Using Your Student’s Voices to Inform Your Learning Ecosystem

Hosted in partnership with Academic Partnerships.

Through recent surveys, we know that the current generation of online students has specific needs when looking for, enrolling, and completing a program. According to the recent CAO report coming out of IHE, 85% of universities plan to expand their online offerings. So how do university leaders, tasked with tracking trends in student data and shaping strategies that will guide their institution forward, filter out the noise to craft and implement policies that will uplift the entire learning ecosystem? In this presentation, leaders representing Academic Partnerships and Wiley University Services will share student-driven data and actionable insights.

Topic areas include:

  • Meeting online learners’ distinct needs,
  • supporting and empowering online faculty, and
  • opportunities to enhance both campus and online learning experiences.

This webcast will be free and open to all via Zoom. Register to receive the recording.

Can Microcredentials Re-engage 40.4 Million Learners?

Hosted in partnership with StraighterLine.Straighterline logo.

Join us for an insightful webcast tailored for higher education leaders and administrators, focusing on the effective policy and practice of credential initiatives in today’s educational landscape. With a staggering 40.4 million Some College, No Credential adult learners seeking avenues for upskilling and reskilling, institutions face a pressing need to adapt and innovate. Today’s adult learners expect more: they want their educational journey to provide benefits while they are earning their degree, not after the degree is in hand.

This session will explore the strategic integration of microcredentials as a tool to re-engage and support adult learners while simultaneously enhancing institutional revenue streams. Through expert analysis, real-world scenarios, and empirical research, participants will gain invaluable insights into effectively leveraging microcredentials.

Key takeaways include:

  • Explore the shifts and trends in consumer demand from the voice of the student: what do current and prospective adult learners want and why?
  • Analyze the challenges and opportunities within higher education institutions: how do questions of quality and complex governance systems help and hinder the development of microcredentials?
  • Evaluate the role policy plays in shaping the higher education ecosystem to foster microcredential adoption and meet learner demand.

Join us as we delve into the transformative potential of microcredentials in shaping the future of higher education.

This webcast will be free and open to all via Zoom. Register to receive the recording.

AI Ethics, Governance, Policy, and Practice in Higher Education: A Strategic Webcast for Leaders and Practitioners

Hosted in partnership with D2L.D2L logo.

This insightful and comprehensive webcast delved into the critical intersection of AI ethics, governance, policy, and practice within the realm of higher education.

In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) integration has become increasingly prevalent across various sectors, including higher education. AI presents unprecedented opportunities to enhance teaching, learning, and administrative functions within academic institutions, from personalized learning platforms to chatbots and predictive analytics for student success. However, with these opportunities come a host of ethical considerations, governance challenges, and policy implications that demand careful navigation and strategic planning. View the recording of this webcast to:

  • Understand the key equity, fairness, and inclusivity considerations surrounding AI in teaching, learning, admissions, student support, and administration.
  • Learn about best practices and emerging frameworks for governing and implementing AI ethically and responsibly.
  • Explore examples, case studies, and success stories showcasing innovative AI applications across teaching, research, student services, and administrative functions.

RFP Info Session: Technology & Partnerships for Transfer Success

Please join us for an information session and to ask your questions about WICHE’s Request for Proposals for funds available to accredited colleges and universities partnering around shared transfer student flows, to develop and implement technological solutions that result in improved transfer student outcomes and metrics.

WICHE seeks to support up to six institutional partnerships that will work together to develop relevant technology improvements and pilot them in their settings over a two-year grant period.  Partnerships may apply for up to $30,000. These partners will focus on specific transfer student populations that are important in their transfer student flows, prototype and test tools that they would want to be implemented in their information systems, and provide critical information to advisors and students to enable the successful transfer of credits and progress through major coursework at the receiving institution. The RFP and link to submit applications online are available at www.wiche.edu/technology-partnerships-for-transfer-success/.

Applications will be accepted through 11:00 p.m. MST on Sunday, March 31, 2024, with consideration will be given to early submissions.

 

Seismic Shifts in Distance Ed Regulations: Gauging Department of Education Rulemaking

Did you feel that quake? In its recent rulemaking, the U.S. Department of Education proposed major changes that will cause institutions to check how the shifting sands will affect their distance education offering and their provision of digital books. In brief, these changes are huge. 

The U.S. Department of Education’s goals are to protect students as consumers and to ensure that federal financial aid funds are spent appropriately. We applaud those goals, but are still trying to decipher the possible impact on students, faculty, and staff.  

