Overview
WEEK 1
First, introduce yourself to the class. Share your plans for using your master's in higher education when you earn your degree. Then address the prompt below.
Starting in 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed the Carnegie Classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. It is widely considered the leading framework for recognizing and describing the diverse types of institutions in U.S. higher education over the past four decades.
Select an institution of higher education and analyze its Carnegie Classification within the historic and social context of that institution's programs, profile, size, and setting. Review the institution's mission from its website and evaluate its mission. Based on that mission, how effective is the Carnegie Classification at characterizing the institution you have selected?
WEEK 2
Review the articles, The Amazon of Higher Education and Southern New Hampshire U. Designs a New Template for Faculty Jobs, which are about Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). Considering the social and historical contexts and trends, what challenges and opportunities was SNHU facing, thereby causing the president to consider change?Putting yourself in his shoes before the change began, how would you propose building the case for change to key stakeholders? In your discussion, identify two to three challenges and/or opportunities.
WEEK 3
This module has emphasized the importance of general planning, involving stakeholders, communicating, and planning for the unexpected. As you focus on budget planning, rely on your reading, and discuss what strategy you would use as a campus leader to create a plan.
Use one of the sample project budgets listed in the Reading and Resources section as a guide in developing your plan. Submit a spreadsheet with a brief explanation of the budget items and how they would be funded. For example: "Ten-year facilities plan for updating bathrooms to become gender-inclusive to meet state laws," "Using $200,000 in state funding for building improvements divided into five years."
Another example could be to move from a rollover budget to a zero-based budget for all the college's professional development and travel so this line item decreases in a five-year period with a fixed budget for each cycle.
WEEK 4
Review the Chronicle of Higher Education articles related to the 2012 leadership crisis at the University of Virginia in this module's Reading and Resources section. According to the Chronicle, members of the UVA Board of Visitors were dissatisfied with the pace of change under the leadership of UVA President, Dr. Teresa Sullivan, particularly in the area of online education. As a member of the UVA Board of Visitors, describe how you would have approached a change initiative such as the expansion of online education at UVA. In your initial response, identify the key stakeholders of such an initiative, evaluate the impact of the proposed change on those stakeholders, and discuss possible barriers to the expansion of online education.
WEEK 5
As described in The Chronicle of Higher Education article, "Tensions Between Faculty Members and Consultants Come to a Head in Minn.", stakeholders at institutions of higher education are not always supportive of change initiatives. How you would design a change initiative, such as the ones described in the article, that promotes the engagement and collaboration of key stakeholder groups?
Compare and contrast the experiences of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system with your proposed approach to communications.
WEEK 6
Compliance with a myriad of laws, regulations, and standards is required of all institutions of higher education. Briefly describe your change initiative proposal to your peers and identify its greatest compliance, regulatory, and accreditation challenges or risks. How do you propose addressing those challenges and/or mitigating the risks?
WEEK 7
The final project requires identifying which change to pursue, which depends on knowing the institution's needs so you can write a change proposal. So, you will need to assess your hypothetical institution's needs and challenges to determine a topic mandating change.
For this discussion, consider the standards identified in the video, "Using CAS for Assessing Program Effectiveness and Student Learning." The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) provides several frameworks and standards for assessing programs and student learning.
In your initial post, discuss the three major points from the video that you found most beneficial and explain how you could apply them in evaluating change options for your chosen institution. Be sure to provide your peers any additional context to clarify your institution's need. Consider in your response how these standards are measured and how to determine the benefit to student learning.
WEEK 8
Once a change initiative is implemented, how can change and continuous improvement be sustained over time? What techniques, strategies, organizational structures, etc., can be effectively put in place? Please respond either (a) from the viewpoint of one institution or (b) from a policy perspective.
WEEK 9
Think about the future of higher education within the context of what you have learned in this program, and select an article from either the Chronicle of Higher Education or Inside Higher Education that you believe reflects that future, or a subset of it. Share the article, along with your reflections and predictions.
WEEK 10
You should envision this discussion as a personal reflection on the capstone and your experience in the MS in Higher Education Administration program as a whole. At a minimum, please address the following points:
- Overall, what was your capstone experience like? In considering your response to this seemingly straightforward question, it is suggested that you apply some of what you have learned through a cost-benefit analysis. As you do so, consider the effort and time that you put into the capstone versus its benefit in terms of your learning to date and possibilities for the future. What would be your overall assessment?
- How will you apply what you have learned to your current and/or future professional life? Here you may wish to reflect on the personal philosophy of higher education that you prepared in the HEA 520 course. Has that philosophy evolved over the course of the HEA program, and if so, in what way?
Note that this discussion is not about evaluating the capstone itself but rather your experience within the capstone project and its relation to the overall HEA program.