Dillard University CTLAT Blog: 08/22/11

Monday, August 22, 2011

The State of eBooks and eReaders

From the Executive Summary : A joint Poudre River Public, Front Range Community College, and Colorado State University libraries committee has released a report on the state of eBooks and eReaders. The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of this rapidly-developing topic, and to make recommendations aimed at [...]

The Sloan-C NOW: August 2011

Dear Educator:

Please take a moment to review this month's Sloan-C NOW, a digest of events, information and notices of importance you won't want to miss.

Are you Doing Something New that Would Advance Online Education if Others Could Do it Too?

Effective Practices submitted by September 30, 2011 will be eligible for awards to be featured at a special session on Thursday, November 4, 2011 at the 17th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning - The Power of Online Learning: Stimulating New Possibilities. Submissions will be evaluated by these criteria: innovation, replicability, impact, evidence and scope.

Please see Effective Practices for more information.
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17th Annual Sloan-C Online Learning Conference (Orlando) - Early bird registration Plus Hotel Reservations!

17th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

November 9-11, 2011

"Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology"

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL

The full program is now posted for this fall’s annual International Conference on Online Learning. Join us in Orlando as we explore our conference theme "Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology." This year, we offer a wide array of pre-conference workshops on Wednesday, November 9, offering an in-depth look and discussion of the following topics:

Pre-conference Workshops- Full Day

Google Workshop for Administrators

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Wendy Gorton (American International School of Chennai, US)

Session Duration: Full Day - 6 Hours

Google Workshop for Educators

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Jason Borgen (Computer User Educators, Inc.)

Session Duration: Full Day - 6 Hours

Pre-conference Workshops- 1/2 Day (AM)

Universal Design for Educational Technology: Usable Learning Environments for All Students

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Kelly Hermann (Empire State College, US)

Lisa Rapple (SUNY Empire State College, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Ask the Experts

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Michelle Pacansky-Brock (Mt. San Jacinto College and @One Online Teaching Certification Program, US)

Phil Ice, Ed.D. (American Public University System, US)

Jennifer Richardson (Purdue University, US)

Roger McHaney (Kansas State University, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Matching Training to Experience: A Phased Approach to Faculty Development

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Rena Palloff (Fielding Graduate University, US

Keith Pratt (Walden University, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

eduMOOC: an Open Online Class without Limits

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Ray Schroeder (University of Illinois at Springfield, US)

Carrie Levin (University of Illinois at Springfield, US)

Emily Boles (University of Illinois at Springfield, US)

Shari Smith (University of Illinois at Springfield, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

State Authorization: Out of the Woods and Into the Forest?

November 9, 2011 - 9:00am

Bruce Chaloux (Southern Regional Education Board, US)

Russ Poulin (WCET-WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, US)

Nancy Williamson (University of Maryland University College, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Pre-conference Workshop 1/2 Day (PM)

Second Life is Dead - Prepare for an OpenSim World

November 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

John Rogate (Champlain College, US)

Marjon Klapwijk (Creative Twists Designs, Netherlands)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Assessment and Evaluation: Going Beyond the Norm

November 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

Kadriye Lewis (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, US)

Jennifer McVay-Dyche (Southern Oregon University, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Access and Opportunity: A Comprehensive Strategy for a Blended Learning Initiative

November 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

Tanya Joosten (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, US)

Mary Niemiec (University of Illinois at Chicago, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Outside the LMS: Social Media and Online Learning

November 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

Michael Cheney (University of Illinois at Springfield, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Data Changes Everything: Introduction to Learning Analytics

November 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

Phil Ice, Ed.D. (American Public University System, US)

Wally Boston, Ed.D. (American Public University System, US)

Karen Swan, Ed.D.(University of Illinois- Springfield, US)

Sebastian Diaz, Ph.D., J.D. (West Virginia University, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

IELOL Workshop (Invited Session)

November 9, 2011 - 1:00pm

Lawrence C. Ragan (Penn State University, US)

Bruce Chaloux (Southern Regional Education Board, US)

Marie Cini (University of Maryland University College, US)

Ray Schroeder (University of Illinois Springfield, US)

Wayne Smutz (Penn State University, US)

Cynthia Golden (University of Pittsburgh, US)

Session Duration: 1/2 Day - 3 Hours

Note: This session is restricted to 2011 IELOL participants and associated faculty

Early Bird registration is $445 for Sloan-C members, $495 for regular attendees. Early bird registration deadline is October 9. Register now! Onsite attendee and virtual attendee options are available.

Make your hotel reservations now. Attendees of the conference must book their hotel room through the conference website no later than Friday, October 14, 2011 in order to receive discounted rates starting at $177.00* per night plus taxes. The special conference rates also apply for three days prior to and three days after the conclusion of the conference, so come early or stay late to enjoy a little Disney magic. Important: If you plan to arrive the weekend prior to the conference or stay the weekend after, make your hotel reservation NOW! The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin is expected to be sold out during those weekends due to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. There are very few rooms available for Friday, November 4 through Monday, November 7. Check the travel and hotel page of our website for updates on sold-out dates.

RSVP for the Sloan-C EPCOT Dessert Reception: During the registration process, make sure you check the RSVP box to attend this special event on Thursday, November 10th. If you have already registered and forgot to RSVP, you can log back in to the online registration and check the box to RSVP for this event. If you have difficulties with this, contact gsullivan@sloanconsortium.org for assistance.

