Rick Osborn's Continuing Education Blog

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

2012-02-03T08:47:00.002-05:00

Save the date

2012-02-03T07:59:00.000-05:00

Association for Nontraditional Students in Higher Education

15th Annual Conference

Refreshing Your Past Downloading Your Future
March 23 - 25, 2012Hosted by Eastern Kentucky University

Grow old along with me

2012-02-03T06:51:00.000-05:00

Let's move to Tennessee. Three of the top seven cities that make you age too fast are in Tennessee, including Knoxville at the top of the list. From CBS Money Watch.

Cities that make you age too fast

While healthy cities tended to be concentrated in the West and Northeast, the South had the highest showing among cities where lifestyle and behavioral choices were most likely to make residents age far too fast. The site blamed a higher propensity to smoke, drink excessively and eat in ways that encouraged obesity, high blood pressure and horrible cholesterol levels.

The 10 major metropolitan areas where residents grow old the fastest are:

1. Knoxville, Tenn.
2. Louisville, Ky.
3. Memphis, Tenn
4. Oklahoma City, Okla.
5. Indianapolis, Ind.
6. Greensboro, N.C.
7. Nashville, Tenn.
8. Greenville, S.C.
9. Cincinnati, Ohio
10. Columbus, Ohio

New UT branding campaign announced

2012-02-03T06:17:00.000-05:00

Big Orange. Big Ideas. From the Knoxville News Sentinel.

UT unveils new branding campaign: 'Big Orange. Big Ideas.'

The slogan will be used in UT's local and national advertisements and on its new redesigned website, which also was unveiled today.

"The new look and words are simple, but they provide a much-needed platform for telling our story and strengthening our reputation," said Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, who has made a commitment to make UT a the top 25 public research institution, a goal based in part on reputation.

Why is tuition so high?

2012-02-02T10:48:00.000-05:00

Just look at the reductions in state funding. If Tennessee's governor gets his way, however, we may get some relief locally. From Time.

Students at Public Universities, Colleges Will Bear the Burden of Reduced Funding for Higher Education

Over the past year, state funding for higher education has declined by nearly 8%. In real terms, that amounts to $6 billion less being funneled into the nation’s public colleges and universities at a time when the demand for the degrees they provide is at an all-time high.

According to the annual Grapevine report from the Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University, 41 states reduced funding as a result of the slow economic recovery and the end of federal stimulus funds. Of those, 29 states allocated less money in the 2011-12 school year than they did in the pre-recession 2006-07 school year. And further, 14 states reduced funds by more than 10%. In the most extreme case, New Hampshire reduced public funding for its colleges and universities by 41%; at the other end of the spectrum, North Carolina decreased funding by only 1%, and nine states managed to increase total state spending for higher ed.

As state money declines, universities are left with no choice but to put more of the financial burden on students — the same students who are already taking on more debt than ever recorded. “There’s an awful lot of substitution of student money for state money,” said Dennis Jones, president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. “The first reaction is always to increase tuition.” At the same time, also as a result of the cuts, schools are curtailing need-based financial aid programs. “Students are being hit with a double whammy — higher cost and less help,” Jones added.

But not only are students footing more of the bill, they are getting less bang for their buck. In order to compensate for the lack of funds, universities have made a host of significant changes — and almost none of them are good for students.

EvoLLLution has launched

2012-02-02T07:22:00.000-05:00

I was notified about this new website and thought I'd pass the information on. I haven't had a chance to study it very carefully. I guess it's not aimed at the CreaTTTionists in the audience. Ba-doom Pshh.

A grassroots online newspaper exclusively for, and by, those who understand higher education best, The EvoLLLution is the only place where you can find detailed opinions, news and research about the impact of non-traditional programs on the higher education industry and society-at-large.

The EvoLLLution was crafted in recognition of the fact that there are innovators at every level of every institution. From the college dean, to the state system president to the professional student, individuals everywhere are retooling, reorganizing and rethinking their way into the 21st century. These are the people writing our articles and shaping the future of lifelong learning.

2012-02-02T07:14:00.002-05:00

Today is

2012-02-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

Change Your Password Day. To celebrate, I suggest changing your password. Today.

Coppin State seeks to improve its graduation rate

2012-02-01T10:17:00.000-05:00

Adopting many of the things we preach in continuing education: one stop shopping, timely student assistance, intrusive advising. From The Washington Post.

Coppin State University moves to improve its low graduation rate

One of Ross’s first reforms was to create a centralized customer-service operation, a place students with any logistical problem could go. At the new Student Success Center, the goal is to answer every customer’s question in seven minutes.

Some problems take longer. Last week, Terri Hackett, the center’s director, was helping a freshman find somewhere to live.

Coppin students tend to come from families whose personal and financial details don’t fit neatly on government forms.

Four-fifths of the financial aid applications completed by Coppin students are flagged for irregularities, sometimes for an ambiguous home address or a missing signature.

