• Online Education

    Enrollment in online education is growing rapidly. Almost half the institutions participating in a recent study by WICHE’s WCET and the Campus Computing Project expect to see increases of 15 percent or more in the next three years. And institutions seem to be readying their online-ed programs to handle that growth: 45 percent say they have restructured in the last two years, and 52 percent expect to do so in the next two years. But many institutions are still working out the kinks: only about a third report having 24/7 technical support, and many couldn’t say whether their programs were turning a profit.

    These and other data can be found in the inaugural “Managing Online Education” survey – view a recent presentation on survey results or read the executive summary (the full report will be posted soon). The need for such a survey has been growing along with the burgeoning market for online education. “We were filled with anecdotes of success and cautionary tales about failures but possessed only scant data to support these stories,” says Russell Poulin, WCET’s associate director. “While there are plenty of surveys on online-learning issues, there was little that had been done on supplying data to inform basic management questions.”

    The survey includes information on tuition, fees, faculty support, accessibility support for students with disabilities, and many other issues facing online programs. If you have questions about the survey, contact Russell Poulin.
     

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  • WCET’s New Leadership

    Ellen Wagner, an internationally renowned expert in learning technologies, is WCET’s new executive director. WCET chose Wagner based on the breadth of her knowledge of educational technologies, her experience with technology companies and commercial partners, and her understanding of state and federal policy as it relates to learning and technology. Louis Fox, WCET’s former director, continues in his role as vice president of WICHE’s Technology and Innovation initiative.

    Wagner has been involved in WCET in various roles since its earliest days. She was honored as the recipient of the 2008 Richard Jonsen Award, the organization’s highest honor, and served a 15-month engagement as a visiting scholar. Over her 25-year career, Wagner has built a strong reputation in learning-technology circles. A former Colorado educator, she served as a tenured professor and administrator at the University of Northern Colorado for 11 years. For the past 15 years, she has held executive positions with companies such as Macromedia and Adobe Systems, managing their worldwide higher education and e-learning business and developing learning strategies and business solutions. She is currently the principal analyst for Sage Road Solutions, a consulting organization that specializes in providing market development and solutions marketing services. In her continuing role with that company, Wagner will bring additional expertise from Sage Roads to help WCET shape its future. “Educational institutions worldwide are recognizing the great potential educational technology has for delivering learning, particularly during challenging budget periods,” says Wagner. “I look forward to working with our members, the outstanding team at WCET, and existing and new partners. Together, we will further WCET’s efforts to improve instruction and student learning and increase access to higher education.” For more information contact Ellen Wagner.
     

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  • Broadband for Education

    WICHE recently partnered with the National Internet2 K20 Initiative – whose director, Louis Fox, also heads up WICHE’s Technology and Innovation initiative – to forge a set of recommendations that would bring more institutions and individuals into the broadband tent, especially those who most need access to the benefits of a data-rich, highly connected “global schoolhouse.” The recommendations include extending high-speed broadband connectivity to a wide range of institutions – from elementary schools, high schools, and colleges, particularly those that serve minorities or are in rural or remote locations, to branch libraries and museums. In addition, the brief recommends extending federally funded e-rate discounts to these institutions. Contact Louis Fox for more information.

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  • Meetings Debriefing

    The annual meeting of the Western Academic Leadership Forum (WALF) will be held April 21-23 in Rapid City, SD. Themed “Academic Leadership: Charting the Future in a Sea of National and International Imperatives,” the meeting will feature sessions on postsecondary readiness, the Bologna accreditation process, and other topics. Invited to the forum are chief academic officers of bachelor, master, and doctoral institutions in the WICHE states, along with chief executives and chief academic officers for systems and state governing boards. WALF’s new Web-based toolkit, a repository of best practices and decision making tools for academic leaders, will launch at this meeting.

    This June WICHE is hosting the annual meeting of the National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH). The goals of the meeting, to be held in Denver on June 2-5 and themed “Innovations in Caring for Rural America,”  are to initiate a dialogue about rural behavioral health; highlight resources in rural and frontier communities; and foster an environment that encourages people to make connections. The conference will bring together healthcare providers, researchers, advocates, and policymakers, as well as persons in recovery and family members. Scholarships are available for rural mental healthcare providers; the deadline for application is April 15. A pre-conference training program focuses on mental health first aid; for more information, contact Jenny Shaw.

    Photo of Dennis Mohatt, Roslyn Carter, Jeanne Ritter

    WICHE’s Dennis Mohatt, Mental Health Program director and vice president of behavioral health, was in attendance at the 25th Anniversary Mental Health Symposium, hosted by former first lady Rosalynn Carter at the Carter Center in Atlanta in November. Jeannie Ritter, Colorado’s first lady, also attended; and Larry Green, a primary care physician from the University of Colorado, presented. Green’s panel, one of three, focused on the idea of a “health home,” designed to help overcome the fragmentation that exists between behavioral healthcare and primary care and to aid patients and families in finding the right kind of care. The symposium’s other two major themes were comparative effectiveness research and health IT. The Carter Center has archived the symposium’s presentations.

     

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  • Stretching Institutional Dollars

    WICHE, in partnership with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), is offering a slew of group-purchasing arrangements to help the West’s colleges and universities keep a lid on administrative costs. The agreements lower product costs by aggregating volume purchases. In addition, MHEC undertakes the RFP process, saving institutions time and money. Several purchasing agreements are available to K-12 organizations; local, county, and state governments; and nonprofits. Contracts available to institutions and organizations in the WICHE region include the following:

    * A full line of Dell new or refurbished computer equipment and components, as well as services, including installation, maintenance, support, and training. The contract extends through June 30, 2012. For more information, visit the Dell master price agreement page.

    * A three-year contract with four possible one-year renewals with Xerox for printing equipment and document management services. The contract also includes production-level printing services. In addition to hardware – such as multifunction devices, laser printers, copiers, and fax machines – the contract covers Xerox services, including productivity assessments and document advisories to help manage and streamline records and administrative documents. The full range of Xerox Global Services’ offerings is also available, including Xerox Office Productivity Assessments, which examine copy, print, and fax volumes across an entire organization and identify opportunities to save money by consolidating equipment. Members can also utilize Xerox’s Document Advisor Services to help manage the information overload of student records and administrative documents schools continually face. For more information, visit the Xerox agreement page; and and the Xerox reseller sales agreement page.

    * Systemax (Global Government & Education Solutions and CompUSA) products and services are available under a three-year contract that ends on June 30, 2010. A full product list, including desktop and notebook computers, monitors, LCDs, servers, tape backups, and many other types of equipment and services, is available on the Global Government & Education Solutions and CompUSA contract page.

    * Juniper Networks high-performance network infrastructure may be purchased under a contract that extends through December 31, 2011, and covers a range of software, online tools, and hardware. More details are available on the Juniper master price agreement page.

     

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Contacts

David Longanecker, President - Phone: (303) 541-0201, email dlonganecker@wiche.edu

Jere Mock, Vice President, Programs and Services - Phone: (303) 541-0222, email jmock@wiche.edu