Sloan-C is excited to offer complimentary admission to EPCOT for all our conference guests on Thursday evening. Following our interactive poster session, which concludes at 6:00pm, take a short 10 minute stroll or ride Disney's Friendship boat from the Swan/Dolphin over to the International Gate at EPCOT. There, you will be admitted for an evening of fun at EPCOT! Guests will have access starting at 6:30pm to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival (entrance fee is compliments of Sloan-C; dinner and drinks are on your own). Join Sloan-C at 8:00pm at the Worldview Plaza West. Be our guest for dessert, drinks, networking and EPCOT's famous Illuminations laster and fireworks extravaganza.

Entrance to this event is complimentary for registered attendees. Guest tickets are available to purchase ($55 for ages 10+; $15 for ages 9 and below). All RSVPS and additional ticket purchases must be made during the registration process. Wristbands will be distributed at registration to those who provided an RSVP to this event; the wristbands are needed to enter EPCOT that evening.

Disney Park Tickets: Planning on arriving early or staying on in Orlando after the conference ends? Special "After 2pm" and "After 4pm" Disney tickets to any of the 4 Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom) are available for purchase by our conference attendees. These special order tickets are only available for sale prior to the conference; they cannot be bought onsite. Purchase your discounted Disney park tickets here.
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Sloan-C Institute Call for 2012 Online Workshop Proposals

Contribute to the Sloan Consortium Community by Submitting an Online Workshop Proposal for 2012.

The September 2nd deadline for 2012 online workshop proposals is fast approaching. Sloan-C workshops are an integral component toward helping faculty and institutions improve the quality, scale and breadth of online education.

Sloan-C workshops are practitioner-oriented; participants not only increase their depth of knowledge, but also apply key learnings immediately in their online curriculum. As a result, we are looking for proposals that focus on online learning effective practices and provide relevant takeaways for participants.

Sloan-C Institute workshoptracks highlight and demonstrate research and application in the following areas:

Blended Teaching and Learning

Design and Delivery

Administrative Practices

Tools and Techniques

Accessibility

Workforce Development

Adult Basic Education

K-12 Online Education

Open Educational Resources

Mobile Learning

Proposals must be submitted by members by 11:59 PM Eastern Time –September 2nd, 2011*

*Note: proposals may be submitted year round; however, submission by the September 2nd deadline will ensure proposal consideration for the 2012 workshop series.

Log-in to your Sloan-C Member account and submit a proposal today.
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2011 Sloan-C Webinars

Sloan-C has added webinars to its resources for educators. Webinars typically last anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half. Most are free to Individual Members. Institutional members and non members pay a separate fee. New webinars will be added soon. Check the webinar site frequently.

MERLOT: An Introduction - FREE - August 31, 2011 2:00 - 3:30PM ET

MERLOT is a free and open online community of resources designed primarily for faculty, staff and students of higher education from around the world to share their learning materials and pedagogy. MERLOT is a leading edge, user-centered, collection of peer reviewed higher education, online learning materials, catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services.

Cloud Computing Solution for Rural Schools Networks: Project "Rural Schools & Cloud Computing" - September 7, 2011 10:00 - 11:30AM ET

This webinar will offer an insight on a pilot project on cloud computing and open source solutions applied to a rural school network in Spain, carried out by Galicia Supercomputing Center in Spain, and financed by HP Labs.

Classroom Salon - An Innovative Educational Platform to Support Social Learning - FREE - September 28, 2011 10:00 - 11:30AM ET

Classroom Salon, an online platform developed at Carnegie Mellon University,transforms the traditionally isolated act of reading course documents and interpretation into a collaborative enterprise for constructing and sharing knowledge. In this webinar, you will learn how to integrate Classroom Salon into your existing course and make learning much more rewarding when conducted in a social setting. For more information visit http://www.classroomsalon.org/

For more information or to register, please go to the webinar page.

View recordings of previous webinars.

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Are You Prepared to Teach Online in 2011?

The next cohort of the Sloan-C Certificate starts September 7, 2011.

Watch a recording of the informational webinar about the certificate program.

The Sloan-C Certificate prepares educators to teach and improve online courses using the Sloan-C pillars of quality in online education—learning effectiveness, scale, faculty and student satisfaction, and access. A unique feature of the certificate program is that expert mentors work individually with each certificate candidate to accomplish specific goals. The certificate consists of a 9-week foundation course and a variety of electives and specializations that focus on improving overall competency within a specific area of academic focus. The workshops in each specialization are structured to encourage skill development and practical application within the participants' specific job function. Upon completing the 9-week foundation course, individuals can select 3 individual electives, one specialization, or multiple specializations that best suit professional development objectives.

The Sloan-C Certificate foundation costs $1,499 plus three (3) required electives; priced at $345 (10-day workshop) or $495 (3-week workshop). Elective workshops, which should be registered for individually, may be funded by coupons available through Sloan-C membership discounts and the Sloan-C College Pass professional development package.

Click here for more details.
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Institutional Membership - More Benefits, Same Price

The reality for institutions everywhere is tighter budgets, more travel restrictions, and less available resources. Institutional Membership is for organizations that are ready to give their faculty and administrators access and discounts to resources dedicated to quality online learning at an affordable price.

New benefits are frequently added such as the Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs, a tool used to measure and quantify elements of quality within online education programs in higher education. Also new for this year are more options for the College Pass Professional Development package, which gives an institution seats to our online workshops at a bulk discount rate. We now offer a 25 and 50 seat package along with our 100 seat package for smaller institutions.