When he arrived on campus, Ross set about finding seniors who had not registered for their final year of classes. . . .

He also learned that Coppin students were not required to meet with advisers before registering for classes. Some would take too few credits. Others would take too many.

“Our students, they work 40, 50 hours a week, and then they try to take a full load of courses,” said Nicholas Eugene, president of the Faculty Senate at Coppin.

Now, students must consult their advisers before they register.

Awards time

2012-02-01T06:33:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to nominate programs/individuals for ACHE South Awards. You can learn more about the awards and download forms from the ACHESouth conference site at: www.uky.edu/UE/ACHEConf2012/awards. For more information contact Dan Connell at d.connell@moreheadstate.edu or606-783-2612.

From the Urban Dictionary calendar

2012-01-31T06:48:00.001-05:00

iFinger: It's the finger(s) you purposely keep clean when you eat something messy so you could operate your touchscreen without making the screen look like your plate.

These ribs are delicious and messy, but I have to keep my pinky clean cause its my iFinger.

Save the date

2012-01-30T15:25:00.001-05:00

15th Annual NABCA Conference

"Regional & Branch Campuses:
A Prism of Possibilities for the 21st Century"
April 11 - 14, 2012
Orlando, Florida
Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel

The extroverted engineer stares at YOUR shoes when talking to you

2012-01-30T06:35:00.001-05:00

Susan Cain, writing in Time, outlines some of the advantages of being an introvert.

Susan Cain: Don't Call Introverted Children 'Shy'

As adults, introverted leaders have even been found to deliver better outcomes than extroverts when managing employees, according to a recent study by management professor Adam Grant of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, because they encourage others’ ideas instead of trying to put their own stamp on things. And they’re less likely to take dangerous risks. Extroverts are more likely than introverts to get into car accidents, participate in extreme sports and to place large financial bets.

Tennessee is a net brain gainer

2012-01-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

Although a small one at just over 1900 students. Jenna Johnson in The Washington Post looks at states that export the most college students and states that import the most. The top exporters are New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois and the top importers are Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Massachusetts. Tennessee is the 22nd ranked importer, just behind Missouri and ahead of Mississippi.

Brain drain: States that lose the most college students

I owe Comcast an apology

2012-01-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

They came out and fixed my landscaping that I complained about. And gave me a small credit towards my bill.

God help me I do love top ten lists

2012-01-27T06:04:00.000-05:00

Top 10 Memorable Movie-Character Names

Social notworking

2012-01-26T07:53:00.000-05:00

Click to Enlarge
Via Schools.com
View Other Infographics

News from the TACHE president

2012-01-26T06:04:00.001-05:00

Dear TACHE Members

I am pleased to annouce that the new TACHE Executive Secretary/Treasurer is Dr. Rick Osborn, and ETSU will serve as the new home office and the new TACHE Historian is Rodney Robbins, MTSU.

I want to thank these members for their willingness to take on these important roles for our organization.

I also want to recognize and thank Sam Brackstone for his service as Executive Secretary/Treasurer!!

Dianna Rust

President, TACHE

2012-01-25T06:22:00.000-05:00

see more Funny Graphs

Release the Kraken

2012-01-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted to say that. This bottle of Kraken rum was a Christmas gift. It will prove useful as SACS is driving me to drink, unfortunately.

Rock and roll, hoochie koo

2012-01-24T06:38:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, as a former English major, interpreting lyrics is what I do. I can't help myself. And lyrics are important. Take that song "I'm Already There" by Lonestar. Those lyrics irritate the heck out of me. What does it mean, "I'm already there?" He's not there; he's on the phone. Is he dead? Evidently not, because he's calling from somewhere else. But at least his being a ghost would explain why he's the "shadow on the ground" and the "whisper in the wind." Next time I'm late for a meeting I'll tell my boss: I'm already there. Take a look around.

Tom Hawking, writing in The Atlantic, has a nice listing of misunderstood songs including "Born in the USA."

The Most Misunderstood Songs in Rock History

“Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
No, Rush Limbaugh/Ronald Reagan/homebrew patriotic YouTube video makers, this is not a flag-waving anthem proclaiming Bruce’s love of the US of A. It’s the tale of an embittered Vietnam veteran who was “sent off to fight the yellow man” and returned in a hell of mess, only to be forgotten by the country that sent him off to fight and die. Which lends a particularly bitter lashing of irony to the fact that continues to be co-opted as some sort of right-wing rallying song, doesn’t it?

Dean Dad points out the possible downside

2012-01-23T07:20:00.002-05:00

Of basing funding on graduation rates--if an institution takes the quick and dirty route. Of course, I don't expect legitimate institutions to turn to the darkside.

