UB Buzz

Study: Life in Campus Hubs

More and more learning is taking place outside of the traditional classroom walls. New research from Herman Miller explores a new phenomenon -- hub zones. These deliberately crafted indoor collaborative spaces are emerging as key learning centers on 21st century campuses across the country. The study, titled "Hub Life: Insights that Shape Campus Spaces," reveals the design factors that influence learning and highlights insights that will shape future education space design. Herman Miller will share these findings at the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) conference being held this week in Baltimore.

"While we may be familiar with more traditional, formal learning spaces on campus, research shows that just as much learning takes place after students walk out of the classroom," says Jeff Vredevoogd, director of Herman Miller Education. "The Hub Life survey was structured to glean a better understanding of the planning and design that goes into constructing these spaces known as 'hub zones.' "

More than 70 percent of respondents identified collaboration as the primary benefit of hub zone learning. Additional findings from the survey of U.S. higher education facility planners, architects and designers:

* Location is Key - On average, up to 30 percent of space in student buildings, residence halls and libraries is allocated for hub zone use.

* Design to Adapt - Flexibility is the number one requirement for hub zone furnishings, including ease of maneuverability and white board access.

* Technology is Top Priority - Nearly half of respondents noted technological capability (WiFi and electric power) as being important to hub design and layout.

* Size Matters - The majority of respondents said zones should be designed for less than 10 people.

For a copy of the full survey, contact herman_miller_education@hermanmiller.com

Vredevoogd's thoughts on hub zones are included in the cover story of the May 2011 issue of University Business on designing collaborative study spaces.

12 Tips for Implementing a Financial Literacy Program

As families continue to struggle to pay tuition, often financial aid officers will see students borrowing more than they may well be able to afford to pay back. Attendees of this week's National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators conference in Boston encountered session presenters and exhibitors touting student financial literacy programs. These programs are helping to ensure students borrow manageable amounts and can later pay it back without defaulting on their loans. But they tackle a broad range of financial literacy topics, from using credit cards and home buying to savings and stock market investing.

In one session, Meaghan Hardy and Marsia Hill-Kreaime of Boston College and Gretchen Bonfardine of American Student Assistance shared some tools and tips for implementing a successful financial literacy program on campus. Among their advice:

1. Establish goals for the program, which might include getting students to attend, lowering borrowing levels, and better cohort default rates.

2. Partner with others on campus to promote and deliver the program. Some ideas are student organizations, athletics, residential assistance, deans, student development office staff, freshmen orientation organizers, and alumni.

3. Utilize off-campus collaborators as well. These may include nonprofits, credit counseling services, centers for financial education, local foundations, United Way organizations, guarantors, government agencies, the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank, local banks and credit unions, financial services institutions, the FTC, the Department of Education, local businesses, financial advisors, and insurance companies or agencies.

4. Once it's established, advertise your program. Post fliers, send out campuswide emails to targeted populations, and approach student-run media about covering the program. Or submit informational articles on money management to the student newspaper.

5. Include budgeting workshops using realistic figures. For example, use the average starting salary for your school or by major, as well as the average cost of living in your area or where grads tend to live.

6.  Take advantage of first year experience courses -- which might include credit information, car buying tips, differences between living on campus or in an off-campus apartment, and basic budgeting and money management advice.

7.  Be sure to reach your at-risk populations -- low-income borrowers, minority borrowers, first-generation borrowers, withdrawn borrowers, in-grace borrowers, delinquent borrowers, those with high undergraduate debt, those with large first year loans, need-based borrowers, and those not making academic progress.

8. Get students involved. Boston College uses Peer Money Mentors and require that at-risk students meet with them.

9. Take programs to students -- in residence halls, in classes, and in heavy traffic areas of campus, or example.

10. Use your website to provide financial literacy education, even if it's just by linking to partner websites.

11. Think of financial literacy as a pervasive theme, not just a singular program.

12. Finally, check out existing campus programs for inspiration. Some recommended ones include:

 - Boston College $uccessful Start

- Iowa State University Financial Counseling Clinic

- University of North Texas Student Money Management Center

- University of Nebraska - Lincoln Student Money Management Center

- Suffolk Law School Get Smart

 

2011 Freshmen Summer Reading Selections

Summer reading is not exactly on students’ checklists of things to do the summer before college.

But to prepare incoming freshmen for college-level work, first-year curriculum, or orientation prior to starting school, many colleges and universities are requiring it. And they’re assigning their specific book selections for good reason.

Before starting at Western New England University (Mass.) this year, students are reading A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind. Kerri Jarzabski, dean of freshmen students and students in transition, says the title was chosen so their incoming freshman will understand “the importance of appreciating the diverse experience of all college students.”