NEW - Quality Scorecard for evaluating your online programs: full access and use ($150 value)
NEW - 1 free workshop (archived, from selected list) ($345 value)

20 Workshop Discounts $150 value each ($3,000 total value)

10 Conference Discounts $50 value each ($500 total value)

Free Webinar: Topical issues in online higher education for $25/participant ($99 each for non members)

10% discount on Sloan-C publications

Full Sloan-C web access: JALN, Effective Practices, Practitioner Documents from Sloan-C workshops, JobLine, Listserv, Sloan-C Commons Community Site

Awards: Eligibility for institutional awards

Institutional Member Pricing (value of over $4,000)

$1,495/Institution or Campus

$1,046.50 for HBCU schools (30% off)

$1,270.75 for Community Colleges (15% off)

Click here to register.

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The College Pass Professional Development Package - Membership Add On

Looking for a cost effective way to give your staff and faculty access to the full range of Sloan-C online workshops?

The College Pass Professional Development Package is a membership add-on that includes bulk discounted seats in the widely acclaimed Sloan-C online workshop series for one year.

100, 50, or 25 seats per year in over 75 Sloan-C online workshops in a variety of key online education topics at a highly discounted price.

Once you purchase the College Pass, your faculty, staff or anyone you select can register for workshops using your College Pass Code. Simple.

Workshops are regularly priced at $345-$495. College Pass enables you to pay as little as $35 per workshop

Sloan-C Institutional Membership is required in order to take advantage of these savings.

Institutional Membership + CP (for non members)

Institutional Membership +CP-100 seats: $4,990

Institutional Membership +CP-50 seats: $3,995

Institutional Membership +CP-25 seats: $2,995

College Pass Membership Add-On (for existing members only)

100 seats: $3,495 ($35/seat)

50 seats: $2,500 ($50/seat)

25 seats: $1,500 ($60/seat)

Community Colleges receive a 15% discount and HBCUs receive a 30% discount.

Click here to register.

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*Join the Sloan Consortium on Linkedin, Twitter & Facebook*

Stay connected with The Sloan Consortium and its members through the Sloan-C networking groups on Twitter and Linkedin. Learn what others in online education are doing as well as receive news and conference updates from the Sloan Consortium.

Follow us on Join Sloan-C’s Join Sloan-C’s Join Sloan-C’s

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2011 Sloan-C Workshop Deadline Reminders

Sep 7 - 16 : Web Accessibility for Online Learning: A How-To Guide for Creating Accessible Content

Sep 7 - 16 : Dynamic Collaboration, Discussion, and Facilitation Practices

Sep 14 - 23 : MERLOT 101: An Introduction to MERLOT

Sep 14 - 23 : Accommodating Students with Disabilities: Leveraging the Online Learning Environment

Sep 14 - 23 : Avoiding Faculty Burnout

Sep 21 - 30 : Supporting and Engaging Students Through Social Media

Sep 21 - 30 : Great Web 2.0 Tools to Improve Learning

Sep 28 - Oct 7 : Copyright Compliance for Online Educators
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If you have a question or comment, please e-mail us at sloan-cview@sloanconsortium.org

Help build the Sloan-C Community. Forward this to an associate.

Does your organization have an upcoming conference or seminar? Please let us know at sloan-cview@sloanconsortium.org

4 Ways Mobile Tech Is Improving Education

Sarah Kessler at Mashable discusses 4 Ways Mobile Tech Is Improving Education. Considering that 98% of US high school students have access to some kind of smartphone and a full 90% of the world’s population now has access to a mobile network, this is an increasingly relevant topic. This thought-provoking article talks about the following promising applications of mobile technology in the classroom:

1. Inquiry-Based Learning
2. Flipping the Classroom
3. Reinventing the Textbook
4. Teaching Hard-To-Reach Communities

Top 20 Facebook Apps for Book Lovers

Jason Boog at GalleyCat rounds up the Top 20 Facebook Apps for Book Lovers. This comprehensive list will help you pick books, find book clubs, take quizzes, and swap books. Here are the top five:

1.Goodreads
2.Visual Bookshelf
3.weRead
4.aNobii Books App
5.I’m Reading

Accessible Archives Inc. Content Available in EBSCO Discovery Service™

Partnership Between EBSCO Publishing and Accessible Archives Inc. Brings Archived Historical Information to EBSCO Discovery Service™ Users

ResourceBlog: McGraw-Hill Create: Customized eBooks for the Classroom

April 14, 2011 12:28

From CNBC:

The McGraw-Hill Create platform enables instructors to easily customize digital content for their courses, combining their own course-specific materials with a range of other resources. Instructors have instant access to a vast library of McGraw-Hill resources to develop instructional materials adapted specifically to the needs of local markets. At Create's core is a Google-like search engine functionality that enables professors to immediately pull from a wide range of quality content, including 4,000 McGraw-Hill textbooks, 5,500 articles, 11,000 literature, philosophy and humanities readings, and 25,000 business case studies from prominent providers such as the Harvard Business School.

7 Things You Should Know About the Modern Learning Commons

The folks at Educause have published another of their helpful emerging technologies briefs entitled 7 Things You Should Know About the Modern Learning Commons.