In an interesting development tied to Dad's posting, I saw that the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) is looking for the following positions (1) Associate Vice Chancellor, Adult Education, (2) Assistant Dean, Adult Education, and (3) Adult Education Manager. With adult education so crucial to the evaluation of the CCC presidents, it's no wonder they want their own folks in these jobs. It's a great opportunity for the right continuing educator. He or she would certainly have support from the top.

Of course, funding in Tennessee is now based on outcomes instead of enrollment, but graduation is just one of the outcomes. It is the one folks care the most about, however. And the one the legislators will keep their eyes on.

Basing It All on Graduation Rates

The Presidents of the Chicago area community colleges will keep or lose their jobs based on the graduation rates at their respective colleges.

This is an awful and great idea. I’d hate to be in their shoes, though.

The greatness of the idea is that it moves necessary changes from “gee, we really should...” to “we have to do this NOW.” The culture of higher ed is good at footdragging and terrible at saying “no” to incumbents. Some level of urgency is probably required if those cultural defaults are to be overridden.

That said, though, it could go wrong very easily.

It wouldn’t take much. Colleges could start outsourcing the most difficult students into Adult Basic Ed programs, cutting off second chances, and placing none-too-subtle pressure on faculty to grade generously. They could recruit from different (more affluent) areas, redefine ‘graduation’ by slicing degrees into cascading certificates, and give credit for life experience. Those would all result in relatively fast “gains,” though at considerable cost to the mission.
Getting good results the honorable way, though, will take years and resources. I don’t know how politically realistic that is, but it’s true.

Tennessee's newest campus

2012-01-23T06:35:00.000-05:00

It's official. The former Lambuth University is a branch campus of the University of Memphis, operated by its continuing education unit. Most continuing educators, though, don't have to worry about dorms. Except, of course, when we have high school students in for the summer for various programs. And that's bad enough.

In Kentucky, there's talk of the state taking over the private University of Pikeville. That's the pattern in Kentucky (The University of Louisville is the last example.), but folks wonder if there's a pressing need to add the expense to the higher education budget.

Haslam raises flag at former Lambuth

Gov. Bill Haslam raised the University of Memphis flag in the historic quadrangle of Lambuth University on Thursday in a ceremony commemorating the deed transfer from the United Methodist Church-affiliated private university to the state of Tennessee.

Speaking before the flag-raising, Haslam said his goal is to see more Tennesseans graduate from college, according to The Jackson Sun.

“Of the adults 25 years old and older, only 21 percent have degrees. The national average is around 30 percent,” he said. “We need more people in Tennessee with a college education, and we need to make sure that they have access to attend and that it’s affordable.”

More than 400 students are enrolled at the University of Memphis Lambuth, which opened in the fall. The school began its spring semester on Thursday with new bachelor’s degree programs in English, communications, criminal justice, psychology, public relations, social work, accounting and entertainment music industries.

Looking ahead

2012-01-20T07:36:00.000-05:00

The National Center for Education Statistics projects increased higher education enrollments for the next 11 years. Adult students continue to be low hanging fruit, especially young adults. Females attending college will outnumber males by 2 to 1. The adults students are out there; we just need to attract them to our institutions.

Projections of Education Statistics to 2020

Enrollment by age of student

Between 2009 and 2020, enrollment is projected to increase

•9 percent for students who are 18 to 24 years old;
•21 percent for students who are 25 to 34 years old; and
•16 percent for students who are 35 years old and over.

Social media 101

2012-01-20T06:24:00.000-05:00

In case you were considering friending your boss on Facebook: Don't do it. Leave out co-workers while you're at it. Your current co-worker may become your boss in a few years as both of you move around. More Facebook tips from Moneyland and Time.

Is It a Bad Idea to Friend Co-workers on Facebook? How About Your Boss? Moneyland TIME.com

Don’t friend co-workers you don’t trust. Gen Y is known as a competitive group in the workplace, and especially in the shaky state of the job market, every employee is looking for an edge. So be careful — paranoid, even — about which co-workers you’re friends with online lest a “friend” sabotages your career.

Avoid friending your direct manager. Your boss has a big influence on your career trajectory. He or she helps decide who gets a raise and who doesn’t, and who takes on what projects. Basically, your manager can make your work life wonderful or miserable, and to avoid the latter, it’s safer to keep Facebook out of the equation.

Set your privacy settings and review them regularly. On Facebook’s privacy-settings page, make sure to check the option that allows you to approve all tags, pictures, videos and mentions of your name. This way, you’ll have recourse when a friend shares something that you don’t want your followers to see.

Be smart about what you post. The main picture used in your profile is the first impression people will get of you, so choose wisely. It’s also, obviously, a bad idea to complain about your boss or co-workers or to say anything negative about your employer in Facebook posts. Griping online may feel therapeutic, but it can also hurt your career. With a smart phone, Facebook users can post from anywhere in the world, and they do so instantly and impulsively — greatly increasing the chance that they’ll share something they later wish remained private. What happens in Vegas, or anywhere else, will be forever exposed to the world on Facebook if you let it.

