SUS News

Dean Marie Cini

As April arrives in the greater Baltimore/Washington area, I am delighted to experience spring on the East Coast again. In Seattle, spring is less of an event and generally more of the same—rain and gray skies. Here, every day different trees and flowers are in bloom, and morning is heralded by new bird sounds. I was delighted, for example, to hear a woodpecker in my backyard in Glenn Dale last week.

With spring comes the promise of change and growth. It’s the perfect season for UMUC where change and growth are constants as we seek to meet the needs of students worldwide. As student needs change the School of Undergraduate Studies must be constantly looking for ways to provide high quality education in ever more accessible and flexible ways. What I find interesting is that commentators often pose “quality” and “accessibility” as opposites. If education is accessible (e.g., online), the assumption is that it cannot be a quality education. I had dinner with a colleague from a traditional institution of higher education last week who stated that dichotomy as fact.

Maintaining quality
Others argue that we can maintain quality while increasing accessibility and flexibility. That is, we may not be able to improve the quality of education, but we can maintain it as we find new ways to reach students. Those who moved from teaching in the traditional classroom to teaching online often argue this point—the educational environment is different, but of equal quality.

I wonder, though, if we can imagine educational models that are actually of higher quality than traditional models and more accessible and flexible for students? We know a great deal about learning theory thanks to educational researchers. We also know a great deal about the use of technology for enhanced learning. Unfortunately, we rarely marry our knowledge with our practice. UMUC is an exception to that—course design and faculty training are based on best practices and educational research.

But let’s think about the future. How can we extend technology so that we are not asking students to learn only within the confines of learning management systems (e.g., Blackboard or WebTycho)? Can student learning be structured on the job or in civic activities that relate theory to real-world experience without a traditional classroom setting? Can we actually imagine education that is more flexible, more accessible, and of higher quality than in the past? What might that model look like?

Harnessing technology
With computers becoming ever smaller and more ubiquitous, how can we harness this power to guide students in real-world learning environments? Many educators are enthused about the possibilities of “immersive learning environments” like SecondLife where students assume an identity in a virtual world and engage in realistic activities. I wonder if we can think about a time when reality is our classroom, computers are so powerful and handy that they help us track our learning, connect to libraries and “live”experts or teachers instantaneously, and provide feedback to our efforts on the spot?

My comments above are meant to be a bit provocative. I believe it is important that we begin to think about and shape our educational future. Please share your thoughts about the future of education and where you believe we are heading or should be heading.

--Marie

Recently I have been spending important time meeting with academic directors, collegiate faculty, and adjuncts, getting to know more about their roles, what they are most proud of, what their challenges are, and how I can support them as the dean. I continue to be awed by the very talented and committed individuals who educate our students.

One of the topics that inevitably comes up in these conversations relates to retention. Faculty are concerned about this since it is disheartening for them to feel that they might have failed a student.

We need to turn this topic around and focus less on retention (which implies “after the fact”) and more on student success. Our students have busy work and personal lives outside of the University, and they may not have been in a college classroom for many years. They are used to writing short emails, not lengthy research papers, and they don’t necessarily see how algebra relates to the real world they live in. Most take much longer than the traditional four years to graduate. Under these conditions, the transition to enrolling in University classes can cause even the most motivated students to stumble. How can we help our students succeed once they have made the decision to return to school?

Many of you have shared stories about your work to help and support individual students who were struggling in your courses. That is a hallmark of UMUC instructors—you care enough to support your students and show them the path to success. But we can’t look at student success as the responsibility of the instructor only. Some students come to the University with a gap in their skills. Others become lost in the bureaucracy when they have a nonacademic problem. Truly, it takes the entire University to help students succeed.

I’m happy to report that the University is gearing up more efforts that focus on student success. As we prepare for the fall semester, each unit will identify ways to reach out to students at key points to support their progress toward the degree. I invite feedback and ideas on how UMUC can assist students to succeed. Let’s define success broadly—as any or all of the following: completing a course; enrolling in courses on a continuous basis; graduating with the degree; the ability to demonstrate knowledge gained or skills obtained.

I know you all have good ideas; I’d really like to hear them. If you discuss this topic in your 999s, your directors can summarize your ideas, and we will use your ideas as part of the SUS student success plan.

--Marie