“The learning commons, sometimes called an “information commons,” has evolved from a combination library and computer lab into a full-service learning, research, and project space. As a place where students can meet, talk, study, and use “borrowed” equipment, the learning commons brings together the functions of libraries, labs, lounges, and seminar areas in a single community gathering place. The cost of a learning commons can be an obstacle, but for institutions that invest in a sophisticated learning commons, the new and expanded partnerships across disciplines facilitate and promote greater levels of collaboration. The commons invites students to devise their own approaches to their work and to transfer what they learn in one course to the work they do for another.”

As usual the resource answers the following questions:
1. What is it?
2. How does it work?
3. Who’s doing it?
4. Why is it significant?
5. What are the downsides?
6. Where is it going?
7. What are the implications for teaching and learning?

7 Tools to Create a Mobile Library Website (without Technical Knowledge!)

Library websites are usually robust and information-packed which makes it a challenge for many organizations when they consider going mobile. But if you’d like to build a mobile presence for your library to offer your patrons access to community features, library locator tools, maps, driving directions, image collections, videos, custom content, and even searchable mobile catalogs, you’ll want to check out these applications. Here’s a quick summary of each tool’s features and cost:

1.Winksite

http://winksite.com
◦Users can create up to 5 mobile websites with this free tool. Winksite is an excellent tool for creating a mobile community around your library’s site and there are many ready-made applications which can be activated as channels that will help engage your visitors such as Chat, Forums, Surveys, Guestbooks, Events, Feeds, etc. You can quickly and easily mobilize your blog from an RSS feed or create individual channel pages. Winksite will also create a QR barcode for your mobile site for you.

2.MoFuse

http://mofuse.com
◦This easy-to-use mobile website builder enables users to layout their sites by adding elements such as RSS feeds, custom CSS, forms, and Google tools and then specifying where they should be placed on the page. This unique tool also offers users the ability to easily create a mobile store locator which uses the phone’s GPS features to allow your patrons to find the closest location to where they’re currently located in real-time.

3.Zinadoo

http://zinadoo.com
◦This free and easy-to-use mobile website development tool offers a professional editor interface that makes creating a mobile site from scratch a snap. Users can add ready-made widgets such as guestbooks, email, call me, and feedback forms, as well as RSS feeds. Zinadoo also makes it easy to add YouTube videos or sync your YouTube profile into your mobile site. Once your site is created you can send out text invites with your link from within Zinadoo.

4.mobiSiteGalore

http://www.mobisitegalore.com/
◦This mobile website builder offers ready-made template designs, an easy-to-use graphical interface and optional widgets they call “goodies” that can be added to your site such as a click to call option, Google maps, driving directions, a Google search box, and RSS feeds. They offer 3 pages and limited templates for free, upgrading starts at $156/year.

5.Wirenode

http://www.wirenode.com/
◦Wirenode is another easy-to use tool that offers a WYSIWYG editor and multiple customizable templates to get you started. Wirenode provides several ready-made widgets that can be added to sites including Google Maps, Twitter, a social media “share” button, and the ability to instantly mobilize your blog from an RSS feed. Tools include customizable forms, the ability to invite friends via email, and an image gallery. This application also provides detailed website statistics.

6.MobilePress

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mobilepress/
◦MobilePress is a free plugin for WordPress blogs which will automatically transform your blog into a mobile version which such a device is detected. Users can create custom themes for different device and browser types such as iPhone, Windows Mobile, Opera, etc.

7.Boopsie

http://www.boopsie2.com
◦Boopsie is a relatively new product/service which offers “a robust, multi-platform mobile library application designed for public and academic libraries”. WorldCat, the ALA, and a slew of public and academic libraries are using Boopsie applications which offer full ILS integration and many other features such as; a GPS-aware Library Locator, Ask a Librarian, Reading Lists, Calendar & Events, and Integrated social networking tools.

The Basics of Video Editing: The Complete Guide

Adam Dachis at Lifehacker presents The Basics of Video Editing: The Complete Guide. This comprehensive tutorial walks you through the ins and outs of editing video in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. The Guide is made up of the following lessons:

• Part I: Getting to Know Your Editing Environment
• Part II: Creating a Project, from Start to Finish
• Part III: Effects and Color Correction
• Part IV: Preparing and Encoding Your Video for Delivery
• Part V: Additional Resources

How to Write an eBook

Writer and educator Jonathan Kranz has published a free eBook about how to write an eBook. The eBook ebook: How to turn your expertise into magnetic marketing material offers some excellent tips on the ins and outs of publishing an electronic book on behalf of your organization such as:

• Establish buy-in on the ebook concept.
• Get approval on the outline before writing the first draft.
• Bring your PR team onboard from the start.
• Break your brand standards.
• Invite guest contributors.

eSchoolNews This Week: Ten things every new teacher should know

Readers give advice on classroom management, teaching profession

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor

2012 CHEA Award

Deadline for Applications: October 17, 2011

Award Information
Evidence of student achievement, student learning outcomes, plays an increasingly important role in discussions of higher education accountability, quality and effectiveness. At the same time, developing and using capacity to address student learning outcomes is a complex and significant challenge for colleges and universities, whether pursued at the level of an institution, a program or a major. This award acknowledges outstanding practices in developing and applying evidence of student learning outcomes as part of the ongoing accountability evaluation and improvement of college and university programs of study. Up to four awards will be made each year. Awards will be presented at the CHEA Annual Conference.

Eligibility
Applications may be submitted by CHEA institutional members. For members who are prior award winners and wish to submit a proposal for another award, the second proposal will be considered only if it is for a different program or major from the initial award or, if an initial institutional award, is a proposal for a program or major.

