed quickly.

Abstract: Over the last decade, many academic institutions, from elementary schools to universities, have added academic makerspaces to their campuses. This development has enabled students and faculty to come together and collaborate, design, fabricate, and learn in shared spaces. This article describes how the creation and incorporation of academic makerspaces in a university learning ecosystem can help achieve accreditation. Specific examples are drawn from ABET’s engineering accreditation criteria. The article also explores how academic makerspaces can enhance teaching objectives and student outcomes by providing a space for learning technological skills within social contexts in interdisciplinary communities of practice.

Abstract: This article reviews 20 years of accreditation in developing economies, showing the progress made in quality assurance over this time and its impact on quality improvement. Quality assurance and accreditation are now nearly universal in the developing world, and the process is remarkably similar across countries. We see an overall congruence of goals and expectations and a growing recognition of the importance of what are seen as international standards. The process has led to significant improvements in the quality of higher education generally, a greater focus on teaching and learning, and increased public confidence in higher education as a result. Nonetheless, the quality of graduate education generally remains unacceptably low, and recognition by governments of the need to adequately fund public higher education is far too limited, with only a few exceptions.