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Special Series: Technology >> Part 1: Strategy/Mission/Vision
5/5/2005
"The New Learning Age and the Management of Online Curricula," by Dr. Walter D. Broadnax, president, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GASome 1,500 private college presidents throughout the United States have received President to President this spring through the generous support of SunGard SCT. Now, the editors of the work, SunGard SCT, and Campus Technology, have partnered to bring this exchange of presidential views to readers of Campus Technology, over coming issues. —Marylouise Fennell, Ph.D and Scott D. Miller, Ph.D
Marylouise Fennell is coordinator of the New Presidents Program, and senior counsel at the Council of Independent Colleges (www.cic.edu). Scott D. Miller, president of Wesley College (DE), is chair of the program. They are co-editors of President to President: Views on Technology in Higher Education published this spring by SunGard SCT.
Strategy, Mission and Vision
By Michael K. Townsley
If colleges and universities are havens of reflection and restraint where change is glacial and all systems exist to serve the institution, high technology is a revolutionary temptation—a promise of control to students, faculty, and presidents—that offers the same regard for academic tradition that the iconoclast offers the town church.
Most presidents recognize the obsolescence of their institutions¹ mission statements and strategic plans amid the self-serving, high-speed, high-tech movement. Students at colleges large and small won¹t tolerate lengthy queues, ad nauseum policies and procedures, or educational services that treat them as arms¹-length objects rather than key-punching participants in their educations. They, along with faculty and administrators, want more control over decisions that affect their lives—a more transparent learning and working environment that is ever more accessible and responsive to their input.
Savvy presidents recognize the potential of technology to enhance mission, improve educational services, and provide flexibility to decision chains. Harnessing the high-tech pace, and coordinating technology with mission and strategy require more than just a huge information technology (IT) investment. A fiscally responsible and forward-thinking leadership will reorganize operations, reevaluate market position, and press their institutions to utilize technology wisely. According to George Keller, speaking in Academic Strategy (John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1983), "Presidents who do not look ahead, who do not plan, become prisoners of external forces and surprises most often unpleasant."
Recommended Reading
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Microsoft exec Stephen Elop on Monday announced two hosted solutions from Microsoft--Exchange Online and SharePoint Online--which are now available to organizations of all sizes in the United States. The software, paid for by annual subscriptions, is hosted on Microsoft's servers and supported by Microsoft's channel partners.
- 6 Ways Not To Become Rote Using Instructional Technology
There are, in my experience, six strategies to consider with any use of technology that will guard against rote use of technology and facilitate critical analysis of teaching and learning effectiveness. In this article, I'll share with you the checklist I work with and encourage others to work with in learning about and using new technology.
- Bringing Student Web "Stuff" to Campus Enterprise Systems
How can an institution incorporate Web 2.0 learning opportunities for students, and evidence of learning from those opportunities, into existing campus technologies and processes? PlugJam is providing part of the answer.
- Delta iTunes U Helps Meet Student Expectations for Web 2.0 Apps
As part of a strategy to meet students' expectations to experience interactive Web 2.0 applications in their learning environments, Delta College in Michigan launched an online Delta iTunes U site this fall.
- Tipping Point for "Content"--Dynamic Interaction, Not Static Stuff
The word "content," as used in education, is troublesome for many educators today who see education as a constructivist process, an interaction between knower and learner, and as a student-centered activity.
- Penn State Pilots Proctored Online Testing System from Kryterion
The Pennsylvania State University's World Campus and Kryterion have gone public with results of a pilot in which students completed proctored exams online using Webassessor Online Secured Testing. The technology is intended to deliver tests without the need for an in-room proctor present.