Categories of Award
The application may be institution-wide, focused on a specific program or focused on a major. Each application should contain a designation of the category for which it has been prepared: institution, program or major. Applications will be judged within the specific award category designated.

Award Selection and Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by an Award Committee of individuals from higher education institutions, higher education associations, accrediting organizations and the public. Applications will be judged by the extent to which four award criteria have been met:

Articulating expected outcomes for an institution, program or major
Providing evidence of success with regard to outcomes
Informing the public (constituents external to an institution) about expectations and success with regard to outcomes
Using outcomes for institutional improvement: evidence that attention to outcomes has benefited the institution, program or major

In addition to the four criteria, the committee looks for evidence that outstanding practice related to outcomes (1) is embedded in an institutional culture, (2) makes good use of current technology in the methods and tools to track outcomes, (3) includes extensive use of faculty and strong faculty support, (4) is supported by institutional leadership that is dedicated to the importance of outcomes and (5) involves approaches to outcomes that can be replicated at other institution.

Application Format
To be considered for an award, an applicant on behalf of an institution, program or major should complete the four sections of this application.

Section 1: Contact information for individual submitting the application
Section 2: Institutional endorsement by the chief executive officer or chief academic officer
Section 3: Application summary (100 words or less)
Section 4: Award criteria (response to each criterion not to exceed two pages)

Applications that do not conform to format and length will not be considered by the award committee. Applications should provide full information in response to each award criterion. A complete response to each criterion is to be included in the text. Please do not rely on a review of links by the committee

Examples of Evidence for Award Criteria
Evidence can be the result of quantitative and qualitative approaches to gathering information. It should be relevant to what is being claimed, potentially verifiable through replication or third-party inspection and representative or typical of major, program or institutional performance. Evidence must involve examination of student levels of attainment (individual students or representative samples) and may include:

Faculty-designed comprehensive or capstone examinations and assignments
Performance on external or licensure examinations
Authentic performances or demonstrations
Portfolios of student work over time
Samples of representative student work
Self-study reports and student satisfaction surveys do not constitute direct evidence of student learning outcomes.

Definitions of Key Terms
For the purposes of the CHEA Award:
Student learning outcomes is defined as "the knowledge, skills and abilities that a student has attained at the end (or as a result) of his or her engagement in a particular set of higher education experiences." This is distinguished from a general student outcome that is the result of attending an institution or program.

Informing the public is defined as "providing readily available and easily understood data or analysis that informs students and others about the success of a major, program or institution."

Public is defined as "constituents external to an institution."

Major is defined as "an institution-designated concentration that culminates in a degree" (e.g., history, philosophy, mathematics).

Program is defined as "a course of study in a career or professional area that culminates in a degree" (e.g., nursing, journalism, occupational therapy).

Award Timeline

August 15, 2011

Application released to institutions

October 17, 2011

Due date for application submission

December 1, 2011

Application review completed

January 4, 2012

Award recipient(s) notified

January 10, 2012

2012 Awards announced

January 24, 2012

Awards presented at CHEA Annual Conference

Suggested Reference Materials
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (2003). Statement of Mutual Responsibilities for Student Learning Outcomes: Accreditation, Institutions and Programs. Washington, DC: Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). http://www.chea.org/pdf/StmntStudentLearningOutcomes9-03.pdf

Ewell, Peter T. (2001). Accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes: A Proposed Point of Departure. Washington, DC: Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). http://www.chea.org/award/StudentLearningOutcomes2001.pdf

See also The CHEA Chronicle for 2006-2011 at http://www.chea.org/Research/index.asp#chronicle
for summaries of award-winning institutions and programs.

Submission Methods
Applications may be submitted as email attachments in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format and sent to vejarano@chea.org . Applications may be also submitted via U.S. mail or other delivery service to the following address:

Elena Vejarano
Executive Assistant
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20036-1135

Due Date
Applications must be received by Monday, October 17, 2011. Acknowledgment of receipt of application will be sent via email to the applicant.

Additional Information
For information about CHEA, please visit www.chea.org. For questions about the CHEA Award, contact Elena Vejarano at 202-955-6126 (vejarano@chea.org ).

DILLARD UNIVERSITY CONTRACTUAL SERVICES AGREEMENT FORM

**SENT ON BEHALF OF DEBRA NEVEU**

As requested, the University’s current independent contractor services agreement for services costing $5k or less has been reviewed to determine whether revisions would be necessary to use the agreement to procure services costing $5k or more. The attached current agreement would not require a revision, providing the appropriate procurement procedures have been adhered to in selecting the vendor. Appropriate procurement procedures may be included in the relevant grant guidelines, as well as, the University’s procurement policy and procedures.

Please contact Ann Kirklin with respect to the University’s procurement policy and procedures. Theodore Callier may also be consulted with regard to any procurement requirements of specific grants.

Debra S. Neveu
Dillard University

Legal Affairs - RH 221
2601 Gentilly Boulevard
N.O., LA 70122
Monica Givens
Executive Assistant
Legal Affairs
(504) 816-4645 / (504) 816-4890 Fax
mgivens@dillard.edu

University Business: Southern University Furlough Request Vote Rejected

The Southern University Faculty Senate has voted to oppose a proposed agreement to voluntarily accept furloughs and shorter job termination notices.

AP via NOLA.com
The Southern University Faculty Senate has voted to oppose a proposed agreement to voluntarily accept furloughs and shorter job termination notices.