It focuses on the story of Cedric Jennings, a boy who grows up attending a Washington, DC school filled with crime. Jennings is able to move away from this world when he is accepted into Brown University, where he attempts to fit in with his peers only to find there are many intellectual and social challenges that come with the college transition.

With 10 years of this type of program behind them, officials at Meredith College (N.C.) chose Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, which follows a Honduran boy’s quest to locate his mother in the United States. The book goes along with the campus’s 2011-2012 theme of “Uncommon Choices,” and also adds to the Presidential Lecture Series that will kick off this year with Nazario discussing her book.

Rebecca Duncan, the Norma Rose professor of English and co-coordinator for the summer reading program at Meredith College, says freshman are placed in advisor groups with a faculty member and student to discuss the book. “We want to get the students to think about having an academic discussion without getting a grade for it,” she explains.

Roanoke College (Va.) officials chose another route this year: Providing students with a multimedia assignment. Incoming freshman are listening to clips from places such as National Public Radio, completing short readings, and viewing photo galleries, all related to the theme “Food: Why Do We Choose What We Choose.” Students must respond to a prompt by completing an essay or an artistic project such as video, audio, music, collage, painting, or something else that they chose. The college hopes this will result in students becoming more educated about eating local foods prior to coming into school.

With good intentions for this summer, the challenge here is how colleges and universities can continue to make summer reading for incoming freshman something beneficial. —Charlotte Adinolfi

Master's Program for Returning Peace Corps Volunteers

Students who took an alternate route of service after college graduation may be receiving that reward they deserve. Bard College (N.Y.) is now offering master of science degrees in climate science and policy and in environmental policy for students returning from the Peace Corps. As part of the Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program (formerly Fellows/USA), which started in 1985 at Teachers College, Columbia University, Bard's program was launched through a partnership with the Peace Corps—and is believed to be unique.

Molly Williams, Fellows/USA and Master’s International Coordinator at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, explains the program originated with the belief that volunteers from the Peace Corps want to make a difference in the world, yet serving overseas doesn’t allow them to earn money for graduate school. “We feel we are perfect for environmentally minded leaders, which make up a large portion of Peace Corps volunteers,” she says. Bard has had a relationship with the Peace Corps in the past through their Master’s International Program, which offers students the opportunity to serve in the Peace Corps while completing a master’s program at Bard.

Under the new fellows program, which launches this fall, students returning from their two years in the Peace Corps can enroll to complete their degree in two years, since Peace Corps volunteers have likely worked on environmental projects during their service overseas. Students in the program receive a 33 percent tuition remission during their first year as well as a 10 credit waiver for a second-year internship—for approximately a $20,000 tuition savings. The program includes an internship in an underserved area of the United States, to complete a key Peace Corps goal of bringing back what was learned while serving overseas.

There are more than 60 graduate schools participating in the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program across the country. Williams says the Bard College experience is different in that it’s structured on a cohort model of taking classes. Students will form relationships with classmates and faculty as a result of moving through the program together as a unit. Enrollment is capped at 30 students.  

According to Williams, the school has received about half a dozen inquiries about the program so far. And if all goes according to plan, program graduates will have sufficient specialized and practical skills to be considered for mid- to high-level placement in their chosen fields after graduation. —Charlotte Adinolfi

ACE Meeting Highlight: The Great American University

"Universities have always seen themselves in crisis -- it's like a permanent psychological condition," quipped Jonathan Cole, a distinguished professor and former provost and dean of faculties at Columbia University, in his introduction to a plenary session at the American Council on Education's
93rd annual meeting this morning.

The session was titled The Great American University, as is Cole's book, which tells of how our nation's universities became engines of change.

After highlighting some of the values essential to our universities, how he remains hopeful despite the economic threats to our system, and how we have the envy of the world, Cole posed this basic question: "If we're so good, why do we feel so bad?"

Graham Spanier, president of The Pennsylvania State University, commented on how Governor Tom Corbett was expected to announce a budget proposal this morning with devastating cuts to education. "I believe Abraham Lincoln is weeping today," he said. (As expected, Corbett’s budget proposal includes a 50 percent cut to higher education.)

His main worry is "what this does for hundreds of thousands of students and families," he said. Spanier had this prediction for the future: "I think we'll see privatization of American public higher education. We’re all moving in the direction of operating like a private university does.

Spanier compared the budget cuts to a spreading virus. William Kirwan, chancellor and CEO of the University System of Maryland, jumped in to share a strategy being used to protect the state: “We have a team of immunologists at the border trying to prevent this virus from coming over.” Maryland, he added, has been challenged but higher education budgets have remained stable for now.

Of the national situation, Kirwan notes that with the subsidies for education being “so ruthlessly cut,” the big concern is the larger context of the under-education of the American population. His challenge
for higher ed: “We have got to find lower cost ways of delivering high quality education. The consequences for our universities and our nation are so dire if we do not.”

Spanier said he feels higher education has respect from the state but that it is being treated as a discretionary part of the budget. “We sometimes hear people get confused between Penn State and the state pen,” he joked, adding, “I’d like to have their funding.”

Cole pointed out that in California, state institutions have been increasing the number of out of state students, who pay full tuition – a move the panelists saw as dangerous to college access. “Seventy-five percent of Penn State’s enrollment is in state, but we receive more out of state than in-state
applicants,” Spanier shared. There will be more recruiting of out of state students done to help the state schools cope, and in-state tuition will have to increase, he added.

When the discussion turned to what responsibility higher education has to the problems being faced in K12, Kirwan brought up the core standards effort and his worry that it will “be taken over by K12 because of the lack of involvement from higher ed.” He also expressed disappointment that
more institutions haven’t embraced some of the successful models of training teachers, such as the University of Texas’s UTeach program.

Regarding the use of technology in higher ed today and how it relates to cost structures, Spanier said more universities may become more flexible about alternative course formats, but that a problem is very traditional faculty uninterested in online delivery of courses. “Many universities are setting up an arm’s length enterprise [for online education]” and compensating teachers extra for participating,” he said. “The faculty need to come along. Not everybody has to do it but more have to do it.”

Thomas Rosenbaum, provost of the University of Chicago, noted that technology use doesn’t necessarily mean cost savings and that it’s always going to be important to invest in research. Technology is “not always going to be a cure-all,” he said.

Spanier added that one way his institution will cope with the budget concerns is to ensure faculty know that this is a new era. “I’ve asked everyone to take a position that all faculty deals are off.” He said it’s
all too common that a new dean comes in and various faculty members start coming in to inform him or her of deals such as “I only teach grad students” or “I get every other course off.” “We have so many deals going on – we’ve got to get our arms around this,” Spanier said. “I refuse to employ a single faculty member who does not teach.”

An Update on the Classic Phone Booth

Without hesitation, when we hear the words "phone" and "booth" put together, the first thing that comes to mind is something quaint, red—and quintessentially British.
But Washington and Lee University (Va.) has come up with a bloody brilliant twist on the old phone booth that could put their students ahead when it comes to nailing a job or internship. The office of career services has utilized Skype to allow students to go on long distance interviews (shown below), and has dedicated an interview room as a phone booth with a land line (to avoid "Can you hear me now?" moments) where students can make or receive job and internship calls. Since many employers conduct phone interviews before in-person interviews, this phone room gives students a professional and private atmosphere—away from noisy roommates—so they can make the best first impression possible...and hopefully nail the job. Has your instititution promoted the use of video chat for interviews or designated a room solely for phone interviews? We'd love to hear about it!

 

British phone booth photo by Clinton & Charles Robertson/flickr.com

 

One Way to Keep Building

Although the economy is slowly on the up, institutions, just like individuals, are still feeling the crunch. As we discussed in our November/December 2010 article "Renovate and Reuse: Higher Education’s New Mantra," renovating existing buildings is one way for higher ed institutions to keep building despite the economy. Falling into this concept is a trend that has come on our radar called Equity Seat Rights (ESR). The concept is pretty simple: sell a portion of stadium seats to alumni and fans to finance the renovation of that building.

The University of California at Berkeley and the University of Kansas both instituted ESR in the past year and a half for major renovations within their athletic departments. Cal-Berkeley's "Endowment Seating Program" is helping to fund the restoration of the campus's Memorial Stadium, built in 1923. KU's own Memorial Club boasts a special section called the Gridiron Club where the ESR seats are located. On top of funding restoration, overflow goes toward funding athletic and academic programs.

The company that can be credited with coming up with ESR is Stadium Capital Financing Group out of Chicago.

 

"Live the Life" Virtual Tour Debuts at Fairfield U

My alma mater, Fairfield University (Conn.), has created its first online campus virtual tour, "Live the Life."

The video series is centered on two students who have their daily lives videotaped to show what happens on a college campus. I followed Sarah to see what her day was all about, and yes, it starts with her waking up -- at the ungodly hour of 8:35 (miss that about college!). The project succeeds in giving prospective students a glimpse at campus life in a way that a more typical virtual tour does not usually do (I've been keeping a close eye on virtual campus tours since covering some early adopters of this concept in the Dec. 2008 article "A Virtual Visit Welcome").

According to a press release, school officials are hoping the technology and videos will inspire prospective high school students to engage and visit the university. The video clips aren't sanitized versions of campus life either–there are no model dormitory rooms or airbrushed foods in sight. Instead, viewers will get a first-hand experience of what it is like for students to eat in the dining hall, attend classes, watch a sporting event, and try out for clubs and organizations.

Director of web communications Scott Barnett says people like to see themselves in situations, to see how campus life might look to them.

The university worked with Westport, Conn.-based Spitfire Interactive on the project. Mark Galley, founder and president says Fairfield’s “Live the Life” experience is designed to break through all the clutter of other college virtual tours. In the end, utilizing the full depth of the interactive channel to create an original video/Flash experience that heightens awareness of the university, engages more prospects, and facilitates more interest and applications to the school. “Our goal here was to increase applications to the university. In order to accomplish that, we knew whatever we created had to be relevant, entertaining, educational, and completely unique,” Galley said.

The modular configuration of the virtual tour allows for more episodes, ranging from two to six minutes in length, to be added and released incrementally throughout the 2010-11 academic year, chronicling the events of the students as they transition and progress in their lives at Fairfield. Episodes launch through the university’s admissions site at www.fairfield.edu/admissions.

What innovative virtual -- or in-person -- campus tours does your institution have in the works?

Mac Use on the Rise, But Integration Remains a Challenge

There’s little argument that, as in the workplace, PCs continue to dominate the campus technology scene. But Apple’s line of computers (including the iMac, Macbook, iPad, and other devices) continue to gain in popularity among students and faculty. As Mac users are quick to point out, except for some specialized applications, there are Mac versions of all the most commonly used software packages. And as online computing grows via the browser-based web and the cloud, there should be no reason that Macs wouldn’t be more widely used.
But there is.
Mac/Windows integration continues to be a problem on college campuses, according to a new report by Group Logic.
Last month, Group Logic conducted a survey among 125 IT leaders within the North American education industry focusing on not only the trends in Mac user growth within higher education institutions but also the challenges that IT organizations face in integrating Macs within an existing Windows-based infrastructure.
“Among the most basic forms of collaboration between Mac and Windows users is the ability to share files and printers, so users’ productivity is likely quite affected when outdated infrastructure limits those capabilities,” says Anders Lofgren, vice president of Product Management for Group Logic.
Among the survey’s findings:
• Mac adoption rates are significant at the schools surveyed (currently 30 percent of students and 24 percent of faculty use them)
• Mac use is up 18 percent over 2009 and is estimated to continue growing by about 20 percent over the next five years.
• Nearly 60 percent of Mac users say they still have difficulty sharing files and printers over the network.
Although they agreed that Mac users were putting pressure on IT organizations to adopt new Mac/Windows integration strategies, more than 22 percent of survey respondents said their institutions had no formalized strategy.
According to the survey, nearly 42 percent of higher education IT professionals said they field requests “often” or “nearly every day” from users seeking more effective ways to share Mac and Windows resources such as files or printers.
Respondents most often named Microsoft Active Directory integration (55 percent), client management (40 percent, including tasks associated with inventory, patches, and compliance) and application compatibility (38 percent) as the most difficult challenges they face.
The full report is available for download here.

Awarding Online Excellence

Distance learning classes continue to grow in size and acceptance. As new programs are started, recognizing established programs that are well run and effective can provide others with a standard at which to aim.

“There is still so much to learn about online education and how to do it well,” says Burks Oakley II, chair of the Sloan-C Awards Selection Committee. “You only have to look at the trouble the for-profit schools are in [to realize that]. We want to acknowledge the institutions [that] are doing a good job.”

The Sloan Consortium Annual Awards recognize both programs and individuals whose achievements are helping improve the quality of online education. The awards have been changing to keep pace with the advances in distance learning.

The Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education, which this year went to Western Governors University, was started two years ago. The completely online institution was recognized for “using quantitative data to assure excellence in competency-based online education.”

“We want to recognize the schools collecting and analyzing data for a process of improvement,” Oakley explains. The nomination forms are posted on the Sloan-C website so other program leaders can learn from WGU and past winners’ example. To continue the sharing process, many award winners are also invited to speak at the annual convention the following year.

It’s that spirit of sharing behind Raymond E. Schroeder, of the University of Illinois at Springfield, winning the A. Frank Mayadas Leadership Award, says Oakley. “The University of Illinois has received seven different Sloan-C awards over the years,” Oakley says. “I know Ray is always hosting people on campus and explaining what they are doing.”

The awards were handed out during the annual conference on November 4. The complete list of winners and program descriptions are available at the Sloan-C website.