Meetings 101

2012-01-19T07:57:00.003-05:00

I've discovered a new sage on the interweb named Meeting Boy. He offers this bit of wisdom:

The problem with 8 hour meetings is the iPhone only has a 6 hour battery.

Meanwhile, I'm off traveling to the PLA Task Force meeting in downtown Nashville tomorrow. I'm envious of only an eight hour meeting.

Tennessee earns a C+

2012-01-19T06:38:00.001-05:00

Quality Counts gives Tennessee a grade of C+ (77.7) on educational policy and performance. It's ranked 20th, tied with Rhode Island. Maryland leads with a grade of B+, and there are some surprising states in the top ten: Arkansas is fifth, Georgia seventh, and West Virginia ninth.

Equipping U.S. Schools for the Global Fast Lane

This year's Quality Counts report takes a critical look at the nation's place among the world's public education systems. Veteran Education Week journalists with deep expertise in such areas as teaching, assessment, curriculum, and state and federal policymaking put to the test popular assumptions about the country's competitive status in education. Working with colleagues from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, they illuminate innovations in high-performing nations that have taken root in the United States, lessons to be drawn from the experience of other countries, and the promise and risks such strategies hold for U.S. policymakers. The aim is to provide fresh perspectives on the political, social, and cultural challenges the nation faces in preparing its public school students for the workforce demands of an interconnected world economy.

Education Week: Quality Counts 2012 - State Report Cards

Our long state nightmare is over

2012-01-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

Backyard chickens approved in Nashville: Metro Nashville council approves measure allowing residents to raise chickens

Meanwhile, just over the state line in Virginia

2012-01-18T11:12:00.001-05:00

There's a fire in the fire station. Call the Volunteer Irony Department. From The Johnson City Press.

Fire strikes Gate City, Va., Volunteer Fire Department

Authorities in Scott County say they are still trying to determine the cause of a fire that sprang up Tuesday evening at the headquarters of the Gate City Volunteer Fire Department.

Gate City Fire Chief Jeff Brickey said the fire hall received minimal damage as a result of the blaze, which was first reported to Scott County Central Dispatch at 6:40 p.m.

I can't believe Comcast isn't on this list

2012-01-18T06:55:00.002-05:00

Or Xfinity, which seems to be the name they go by now. My latest issue is that after waiting nine months to bet my cable repaired (We had a wire above ground and crossing my sidewalk that whole time.), they tore up my landscaping fixing the underground wiring and did a terrible job of reconstruction. This list, from 24/7 Wall St., includes Facebook, American Airlines, and AT&T...among others, of course. [NOTE: Comcast read this and fixed the problem on 1/26/12.]

The 10 Most Hated Companies in America

Customers, employees, shareholders and taxpayers hate large corporations for many reasons. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a lengthy list of corporations for which there is substantial research data to choose the 10 most hated in America.

Research about companies comes in two sets. One is public research about consumer satisfaction, customer care, pricing of products and services, and brand impressions. Wall St. research takes into account another set of factors, which include present earnings, profit forecasts, product development and quality, and brand valuations.

Some of the companies on this list are widely despised because of the businesses that they are in. In an economic environment where resources are stretched, an airline or retail operation that has millions of customers is likely to make a lot of enemies. Similarly, banks and other corporations with a large number of retail outlets are at a disadvantage compared with businesses with few customers. Some of the corporations on this list also have had to fire significant numbers of employees due to the recession. Downsizing causes poor morale, increases the workload of the remaining staff and affects customer satisfaction when service is poorer.

2012-01-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

Why do adult students drop out

2012-01-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

In a guest posting in College, Inc., Inside Track's CEO, Alan Tripp, discusses what his company's research reveals. Nothing we don't already believe to be true, but it's good to have data supporting our beliefs.

Guest post: Non-traditional students key to college completion goal

The good news, however, is that new data tells us why adult college students drop out and how we can best impact them.

— A plurality of students (30 percent) cited managing commitments (such as balancing work, family and school) as their reason for dropping out.
— Difficulty managing finances, at 26 percent, was the second most common reason. (Among younger students – those under 25 – finances ranked first.)
— For 13 percent of adult students, effectiveness (maintaining momentum and seeing complex projects through to completion) was the main reason for dropping out.
— For 9 percent of students, lack of a commitment to graduation factored most prominently.
— Health problems and lack of support followed closely at 8.6 percent.

This information was uncovered by our research at InsideTrack, and is based on data for 45,000 students from 17 colleges and universities.

I may have mentioned something earlier about liking my iPhone

2012-01-16T06:58:00.000-05:00

Did you know it can work as a scanner with the right app? Lacey Maulding, writing in Mademan.com, lists ten more. Some are more useful than others.

11 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know Your iPhone Can Do

Apple products are, by their very nature, extremely intuitive. They know what you want almost before you do, and the new iPhone 4S can even speak. But beyond that, this phone and its predecessors can do a ton of cool stuff that you might not even know. This can seem ominous if you’ve watched the Terminator flicks one too many times, but ultimately, dude, you still have the power. Especially once you study up on the 11 killer apps and secret features below. Not only would they make Steve Jobs proud, they can change your life. For the better, of course.

Nominate a deserving continuing educator

2012-01-13T06:01:00.000-05:00

Or an exemplary program for an ACHE South Award. ACHE South is seeking awards nominations for outstanding credit and non-credit programs, distinguished continuing higher education professionals, scholarships, and research grants. Recipients will be recognized at the 2012 South ACHE Spring Conference in Lexington, KY on April 24, 2012.

For more information, awards descriptions, and nomination forms please visit our website at www.uky.edu/ue/acheConf2012

The application deadline is February 17, 2012.

Badges?

2012-01-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

We don't need no stinkin' badges! Actually, I have nothing against this wearable credential; I just have limited opportunities to use that line from Blazing Saddles. And I know it originated in slightly different form from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Perhaps achievement body art is next. This comes by way of Jeffrey R. Young, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

'Badges' Earned Online Pose Challenge to Traditional College Diplomas

The spread of a seemingly playful alternative to traditional diplomas, inspired by Boy Scout achievement patches and video-game power-ups, suggests that the standard certification system no longer works in today's fast-changing job market.

Educational upstarts across the Web are adopting systems of "badges" to certify skills and abilities. If scouting focuses on outdoorsy skills like tying knots, these badges denote areas employers might look for, like mentorship or digital video editing. Many of the new digital badges are easy to attain—intentionally so—to keep students motivated, while others signal mastery of fine-grained skills that are not formally recognized in a traditional classroom.

At the free online-education provider Khan Academy, for instance, students get a "Great Listener" badge for watching 30 minutes of videos from its collection of thousands of short educational clips. With enough of those badges, paired with badges earned for passing standardized tests administered on the site, users can earn the distinction of "Master of Algebra" or other "Challenge Patches."

Don't major in recession studies

2012-01-12T06:58:00.001-05:00

Some interesting data on the value of higher education and the unemployment rates of specific majors. And something that sometimes overlooked: do something that you like. You may be doing it for a long time. Or not. From Derek Thompson, writing in The Atlantic.

Don't Let the Economy Pick Your Major For You

But are employment and earnings by degree the most important factors in choosing a college? Absolutely not. First of all, mushy as it sounds in an economics post, happiness matters. To the furthest extent possible, you should do what you want to do, not only in college, but also in life. Second, employment and earnings statistics are variable. Real estate was all the rage in 2003. But four years after the housing bust, it won't surprise you to learn that architecture majors now have highest jobless rate among recent college graduates at 14%, nearly three times higher than for Information Services Majors. Or poll business school grads from 2000 or 2008 how flooding into finance worked out. Stats are moving targets.

Does that mean you shouldn't major in architecture today? Once again: Absolutely not! If you want to design houses and commercial buildings, an architecture degree would be a nice thing to have. Who knows, maybe the economy will be at your back by the time you hit peak-earnings age. (Housing starts just hit an 18-month high, and in some states, there is arguably a shortage of homes.) College is an investment, and when you make an investment, you should consider all the data. But don't let the economy pick your major for you.

Don't forget to evaluate

2012-01-11T06:10:00.002-05:00

Your keynote speakers. Rob Hard has some tips to keep in mind.

Speaker Evaluation Forms - Evaluation Forms for Meetings

The most important item that meeting planners should consider when developing a speaker evaluation form is the importance of keeping the form brief (one page). Some tips include:
Provide clear, brief instructions at the top.
List the session name and speaker on the form.
Measure the effectiveness in a maximum of five options.
Ask if the session objectives were met.
Ask if the session was perceived as valuable.
Ask an open ended question for more information.
Keep the form optionally anonymous.
Ask if there’s any interest in follow up contact.
To be sure, feedback on evaluation forms will be subjective, as the comments are based on many personal factors of who is responding.

For example, those who attend a given program will likely be at different levels of professional experience with a given topic, and that will impact how they respond. Their feedback may also vary based on different expectations of a program before attending.

The ghost in the machine

2012-01-10T06:23:00.001-05:00

Or maybe not. My iPhone is creating hallucinations. From Life's Little Mysteries.

Why Do I Think My Phone Is Vibrating When It's Not? LifesLittleMysteries.com

Do you ever feel your phone vibrating in your pocket or purse, only to retrieve it and be met by eerie, black-screened lifelessness? If, like most people, you occasionally experience these "phantom vibrations," it turns out it's because you're a little bit nuts.

Or, scientifically speaking, you're having "sensory hallucinations."

So says Michael Rothberg, a researcher at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., who, last year, studied the strange phenomenon among the doctors and other medical staff at Baystate. He discovered that over 70 percent of those polled had experienced a phantom vibration in the past — and some of them were spooked by ghost cellphone rings daily.

As Rothberg recently explained on ScienceLine, these hallucinations are, essentially, errors in perception — casualties of the brain's struggle to make sense of the constant barrage of data flooding in from the outside world.

Continuing education: 100 proof

2012-01-09T08:39:00.002-05:00

Adult education in its purest form. Learning for learning's sake. Of course, if you know continuing education like I do (or at least continuing educators), having it at a bar doesn't hurt. From Jennifer Schuessler, writing in The New York Times.

Continuing Education, at the Bar

FOR many, January means back to the lecture hall, and not just at colleges and universities. Across New York the backrooms of bars and the main stages of clubs are coming to resemble secret annexes to the Learning Annex — homes to a boom in alternative lecture series that combine the spirit of the seminar room with the atmosphere of speed dating.

Sometimes the matchmaking is purely intellectual, as speakers bring evolutionary biology or astrophysics to first-timers who thought they had just come for the beer. Other times it’s of the more literal kind (though sorry, ladies, the sex ratio doesn’t seem to be any better in nerd circles).

Whether it’s credentialed neuroscientists delivering a solid happy hour on the mysteries of the brain or tag teams of amateurs competing to give the best 15-minute PowerPoint on cephalopod sex or fake alphabets, never has New York (or Brooklyn, anyway) offered so many opportunities to get smart while also getting a bit stupid.

Give this s.o.b. his Oscar

2012-01-09T07:27:00.000-05:00

Rin Tin Tin was robbed. He reportedly received the most votes for best actor back in 1929. From Deadline.com.

Susan Orlean: Throw Rin Tin Tin A Bone & Give Back The Pooch’s Best Actor Oscar

The Orchid Thief author Susan Orlean has a Hollywood theft to report, and a suggestion how to remedy the injustice. During the exhaustive research that Orlean did for her book Rin Tin Tin: The Life And The Legend, she discovered that the true Best Actor winner in the first Oscars in 1929 was the German Shepherd, not the German silent film actor Emil Jannings, who walked away with the prize. And Orlean thinks it’s high time that the Academy corrects the injustice next month by giving a posthumous Best Actor prize to the biggest four-legged movie star of all time.

2012-01-09T06:33:00.002-05:00

see more Funny Graphs

Call for proposals

2012-01-06T14:14:00.001-05:00

The 2012 Tennessee Adult Learner Conference

Navigating the Terrain of the Adult Learner: Signposts to Development, Achievement and Success

February 16^th – 17^th, 2012

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, TN

Call for Presentation Proposals on Promising Practices

Deadline for submissions is January 20, 2012.

The conference is not looking for research presentations this year. Instead, we want to showcase promising practices that your campus is using in serving the adult/nontraditional population. Contact Jessica Gibson (Jessica.Gibson@tn.gov) or Anne Fraley (anne.fraley@mtsu.edu) with questions.

2012-01-06T09:46:00.001-05:00

Northeastern University goes off-campus

2012-01-06T06:23:00.001-05:00

Way off-campus, according to The New York Times. Maybe we can get them involved in several ACHE regions! And I love the Charlotte Regional Dean's response to the question about how many students are enrolled. She called it an "irrelevant metric." I plan on stealing that term.

Northeastern University Expands Its Geographic Reach

After a century firmly anchored in Boston, Northeastern University is branching out — becoming Southeastern, Northwestern and perhaps Western and Midwestern as well.

Northeastern, known for its co-op program in which undergraduates spend significant amounts of time in the workplace, opened its first satellite campus this fall in Charlotte, N.C., and is planning a second in Seattle next year; outposts in Austin, Tex., Minnesota and Silicon Valley are under discussion.

The goal is to offer master’s degrees in industries like cybersecurity, health informatics and project management, matching programs with each city’s industries and labor needs, through a mix of virtual learning and fly-ins from professors based in Boston (tuition will be the same as at the main campus).

While higher education has long been seen as a local enterprise, with universities deeply enmeshed in their communities, the explosion of online institutions, particularly for-profit career colleges like the University of Phoenix and the Education Management Corporation, has changed that dynamic. Northeastern, which is spending $60 million to support the expansion, is perhaps the most ambitious of a handful of brick-and-mortar institutions looking to broaden their footprint in new markets and with new methods of instruction.

“This is a time of huge transition in an industry that hasn’t changed much since the Middle Ages,” said Charles P. Bird, a former vice president of Ohio University who helped develop the institution’s online offerings and now works as a consultant. “Higher education is going from traditional face-to-face delivery, and the unexamined assumption that that is good, to thinking about delivering a high-quality online experience, whether fully online or hybrid.”

Call for proposals

2012-01-05T13:36:00.006-05:00

2012 Regional Graduate Liberal Studies Conference
East Tennessee State University

April 6 and 7, 2012

The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, invites you to submit proposals for the 2012 Regional Graduate Liberal Studies Conference to be held April 6-7, 2012, on the ETSU campus.

The 2012 Regional GLS Conference is open to faculty, students, and alumni in any area of graduate liberal studies. Proposals will be accepted for papers, demonstrations, roundtable discussions of ongoing research, and pre-arranged panels. Please include your full name, graduate program affiliation and institution, title of presentation, phone number, e-mail, and mailing address with your proposal.

Proposals for individual presentations and demonstrations of approximately 20 minutes should include an abstract of no more than 300 words. Proposals for roundtable discussions and pre-arranged panels should include a proposal of approximately 300 words from each member, plus a group proposal of approximately 100 words outlining the focus of and rationale for the roundtable or panel. Roundtable presentations should be approximately 30 minutes long; pre-arranged panels should be approximately 60 minutes long (maximum four presenters). Proposals will be accepted via email only to leroyfra@etsu.edu.

Deadline to submit a proposal: February 5, 2012

Notifications will be made by February 20, 2012.

Deadline for conference registration: March 9, 2012

Transmogrify has always been

2012-01-05T06:42:00.007-05:00

One of my favorite underused words. Wayne State University promotes greater language diversity. From The Detroit News.

WSU revives 'antediluvian' lingo

On Monday, the university released its fourth list of 10 words it says deserve greater use. It comes days after Lake Superior State University released its 37th List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.

Some 300 miles to the south, Wayne State champions rescuing words that fell out of favor or never found it.

Words worth rescuing include "antediluvian," which means old-fashioned; "erstwhile," meaning former; and "transmogrify," a grotesque change in appearance or form.

The last enjoyed a bit of a cultural renaissance in the 1980s and '90s in the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," which often featured a "transmogrifier" Calvin built out of a cardboard box.

"The English language has more words in its lexicon than any other," said Jerry Herron, dean of Wayne State's Honors College. "By bringing these words back into conversation, we expand our ability to communicate clearly and help make our world a more interesting place."

Maybe this is why we don't allow back-in parking at ETSU

2012-01-04T06:38:00.000-05:00

A Freakonomics reader presents anecdotal evidence that how employees park relates to employee morale. It's an interesting observation albeit a leap of faith. Oddly enough, it seems to me that in Tennessee, people like to back-in park at restaurants and shopping malls much more than in the Midwest. Perhaps it's a cultural thing. How do employees park at your institution?

Can Parking Direction Tell Us Anything About Company Morale?

After spending time at roughly 100 manufacturing locations around the world, I noticed an odd trend: the direction that employees parked in their parking spots highly correlated with employee morale and satisfaction with their jobs. Most of the cars parked forward? A good company to work for, with employees who want to get to work. Most cars backwards? It seems as though the moment that the employee got to work, he or she was planning a quick exit.

Next time you drive by a manufacturing company check it out.

Maybe CEO’s should study Google Earth maps of their parking lots to determine if they are changing a companies culture?

2012

2012-01-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

From xkcd.

LMU sues American Bar Association over accreditation denial

2012-01-03T11:00:00.001-05:00

And The Knoxville News Sentinel agrees with the action. The LMU law school is located off-campus in Knoxville.

Editorial: Lincoln Memorial University right to fight refusal to accredit law school

LMU has gone to federal court to accuse the ABA of antitrust violations because the organization refused to accredit the university's new John J. Duncan Jr. School of Law in downtown Knoxville.

ABA accreditation is vital to the success of the school. Most states won't let lawyers practice unless they have graduated from an ABA-approved law school.

Tennessee is an exception, but if LMU graduates ever hope to practice outside the state, they'll be out of luck as things stand now.

In denying accreditation, the ABA criticized LMU's admission standards, even though the school's incoming classes have had higher test scores than at least eight accredited schools.

LMU says the real reason for the denial was that the legal establishment wanted to keep out a low-cost competitor.

The ABA misuses "its dominant market power as the gatekeeper for accreditation of law schools," the lawsuit states, and the Duncan school is "a victim of a group boycott orchestrated by (the) ABA in concert with these interested accredited law schools."

Which states attract the most out of state students?

2012-01-02T15:58:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Tennessee is around the middle of the pack at 21. From The Chronicle of Higher Education. Because institutions are starting to chase out of state student dollars more, I know a continuing educator whose job is now strictly recruiting those students.

Where Does Your Freshman Class Come From?

ACHE call for proposals

2011-12-30T07:00:00.001-05:00

ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting

Collaboration and Partnership: Our Keys to the Future

November 12-14, 2012

Austin, Texas

Your submission is requested!