The Advocate reports the vote came a day after new Southern Chancellor James Llorens said he "likely" will ask to declare a financial emergency next week unless nearly all of the faculty voted to agree to the two key requests.

Declaring a financial emergency, called exigency, allows the administration more leeway to lay off tenured faculty and axe academic programs.

After the vote Thursday, Southern Faculty Senate President Sudhir Trivedi said more cuts can be made in administrative expenses and that the maximum $2.2 million that could be saved through furloughs should not be the dividing line on declaring exigency. MORE

Who Applies (and Gets In) - Inside Higher Ed

Dillard University Degree Programs 2011-2012

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Maintaining Journalism Tradition, Education at HBCUs

August 9, 2011

by Pearl Stewart

When Gwendolyn Denwiddie graduated from Fisk University in May, her accomplishments exceeded the bachelor’s degree she raised above her head in celebration. Denwiddie had succeeded at something that other Fisk students had been attempting for more than a decade.

She revived The Fisk Forum, a student newspaper that had not been published since 1998.

The English major from Jackson, Tenn., had been determined since her freshman year to restart the paper, and, finally, in her senior year, after watching several other attempts fizzle, she made it happen.

“It was a united effort with the student government association,” Denwiddie says. “I took the position of SGA publications director, and, fortunately, the SGA president was supportive — part of her platform when she ran for office was to bring back the student newspaper.”

So Denwiddie put together a staff and sought the help of a professional, Fisk alumna Nancy DeVille, a reporter with the local paper, The Tennessean. The result was a monthly news magazine, a departure from the erstwhile weekly newspaper, but a publication, nevertheless. “We were only able to get it out monthly, so we couldn’t include real news stories, and we weren’t able to get the website going. That’s the next step for the new editors.”

Denwiddie’s efforts were laudable, given the backdrop of drama taking place at Fisk. President Hazel O’Leary has spent the past five years in a court battle over the historically Black university’s efforts to sell a valuable art collection that was donated to the institution in 1949. Meanwhile, a report by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an accreditation body, has cited the school for its financial difficulties.

At many HBCUs, students like Denwiddie have invested time and energy into keeping their online and print publications afloat or reviving them from dormancy. In her case, the efforts paid off, but at other schools the results are often less fruitful.

The Meter at Tennessee State was an award-winning weekly just three years ago with a website that was updated frequently for breaking news. This year the print editions were monthly, and the website was down.

“We’re in a transition period right now,” says Meter adviser and Tennessee State assistant professor James Stephens. “It has a lot to do with bodies, just finding students who are interested in working on paper.”

Jaida McKie, a former editor of The Meter, agrees. “We tried to publish weekly, but we weren’t able to because we had such a small staff,” she says.

Stephens says the decline in participation in student media has reflected the decline in print majors at Tennessee State, yet he expects the situation to improve this fall. “We’re moving into our convergence lab this year, and we’re bringing the TV station, radio station and newspaper under the umbrella of student media.”

He is hoping this will solve The Meter’s staffing problems because all mass communication students will be required to rotate through each media operation.

At Jackson State University in Mississippi, The Blue & White Flash former editor-in-chief Vickey Williams experienced similar challenges. She persevered to keep the weekly print edition alive, “even though we didn’t have enough staff to cover events and we had a lack of resources.”

But the online edition didn’t survive. “Our adviser had to post stories online because none of the students wanted to learn how to do it or they didn’t have time,” says Williams, adding that the website has been inactive for 18 months.

Williams was so committed to the paper that after she graduated in December, she returned occasionally as a volunteer to help the staff. As a student, Williams wrote numerous stories, including controversial articles about campus security, but she is concerned about the future of The Flash. “If there isn’t more student interest, I don’t think it will survive,” she says. Williams is enrolled in a master’s program in communication at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

At Langston University in Oklahoma, lack of interest also was a factor in The Gazette’s transition from a weekly to a once-a-semester publication and the demise of the online edition last year.

Former Gazette adviser and journalism professor Chaz Kyser says she required all students in her news writing class to work on the paper, even if they were broadcast majors. “Most of the students said they didn’t want to write — the broadcast students didn’t even want to write scripts — but we always managed to find enough students for the paper.”

Former staff editor Lucia Tayo says Kyser’s departure from the university a year ago adversely affected student media. “She made sure we learned all forms of journalism, and she stressed the importance of writing, even if students didn’t want to write.”

But Tayo says when Kyser left the university did not find another adviser, and when students attempted to publish the paper themselves they were told they had to have an adviser. “No one wanted to be the adviser, so it never got started.” She says the two editions of the paper that were published were not student productions.

Dr. Lisa L. Rollins, chair of the Department of Communication, says students wrote the stories in those editions, but the editing, proofing and layout were done by faculty. “It is our hope that the search committee will find a competent adviser for LU and its students by the close of summer, and then we will be back online and in hard-copy format on a regular basis in the coming academic year,” Rollins says.

Another adviser who has made a difference is Dr. Lona Cobb, a professor of journalism at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. She also has seen an anti-writing attitude among students. “Students are interested in journalism — but not in writing,” Cobb says. “They think they can get jobs on TV and radio without working on their writing skills,” she says in an e-mail message sent from Italy. She has taken five staff members to an international journalism summer program. Like Kyser, she insists that students hone their writing skills.

One of the reasons for the lack of interest in school papers is the perception by some students that the papers are controlled by the administration, the editors say.

At Hampton University, where an infamous showdown between The Script staff and the administration took place in fall 2003, the weekly paper is now produced by an energetic staff without interference — with one exception. They are not allowed to have an online edition. That bothers Talia Buford, the upstart editor who published a story about health code violations in the cafeteria, which led to friction with school administrators.

Since graduating from Hampton in 2004, Buford has worked as a reporter for The Providence Journal and earned a master’s degree from Georgetown. In July she joined Politico’s staff as a reporter covering energy policy for Politico’s subscription-based service PoliticoPro.

Buford recalls that The Script was online in 2004 but the administration put a halt to it.

She says the staff should continue to push. “Students need to learn online skills. Web publishing and producing — that’s what people are getting hired for. It’s important for students to be familiar with that technology.” She also points out that student journalists without online outlets are not learning to cover breaking news.

In the years after Buford’s tenure as editor of The Script, There have been a lot of improvements,” Hampton journalism professor Wayne Dawkins says. “The editors don’t have problems recruiting staff, and there is a lot of energy.”

Dawkins says prospective employers “rave” about his students’ writing but are skeptical about their technological skills because their stories are not available online. “I’m finding other ways to expose students to digital media,” he says, adding that he posts his students’ work on the blog site WordPress.

Dr. Valerie White, a journalism professor at Florida A&M University and chairwoman of the Black College Communication Association, says, “HBCUs need to provide the educational and training tools that students need to be successful in the ever changing journalism industry. And university administrators need to vow not to interfere with journalists as they learn and practice their craft.”

Lewis Smith, journalism instructor at Prairie View A&M University and adviser to The Panther, says, “I’m seeing a decline in the number of students interested in print journalism because of the current state of the industry … they read about the cutbacks.”

So far, however, he says The Panther has continued to attract enough staff to keep its print and online operations going.

Perhaps the best example for student journalists at institutions with struggling or nonexistent media is Denwiddie’s never-give-up approach. “It was a battle sometimes, but the main thing is, we did it.”

Academic Impressions: iPad: Effective Use in the Classroom

October 4, 2011 :: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EDT

Learn how you can integrate iPad technology into your teaching and learning.

The iPad offers endless possibilities for teaching and learning, but that doesn't mean it is always an effective learning tool. A faculty member's purpose for using the iPad is the most significant factor in determining successful use in the classroom.

Join our instructors online as we discuss a framework to help you think about the iPad's potential in your classroom, including:

Exploring iPads
Purposeful uses for learning
Pepperdine's five-step process to help guide faculty members' use of iPads in the classroom
Adding one more step: Assessment
Getting started
Sharing case studies

RELATED WEBCAST
iPad: IT Support Considerations
October 6, 2011 :: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EDT
Learn how you can plan for the adoption and implementation of iPad use on your campus.

BlackAmericaWeb.com: Despite Snags, HBCU Network Plans 2012 Launch

August 16, 2011

Top-level executives of the upstart HBCU Network and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are slated to convene in Washington later this month in a forum aimed at creating even more buzz for the revolutionary-styled TV network.

Plans still call for the Atlanta-based network to soft launch later this fall, then as a “full fledged 24/7, 365 days a year sports, edutainment and lifestyle network” dedicated to historically black colleges and universities come Black History Month 2012, even though initial plans targeting cable industry giant Comcast as a potential carrier have reportedly hit a snag.

After months and months of exhaustive wrangling with the nation’s largest carrier, talks have stalled amid growing concerns that the first of its kind, all-encompassing network might be passed over by Comcast execs in favor of yet another purely entertainment-themed venture.

But Comcast’s loss could prove to be one of the other MSOs' huge gains, as Clint Evans, HBCU Networks' executive vice president of marketing, said the network is already engaged in talks with other potential carriers.

“Our focus, our commitment and our vision is the same,” said Evans. “We will launch this network and, what’s more, we plan to launch it on schedule.”

If interest alone proves to have any bearing, all Evans’ determination and optimism seems more than justified. Since announcing plans for the network a little more than a year ago, HBCU Network CEO Curtis Symonds says the company has been inundated with calls and emails from students, parents, alumnus and even university presidents chomping at the bit as to what they might be able to do to aid in the fulfillment of what many of them view as one of their own dreams.

And certainly, all the love has not been without reciprocation, as from Day One, Symonds has insisted the network will provide direct financial assistance to all HBCU institutions by providing the 105 institutions a collective 20-percent equity share in the company.

“I’m an HBCU alum myself,” said Symonds, who attended Central State University, “so first and foremost, the idea behind this vision is to preserve and celebrate the African-American colleges and universities, while providing opportunities for their growth and further prosperity. HBCUs are known to be very, very nurturing, and this venture will be no different. Our brand motto is 'Our heritage, our legacy, our channel.' And that’s real.”

So much so, that the likes of fellow HBCU alums and current CBC members James Clyburn of South Carolina (South Carolina State), Elijah Cummings of Maryland (Howard), Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois (North Carolina A &T) and John Lewis of Georgia (Fisk) have had little problem getting on board with advancing the cause, with Lewis having already penned a public letter of support.

With eyes now cast toward their growing future, network execs have also planned a grassroots tour of HBCU college towns early this fall geared toward creating even more buzz.

“The time has more than come for something like this,” said Symonds. “Think about it. Right now, Hampton has the largest NASA program in the country, and North Carolina A&T has one of the best engineering departments in the country. How many of our children know things like that? That’s what this channel will be all about - putting all our varying shades on display, while casting us in our best lights.”

