WICHE, partnering with Lumina Foundation, convened a second meeting of the Adult College Completion Network in Denver on October 19-21, bringing together state policymakers, nonprofit organizations, chambers of commerce, and employer/industry-focused groups to collaborate on strategies to reenroll adults with prior college credits so they can complete their degrees and to help address future workforce needs by targeting these nontraditional learners. Read about strategies for adult college completion on the ACCN website.

WICHE’s Legislative Advisory Committee held its annual meeting—themed “New Directions in Higher Education: Where Do We Go from Here?”— in Seattle on September 13-14. The LAC works to strengthen state policymaking in higher education in the West by engaging legislators who are appointed by the WICHE Commission in the discussion of higher education issues and by seeking their input on strategies for interstate collaboration. Seventeen legislators from 11 states participated (the best participation rate to date), and a number of high-profile speakers were also in attendance. Chris Bustamante, president of Rio Salado College, Alan Drimmer from the University of Phoenix, and Jean Floten, the new chancellor of Western Governors University-Washington, spoke about nontraditional institutions. Mark Campbell and Amy Sherman from the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning talked about prior-learning assessment. WICHE Commissioner Cam Preus, commissioner of the Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development, discussed community colleges. Washington Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, also a WICHE commissioner, provided insight on changing higher education governance in the West. And Joe Willhoft from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and Ryan Reyna from the National Governors Association spoke about the Common Core State Standards.

WCET’s 23rd Annual Conference, held in Denver on October 26-29, brought together nearly 400 higher education leaders and innovators involved with technology-enhanced education. The opening keynote was by Jeff Borden from Pearson and Mark Sarver from Edukan. Other sessions included a panel of accreditors discussing the changing accreditation scene; attorney Michael Goldstein, who spoke on Department of Education regulations that institutions need to be aware of; and a closing panel of e-learning innovators, who focused on the thoughtful adoption of technology in pursuit of education excellence. View general sessions on the WCET conference page. The 2012 conference will take place in San Antonio on October 31-November 3.

WICHE’s Policy staff facilitated a meeting with staff from the North Dakota University System (NDUS), key higher education leaders in the state, and members of the Adult Learners Council that focused on how North Dakota can identify and bring its "ready adults"—those who have previously earned a significant number of college credits but who have not yet returned to campus—back to postsecondary education to complete their credentials. The meeting, part of the Non-traditional No More project, was held in Bismarck on September 20 and attracted about 75 participants from around the state. NDUS is developing an action plan that will address issues related to data, academic affairs, student services, financing/financial aid, and communications/marketing to target and better serve this population.

November 2011  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook