Campus Technology: Ocean County College Contracts Out Recruitment and Retention To Drive Online Growth

By Dian Schaffhauser

07/06/11

Ocean County College, which is looking to triple its distance learning enrollment numbers, is turning to an outside service provider to help with its online recruitment and retention efforts. The New Jersey two-year college has signed on with ESM, a contact center that caters to education. In May 2011, the institution announced it was contracting with Pearson eCollege for use of LearningStudio, its online learning management system. This latest business process outsourcing endeavor will help Ocean with recruitment and retention efforts specifically for its online students.

Until now, the college offered individual online courses. Now it will be implementing full online degree programs with the expectation that it will grow from 7,000 enrollments to 21,000 enrollments over the next five years.

ESM, which has its headquarters in Colorado, offers services for students that address retention, career placement, and financial counseling. It also provides analytics services for schools to manage student loan exposure. The company is expected to work with Ocean specifically to grow enrollments and support students from their initial inquiry through their learning experiences.

"Our partnership with Pearson and ESM is key to helping us deliver a high growth, rigorous and quality online learning program," said college President Jon Larson. "Not only will our students have greater access to affordable online opportunities, but they also will receive an increased level of support throughout their education in order to make sure their needs are being met at each and every stage."

"Online students often have more outside responsibilities and pressures that can impact their ability to graduate," said ESM CEO Doug Kelsall. "Ocean County College is taking the right steps to not only make sure they are delivering the kinds of programs that students need, but that they are providing the technology and services that will position students for success. More students will be able to achieve their academic and career goals because of the college's vision."


About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com

Campus Technology: Ocean County College Contracts Out Recruitment and Retention To Drive Online Growth

Chronicle Of Higher Education (Opinion) Sun Journal

Higher education keeps getting lower. And not just in this state, where the core curriculum at the University of Arkansas’ campus at Fayetteville is being hollowed out. It’s happening all over. In Britain, the study of the humanities is being diluted, too. MORE

Chronicle Of Higher Education (Opinion) Sun Journal

Inside Higher Ed: E-phemeral E-Books

In a bid to stoke interest in e-books, some university presses let students and scholars rent electronic volumes for a fraction of the full price. 

MORE

Inside Higher Ed: E-phemeral E-Books

Bachelors Degrees Online: 11 Least Diverse Colleges in America

Bachelors Degrees Online: 11 Least Diverse Colleges in America

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Study: More College-educated Workers Needed for U.S. Workforce by William J. Ford

June 30, 2011


America needs 20 million more college-educated workers over the next 14 years to sustain healthy economic growth in the U.S., according to a study released this week.


The study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) contends this goal must be achieved for several reasons: It will add $500 billion annually to the nation's gross domestic product as well as more than $100 billion annually in tax revenue while reversing the growth of income inequality.


The center's 48-page report called "The Undereducated American" also highlights the fact that, "over the past 30 years, the demand for college-educated workers has outpaced supply," resulting in the underproduction of college graduates during that period. The trend has seen a growing income disparity between those with college degrees and high school graduates, the report claims.


Co-authors Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale and Dr. Stephen J. Rose calculated that college graduates earn 74 percent more in income than high school graduates in the U.S. If the nation fails to produce enough college-educated workers by 2025, the income differential will widen to 96 percent, according to the report.


Rose said Monday in an interview with Diverse that there aren't specific calculations on how much the country would have to invest in hiring more post-secondary employees.


"In the short term, it is going to cost you money. But we think it is worth it in the long term," said Rose, a research professor at the center and a labor economist. "The United States has been a leader of spending money on education for its young people and in the past it has been a remarkably good choice. The thing is, because it worked so well in the past, other countries are certainly doing [investing on education]. If we don't keep up, we are likely to go backward and have negative consequences."


Dr. Lorenzo L. Esters, vice president of the Office for Access and the Advancement of Public Black Universities at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities in Washington, praised the study for outlining the urgency of ensuring all Americans receive post-secondary education.


"There are those who will question the logic behind the suggestion that more individuals should earn degrees given high unemployment rates right now. However, the data are clear that the unemployment rate for those with a degree is almost twice as high as it is for those with only a high school diploma," Esters said. "The global economy demands a well-educated citizenry. Certainly, the U.S. should lead that effort."


Although Dr. Sandy Baum, an economics professor at Skidmore College and a senior policy analyst at the College Board, agrees with the authors' premise to invest in education, competing with other countries should not be the main objective, she says.


"That may be an important way of motivating people, but the most important issue is we educate people more successfully and meet the needs of our economy," said Baum, an independent policy analyst for the College Board based in New York.


In their report, the scholars state that college-educated employees rose by 3.1 percent a year between 1915 and 1990.


According to the report, the percentages started to change after 1990 because "the education of retirees was progressively higher and the difference between the educational levels of new entrants and that of retirees shrank."


"Consequently, from 1990 to 2000, the supply of college-educated workers rose by just 2 percent a year and fell to 1 percent per year from 2000 to 2010," the report states.


The demand for skilled workers between 1950 and 2005 grew by nearly 4 percent annually, according to the report.


"These numbers demonstrate that increasing demand for more skilled workers has a long, consistent history and is not solely based on the more recent history of rising computerization," the scholars write in the report. "More postsecondary education will achieve not only a more dynamic and vibrant economy, but a more equitable society."

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Study: More College-educated Workers Needed for U.S. Workforce by William J. Ford

Attend i>clicker's Writing Great Clicker Questions Workshops

If you use clickers, you know that the biggest challenge is re-thinking your lecture and writing good questions so that clickers engage your students and increase learning.



This summer, i>clicker will sponsor a Writing Great Clicker Questions Webinar Series. We're bringing in i>clicker pros from various disciplines like Management, Physics, Criminology and Mathematics to provide:


• Attributes of great clicker questions
• Sample discipline-specific questions
• Ideas on how to facilitate effective discussions


Attend from your home office or even the beach-each complimentary, 30 minute webinar will offer practical tips for building effective clicker questions that challenge the way your students think.


Happy summer!


The i>clicker Team

Attend i>clicker's Writing Great Clicker Questions Workshops

Academic Impressions Online Webcasts - 2011

Webcasts

AI webcasts are 90- to 120-minute focused online, interactive presentations on both current and enduring challenges in higher education, facilitated by leading practitioners and senior administrators. Precise learning outcomes and innovative solutions lead to focused take-aways that attendees can adapt and use on their campuses.

Academic Impressions Online Webcasts - 2011

HIGHER ED IMPACT MONTHLY DIAGNOSTIC REPORT June 2011



"DEVELOPING LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION"

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Rethinking Higher Education’s Leadership Crisis: page 7
• Meeting Adaptive Challenges: The New Leadership Skill Set: page 9
• Identifying Leadership Potential in Your Staff: page 12
• Building an In-House Leadership Development Program: page 14
• Deepening Your Talent Bench: Horizontal Career Ladders: page 16

HIGHER ED IMPACT MONTHLY DIAGNOSTIC REPORT June 2011

Dillard University Pre-Freshman Engineering Summer Program Closing Ceremony - July 8th 2011 at Noon

You are invited to attend the closing ceremony of the Pre-Freshmen Engineering Summer Program tomorrow, July 8, 2011 at 12 noon in Kearny Hall, West Wing.  Please plan to attend. 

Thank you,

Dr. Ruby Broadway

Associate Professor of Biology

Dillard University

Division of Natural Sciences & Public Health

504-816-4725

rbroadway@dillard.edu

Dillard University Pre-Freshman Engineering Summer Program Closing Ceremony - July 8th 2011 at Noon