Which leads us back to Comcast, and why the network - or any other one, for that matter - would have any reservations at all about airing the HBCU Network.

“It just doesn’t add up,” said Symonds, a well-respected, life-long industry vet who counts once spearheading the campaign that helped increase BET’s home subscriber base from 18 million to 65 million homes among his many accomplishments.

“Here, you have entertainment channels like TV One and Centric already struggling for survival,” he added, "and you want to add another one at the expense of not only a historical, potentially industry-changing vehicle, but one that also hits upon all the key criteria and demographics that all execs typically salivate over? I mean, what’s the justification or even logic for this?”

But where there’s a will, there can ultimately become a way. And Symonds need look no further than upon the faces of all his trailblazing CBC supporters for added inspiration.

“We’ve really let ourselves down in terms of educating our children on the history of HBCUs,” said Symonds. “This will be something our children can be proud of, a vehicle that can start to change their own minds about just who they are and the great things they’re capable of. How can there not be a thirst for that?”

Jackson Clarion Ledger: University research is a substantial job incubator

August 16, 2011
By Sid Salter

The results of enrollment growth on the campus of Mississippi State University - and by and large in the rest of the state's higher education and community college system - are tangible and visible.

MSU is dealing with the reality of crossing the 20,000-student threshold this fall. Parking is a challenge. Housing is maxed out on campus and in the private sector. Classes are large. More instructors and graduate assistants are being employed to handle teaching duties both as a means to deal with increasing enrollment and as a budget tool.

It has been observed and correctly so that hard times drive people back to school to gain new skills.

Enrollment at Hinds Community College has increased by 30 percent over the past three years and as Eric Clark, the executive director of the state's community college board told Mississippi Public Broadcasting this week, there are positives and negatives.

"It's a mixed blessing," Clark said. "We're glad that enrollment has boomed because that means we're making more people's lives better, but it's certainly been a challenge because state appropriations have not been able to keep up with enrollment growth."

Despite the best intentions of the Legislature and the state's executive branch leaders, the percentage of funding from state support for higher education in the state has steadily decreased over the last decade while tuition and federal funding increased.

Mississippi universities were beneficiaries of congressionally directed spending or "earmarks" for decades for research and infrastructure spending, but the nation's political climate and the ongoing debate over federal debts and deficits have at best restricted or at worst eliminated that source of funding.

The impact has been for universities to seek to make their research programs that had received earmarks competitive for federal research grants.

But the overall funding impact is substantial, according to National Science Foundation analysis.

In the state's historically black institutions in fiscal year 2009, Jackson State University received $37.3 million in federally financed research expenditures while Alcorn got $10.7 million and Mississippi Valley State got $1.06 million.

In FY 2009, all Mississippi public universities received a total of $255.7 million in federal research spending. The breakdown for the rest of the state's public universities that year was as follows: MSU, 109.2 million; University of Mississippi, $62.1 million; University of Southern Mississippi, $41.5 million.

Conversely in FY 2009, Mississippi state and local governments funded $36.2 million in university research. Private institutions paid for $98 million in Mississippi university research, while private industry paid for $14.5 million.

The correlation between university research and the creation of private sector jobs is obvious and undeniable. When both Nissan and Toyota located auto manufacturing plants in Mississippi, research institutes followed at MSU and at Ole Miss.

The polymer science program at USM is a proven job incubator and the medical research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center creates jobs and saves lives.

The Carnegie Foundation has classified MSU as a "very high research activity university" - the only school in the state with that distinction.

Federal spending on university research has historically been a vital component in funding higher education in Mississippi. The question in the current political climate is whether Mississippi's research institutions can be competitive for federal grants in this new paradigm. The answer is "yes."

In FY 2009, all Mississippi public universities received a total of $255.7 million in federal research spending. The breakdown for the rest of the state's public universities that year was as follows: MSU, 109.2 million; University of Mississippi, $62.1 million; University of Southern Mississippi, $41.5 million.

Conversely in FY 2009, Mississippi state and local governments funded $36.2 million in university research. Private institutions paid for $98 million in Mississippi university research, while private industry paid for $14.5 million.

The correlation between university research and the creation of private sector jobs is obvious and undeniable. When both Nissan and Toyota located auto manufacturing plants in Mississippi, research institutes followed at MSU and at Ole Miss.

The polymer science program at USM is a proven job incubator and the medical research at the University of Mississippi Medical Center creates jobs and saves lives.

The Carnegie Foundation has classified MSU as a "very high research activity university" - the only school in the state with that distinction.

Federal spending on university research has historically been a vital component in funding higher education in Mississippi. The question in the current political climate is whether Mississippi's research institutions can be competitive for federal grants in this new paradigm. The answer is "yes."

Welcome to the Dillard University Center for Teaching, Learning and Academic Technology Blog!

The Dillard University Center for Teaching, Learning and Academic Technology (DUCTLAT) http://www.ductlat.blogspot.com/ is essential in helping faculty effectively manage technology on and off campus. An important aspect of this initiative is achieved by bringing groups of faculty members together to learn the technology necessary to develop electronic resources for their courses and themselves, while planning and beginning the development of shared curricular materials. Cultivating faculty success at all levels reinforces the University's commitment to build premier faculty learning communities. All faculty, deans and academic administrators play a critical role in creating competitive and productive academic units in which expectations for faculty performance are clearly articulated and professional achievements are recognized and rewarded.

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