The WCET and SAN policy team provided updates on the Department’s proposals, which included:  

  • limiting greatly state authorization reciprocity benefits,  
  • eliminating “inclusive access” programs that include books and resources in tuition and fees, 
  • requiring attendance taking for all distance education courses, and 
  • categorizing all distance education programs as a “virtual location.”  

 

 

Distance Ed at a Crossroads: The Changing Landscape of New Regulations

Significant changes are being proposed for distance education courses and programs. If implemented, these new regulations will majorly affect your online courses, programs, and services to students. Join the WCET and SAN policy team for an in-person event to help you navigate the changing landscape of new regulations.

Topics will include:

  • Cash Management – Limitation of Books and Supplies as Part of Tuition & Fees
  • State Authorization – Reciprocity, State Oversight Exemptions
  • Distance Education – Additional Location, Removal of Aid for Clock Hour Asynchronous Distance Education
  • Return to Title IV – Taking Attendance for Distance Education Courses
  • Accreditation – Substantive Change Approvals, State Nursing Board Recognition

The full program will be announced soon. Register today to save your seat!

Registration Categories and Pricing

  • WCET or SAN member: $500
  • Non-Member: $900

Accessibility in EdTech: How Do Your Products Rate?

Hosted in partnership with NWHeat

Ensuring accessibility in digital learning products is essential to providing all learners with equal educational opportunities. This webcast provided an overview of a rubric designed to support institutions and edtech suppliers in their efforts to address accessibility.

This tool allows institutional leaders to leverage expertise from accessibility professionals across education and supplier organizations. It provides a common framework for evaluating non-technical aspects of accessibility in technology products and services that can impact purchasing decisions.

Do We Need a National Open Education Strategy? An “Open” Conversation

Open education has made remarkable progress, yet the evolving landscape continues to present challenges. As open education work continues to grow at institutions, in states, and across regions, questions increasingly surface about how we might coordinate and advocate more effectively as a field. This includes how to advance open education policies at the national and state level, how to reach institutional leaders, and how to expand sustainable funding.

NCOER (a collaboration among the four regional education compacts), working together with DOERS3 and SPARC, invite members of the open education field to join us for an open conversation about the potential need for U.S. national open education strategy and discuss how we might better collaborate to advance shared priorities. This will build on a discussion started at the 2023 Open Education Conference.

To include as many voices as possible, there are three options for when to join. All who are interested in open education are encouraged to participate.

RECORDING – Wednesday, February 7 at 3:00pm-4:00pm ET / 12:00pm-1:00pm PT
RECORDING – Tuesday, February 13 at 2:00 pm-3:00pm ET / 11am-12pm PT
RECORDING – Thursday, February 15 at 4:00pm-5:00pm ET / 1:00pm-2:00pm PT

RECORDING – Results from our Community “Open” Conversations
Thursday, March 7 at 2:00pm-3:00pm ET / 11:00am-12:00pm PT

2024 Legislative Advisory Committee Meeting

The Legislative Advisory Committee (LAC) informs the WICHE Commission and staff about significant legislative issues related to higher education and offers a forum for members to discuss promising initiatives from across the region and to learn about policy-relevant research. This year, the annual LAC meeting will be held in Denver, CO from September 11-12.

Understanding College Mental Health Needs and Solutions in 2024

This 2-part webinar series addresses the current trends of mental health on college campuses and technology based options as a way to effectively address them.

As colleges and universities move to address the ever-growing student mental health needs on and off campus, coupled with complex hybrid learning environments as a result of the pandemic, many institutions are now offering a plethora of student support resources across multiple modalities. Despite the increases in offered services, many counseling centers continue to be stretched thin. The causes are many including, but not limited to continuously increasing student behavioral health needs (with onsets both prior to and post-enrollment), disconnected messaging of offered services; and unintentional systemic barriers that can disproportionately impact underrepresented student populations. Given these dynamics, it is essential that campus communities focus on behavioral health models that meet students on their terms, connecting them with the right level of care at the right time.

In Session 1, using current data, this presentation will review and analyze macro behavioral health trends on campus over the past decade. In Session 2, we will follow up with an explanation of the benefits of implementing an integrated multi-modal stepped-care model to support and sustain student mental health and well-being. These models ensure effective use of available student support resources, decrease institutional/systemic barriers with a “no wrong door approach,” and thus increase engagement, health outcomes, and student success. This will be presented through case studies of several campuses highlighting successes, challenges, and replicable insights. Several interactive components will be utilized including live polls and interactive whiteboarding allowing participants to identify strengths, growth, edges, and ways to impart change on their campuses in real time. Both trainings will be recorded for later viewing.