• Application: The Critical Components of Higher Education (Part 1)

  This week, you will get started on your Course Project. Start by reviewing the scenario presented in the Course Project Overview section of Week 1. Your task this week will be to prepare a short narrative relating student interests to the board’s challenges, including a discussion of how changing student demographics have led to the board’s concerns over graduation rates and student learning.

  Using the readings and other resources provided this week, write 2–3 pages on the following questions:

1.      Why are the issues of student learning and graduation important now?

2.      How have college students’ needs and interests related to college attendance changed in recent years?

3.      How have these changes led to the need to focus on graduation and learning?

To inform your narrative, you will want to consider the kind of institution you are writing about, and the kinds of students it serves. You can choose one of the fictional institutions described in one of these profiles linked below; or, if you currently work at a college or university, you can use your own institution and create a similar profile for that institution. If you choose to use your own institution, just include your profile as a separate page in your assignment.

You may organize your paper any way you wish, but consider using headings to help the reader follow your arguments. Be sure to include citations for the readings and resources you use as sources.

Next week, you will add your Week 4 Application Assignment to this paper, ensure it is formatted correctly in APA style, and submit it as one assignment. In Week 7, you will incorporate this work into your Course Project.

Assignment Length: 2–3 pages

• Week 4: Past and Present Expectations for Higher Education

  Introduction

  If you asked any administrator in higher education today about his or her primary work-related concern, they would probably say, “money.” If you asked any prospective student thinking about starting college, his or her main concern would also likely be, “money.” Ask a state legislator, and they would tell you the same thing—a concern that will be painfully evident every time state budgets for public higher education are debated. Students and families wonder why higher education costs so much, businesspeople wonder why colleges and universities can’t keep their costs under control, and college leaders wonder where they are going to get the resources to stay competitive—or even survive.

  In Week 2, you discussed higher education’s public and private benefits, and debated who should bear the responsibility for providing these benefits. Last week, you focused on the role of students in this equation. The reality, of course, is that if the costs of higher education continue to escalate, it will become more difficult for anyone—states, families, students themselves—to pay for higher education.

  This week, you will explore historical expectations for higher education, and the social, political, and economic forces that have placed increasing demands on our higher education system. You will also consider several perspectives on the rising costs of higher education, including what politicians and businesspeople are saying about the need for more efficiency and productivity in how most institutions operate.

  Application: Course Project: The Critical Components of Higher Education (Part 2)

   

  This week, you will complete the second part of your Course Project, and submit the first two parts to your Instructor for review and feedback. If needed, review the scenario presented in the Course Project Overview section of Week 1. Your task this week will be to prepare a short narrative relating business/political interests to the board’s challenges, including a discussion of how changing social, economic, and political influences have led to the board’s concerns.

   

  Using the readings and other resources provided this week, write 2–3 pages on the following questions:

1.      How have the political and economic factors impacting higher education changed in recent years?

2.      How have these factors led to a concern about issues of student learning and graduation?

3.      Why are the board members concerned about accomplishing change without increasing costs?

Continue using the institutional profile you selected or created last week. You may organize your paper any way you wish, but consider using headings to help the reader follow your arguments. Be sure to include citations for the readings and resources you use as sources.

Formatting Your Assignment: Follow APA style to format your paper. Combine last week’s assignment with this one; include a cover page, an introduction, a conclusion, and a reference page. Use the Scholarly Writing Tutorial included in this week’s Learning Resources to get an overview of the scholarly writing process and the basics of APA citation and formatting. Continue to refer to your Scholarly Writing Checklist, Scholarly Writing Resources page, and Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students.

Assignment Length: 2–3 pages (Combine with Week 3 for total of 4–6 pages)

• Application: Course Project: The Critical Components of Higher Education (Part 3)

  This week, you will complete the third part of your Course Project. If needed, review the scenario presented in the Course Project section of Week 1. Your task this week will be to prepare a short narrative in which you propose some key indicators that could be used to determine whether your institution is making progress on the challenges presented by the board.

  An indicator is a measure of a particular quality, usually something that is hard to define or measure. Indicators do not have to capture every aspect of that quality — you might use several indicators to get a good picture. For example, if you were interested in measuring how “wealthy” people are, you might choose “annual income,” or “assets owned,” as indicators of wealth. These indicators won’t give you a complete picture, but they will give you important information.

  In higher education, we often use indicators to measure amorphous qualities such as “learning” or “student success”. In future courses, you will explore the process of defining measures, establishing indicators, and gathering data that can be used for assessment in much more detail. For this assignment, you will start thinking about what kinds of indicators an institution might use to begin to investigate issues such as learning and success.

  Using the readings and other resources provided this week, write 1–2 pages on ways you might define indicators to assess your institution’s progress toward the goals presented by your board. If you wish, use a bulleted list to propose possible indicators, and then explain how convincing these indicators might be to your board and other stakeholders.

  Continue using the institutional profile you selected or created previously. You may organize your paper any way you wish, but consider using headings to help the reader follow your arguments. Be sure to include citations for the readings and resources you use as sources.

   

   

   

• The Critical Components of Higher Education (Part 3)

  This week, you will complete the third part of your Course Project. If needed, review the scenario presented in the Course Project section of Week 1. Your task this week will be to prepare a short narrative in which you propose some key indicators that could be used to determine whether your institution is making progress on the challenges presented by the board.

  An indicator is a measure of a particular quality, usually something that is hard to define or measure. Indicators do not have to capture every aspect of that quality — you might use several indicators to get a good picture. For example, if you were interested in measuring how “wealthy” people are, you might choose “annual income,” or “assets owned,” as indicators of wealth. These indicators won’t give you a complete picture, but they will give you important information.

  In higher education, we often use indicators to measure amorphous qualities such as “learning” or “student success”. In future courses, you will explore the process of defining measures, establishing indicators, and gathering data that can be used for assessment in much more detail. For this assignment, you will start thinking about what kinds of indicators an institution might use to begin to investigate issues such as learning and success.

  Using the readings and other resources provided this week, write 1–2 pages on ways you might define indicators to assess your institution’s progress toward the goals presented by your board. If you wish, use a bulleted list to propose possible indicators, and then explain how convincing these indicators might be to your board and other stakeholders.

  Continue using the institutional profile you selected or created previously. You may organize your paper any way you wish, but consider using headings to help the reader follow your arguments. Be sure to include citations for the readings and resources you use as sources.

   

• This week, you will complete the last part of your Course Project, pull all of the pieces together, ensure your work is formatted in correct APA style, and submit it in its entirety for credit. If needed, review the scenario presented in the Course Project Overview section of Week 1. For this final piece, you will create a list of resources that your institution’s task force could use in further researching and developing your plan.

  Using your exploration of professional associations and foundations in higher education, identify at least three organizations that provide information or resources that your task force could use in addressing the challenges presented by your board. For each, provide:

  • The name and Web site of the organization
  • A brief summary (1–2 paragraphs) of the organization’s purpose and major agenda items
  • A short description of resources provided by the organization that could be useful to your institution in addressing the board’s challenges

    Formatting Your Assignment: Follow APA style to format your paper. Combine your assignments from Weeks 3, 4, and 6 with this week’s assignment; include a cover page, an introduction, a conclusion, and a reference page. Use the Scholarly Writing Tutorial included in the Week 4 Learning Resources to get an overview of the scholarly writing process and the basics of APA citation and formatting. Continue to refer to your Scholarly Writing Checklist (Week 1 Resources), Scholarly Writing Resources page (on the left navigation bar), and your Essential Guide to APA Style