Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a written policy proposal.
Higher education administrators are often charged with the responsibility of crafting higher education policies. This task requires that administrators possess the skills and abilities to successfully collaborate with various stakeholders throughout the policy development process. Throughout this process, it is imperative that higher education administrators consider possible impact on 1) funding attainment, 2) the institution’s mission and vision, 3) state and federal regulations, and 4) external and internal stakeholders.
In this course, you will model a given role at a prescribed institution, a role which will also be positioned as a stakeholder in making policy recommendations at the institution. You will demonstrate your ability to craft a policy that will influence the institution’s enrollment, retention, and completion rates, while maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations.
The project is divided into four milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, Five and Seven. The final project will be submitted in Module Nine.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
- Analyze higher education policies for their impact on student attainment, retention, and completion
- Create a higher education policy that addresses student population, maintains compliance with state and federal regulations, and is aligned to the mission and vision
- Recommend strategies for the implementation of higher education policies that ensure alignment with the mission and compliance with state and federal regulations
- Evaluate higher education policy to predict influence on federal and state funding appropriations and other funding sources at the local and national level
- Evaluate institutional impacts of higher education policy on internal and external stakeholders
Prompt
For the purpose of this exercise, you will identify yourself with one of the following roles at a small, highly selective (less than 2,000 students), Bachelor’s degree-granting public institution:
- Director of Enrollment Management
- Dean of Students
- Faculty in the Business School
- Director of Institutional Effectiveness
The institution’s mission and vision is as follows:
Our college is an institution of higher education that promotes student learning through quality education and services while fostering personal growth, leadership, and opportunity to a culturally diverse community. Our college educates intellectually and culturally enriched individuals to be successful in their careers and contribute to their communities.
In your role, you have been asked to join a group of stakeholders tasked with crafting an admissions policy, in the form of a written proposal, for the college president. The design of the policy must frame the intent that admissions become less selective in order to increase the institution’s student population, while maintaining compliance with higher education regulations.
Using the above parameters, you will create an admissions policy for the institution that is based on a current higher education regulation and that guides future student recruitment and enrollment. You will discuss the policy’s implications on enrollment, retention, and completion and describe how the policy aligns with the provided institution’s mission and vision statement. Additionally, evaluate how maintaining compliance with state and federal regulations influences your development of the admissions policy. You will also identify possible implications and consequences of the policy for internal and external stakeholders.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
- Introduction
- Describe the proposed policy on student attainment, retention, and completion. How does the policy articulate the intent that admissions become less selective in order to increase student enrollment, while maintaining compliance with higher education regulations?
- Describe the intended outcomes of the policy on student attainment, retention, and completion. Consider the current state of the institution: What are some reasons for implementing this policy? What are the potential impacts to the institution if the policy is not implemented? How might the policy alter the current state of the institution?
- Articulate evidence of how elements of the mission and vision were considered when recommending the policy. Consider: What is the relationship between the mission and vision of the institution and the crafting of policy? Why is it necessary to consider the mission and vision when crafting policy?
- Justify how the policy does not conflict with the mission and vision of the institution using supporting evidence. Are there any predictions you could make regarding possible impacts to the culture of the institution as a result of the policy implementation?
- Describe how variables of state and federal regulations were considered and included in the development of the policy. What are the state and federal regulations that apply to enrollment, retention, and completion in higher education? Considering the policy, do the regulations seem logical? Why or why not?
- Recommend internal and external stakeholders to participate in the crafting of the policy and what their roles will be in the crafting of the policy. You might also consider the possible impacts of the policy: Which internal and external stakeholders should be invited to attend? What are the roles of the internal and external stakeholders?
- Development
- Explain how the policy communicates the intent that admissions become less selective while maintaining compliance with higher education regulations. Be sure to support your explanation with evidence. Consider how you might best ensure effective communication to different stakeholders.
- Design an action plan that will result in necessary responses from internal and external stakeholders to the implementation of the policy. Based on possible consequences of the implementation of policy, you might consider predicting potential responses from stakeholders. In preparation for these responses, what are some proactive strategies that could impact future decision making regarding the implementation of policy?
- Describe additional resources, for and from internal and external stakeholders, that the institution will need to provide and identify based on implementation of the policy. Consider comparing and contrasting the original policy, as depicted within the mission and vision, and the new policy. What are some of the justifications for the additional resources?
- Impact
- Analyze the impact of institutional operations for increasing enrollment, retention, and completion through implementation of this policy.
- Evaluate how the policy will meet the requirement of increasing enrollment, retention, and completion. With regard to evaluating the impact of the policy on increasing enrollment, retention, and completion, you might also think about what activities could be organized to sustainably achieve those ends.
- Conclusions
- Describe how this policy may impact the future demographics of the institution. What are the key considerations of the stakeholders, culture, enrollment, retention, and completion regarding future demographics of the institution?
- Predict the policy’s potential to alter the mission of the institution.
- Analyze how the policy may impact future funding sources.
- Predict any necessary future modifications to the policy given regulatory trends. With regard to the policy and funding trends, what additional considerations should be taken?
Milestones
Milestone One: Policy Proposal Perspective In Module Two, you will share with your peers the perspective you have selected for your final project, the written admission policy proposal. Throughout this course, this role or perspective will frame your responses for all tasks related to the policy proposal. As you consider the perspective you selected, address the prompt requirements in your initial post and as you extend the conversations with your peers. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Admission Policy Proposal In Module Four, you will research admission policies, then select and develop an admission policy. As you do so, consider the intended outcomes of the policy, and consider whether the policy impacts the mission and vision of the institution. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Stakeholder Analysis In Module Five, you will create a stakeholder map providing a visual representation of the internal and external stakeholders and narrative statements discussing these stakeholder perspectives in more detail. Additionally, you will consider the impact on internal stakeholders—those who work in areas of institutional operations—and develop an action plan for how you would work in concert with these stakeholders to enact your proposed policy. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Milestone Four: Admission Policy Impact In Module Seven, you will submit a policy impact report in which you outline the possible ramifications of your admissions policy on 1) the institution’s operations, 2) the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of culturally diverse college students, and 3) the institution’s mission and vision. Consider whether your policy will have an impact upon the institution’s mission and vision to work with culturally diverse communities and consider multiple definitions of cultural diversity as you frame your response. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Four Rubric.
Final Submission: Policy Proposal In Module Nine, you will submit your written policy proposal. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
What to Submit
The final project must include the new admissions policy in the introduction. Your policy proposal should be a well-developed paper, 17–20 pages in length (plus a cover sheet and reference page) and must be written in APA format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least 15 references cited in APA format.
8-2 Discussion: The Future of Higher Education Policy
Possible Points: 30 Within St. John, Hu, and Fisher's academic capital formation framework consider the important and interconnected roles of family engagement, academic preparation, transitions to college, engaged learning in college, and academic success. Describe how the admission policy that you developed for your policy proposal may or may not address those areas. 10-1 Discussion: Higher Education Policy Takeaways
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