In 2012, ACHE asks you to explore the many ways in which we are working with other agencies, institutions, corporations, academic departments, or other entities to enhance our performance and strengthen our respective positions. It is becoming increasingly evident that collaborating with a wide range of previously untapped partners is on the rise. Our commitment to serving our respective constituencies demands a new way of meeting their requirements for more efficient training programs and more effective learning activities. The diminution of appropriated funds for public institutions, the increasing pressure for us to become fully self-sustaining units, and the continuing state of the economy compel us to consider two very important questions: how do we strengthen our individual programs, and how do we ensure our continuing relevance within the higher education community?

The Program Committee for the 2012 ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting invites members and friends of the Association to submit proposals for interactive sessions to be presented at the Sheraton Capitol Hotel in Austin, TX, November 12-14, 2012. In keeping with the pragmatic spirit of our group, we suggest that those submitting proposals might address (but are not limited to) such topics as:

Theory and praxis
Successful, sustainable collaborations/partnerships
Overcoming barriers to successful partnerships and/or collaborations
Best business practices in working with other agencies, associations institutions, organizations, or other partners
Best relational practices in working with other agencies, associations institutions, organizations, or other partners
Impact of technology
Prospecting for potential partners

How to submit

Read the full Call for Proposals by clicking here or visiting our conference website at www.acheinc.org/ache2012. Then, submit your proposal via our easy-to-use proposal submission form. The deadline to submit is March 2, 2012

Did you hear about the guy who went to the solipsist conference?

2011-12-29T06:58:00.000-05:00

Nobody showed up. Ba-doom Pshh. Actually, as an old English major, I think the liberal arts prepare us for careers in the long run much better than immediate training. (But I also support programs that can deliver immediate jobs. I just worry about how long those jobs last.)

I hope somebody sends this link to the governor of Florida. From Monte Whaley, writing in The Denver Post.

More seek philosophy degrees as a basis for kicking off other careers

Philosophy majors are not just contemplating the meaning of life — they are also launching careers in law, medicine, business and high technology.

"It's funny, but you don't look for philosophy; it finds you," said Autumn Mitchell, a Colorado State University student who is merging her philosophy studies with programming software.

She is part of a growing trend of college students gravitating toward philosophy departments. In the past 10 years, the number of four-year philosophy graduates grew 46 percent, besting such fields as history and psychology. That trend is mirrored at CSU, where philosophy-course enrollment jumped 17 percent in 2008 and the number of declared majors is at 80, up from 75 last year.

Certainly the total number of philosophy majors is dwarfed by fields such as science and business, both locally and nationally. But the numbers are healthy and steady, said professor Jane Kneller, who says philosophy is drawing people partly because they are seeking answers in an increasingly uncertain world.

"I do think we get more majors during times when the larger historical and political scene is in flux," said Kneller, chair of CSU's philosophy department. For instance, she said, enrollment boomed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"People get interested in philosophy when they feel the need to get to the bottom of things, and to think about both the root causes of problems as well as big-picture visions for the future," she said.

A philosophy degree is also a traditional major of pre-law, pre-med and pre-seminary students. And because of its emphasis on informal and symbolic logic, it's an ideal basis for work in computer science, Kneller said.

Captive audience

2011-12-28T06:57:00.000-05:00

Ba-doom Pshh. In a former life, I advised students in an external degree program. This was before online learning, of course. In fact, I'm not sure we had personal computers yet. (Sigh) Anyway, we had inmates in the program from the prison in Fort Madison, Iowa. Until they burned down the classroom facility. Perhaps the ultimate SAI. Before the fire, we offered live classes there taught by primarily regular university faculty. I still remember one Estonian English Professor who always referred to the location as Pen State. He was a funny guy. I also recall running into him as I was in line to see American Gigolo and he pointed to himself, smiled, and said "Estonian Gigolo."

This is from Heidi Hall, writing in The Tennessean.

Grant offers young inmates chance to earn college credit

Beginning next month, inmates at Charles Bass Correctional Complex, a medium-security men’s prison in Nashville, can start taking liberal arts classes for credit through Nashville State Community College.

The program is being funded through a $121,000 U.S. Department of Education grant for young offenders. It covers Nashville State tuition, textbooks, instructors’ salaries and the technology needed for the program. The grant is good for three semesters, two classes per semester.

The 25 inmates in the program — ages 18-25 — will have to qualify for admission like any other Nashville State student, plus complete an application, pay a $15 application fee and write an essay on why they want to be in the program. They must have less than seven years left on their sentences. Courses can transfer to any other public Tennessee college or university upon release.

And Soylent Green is people

2011-12-27T06:28:00.000-05:00

May the electricity generated from my cremation recharge someone's iPhone. Or iPad. From Life's Little Mysteries.

Burning Deceased Baby Boomers Could Generate Electricity

In Durham, England, corpses will soon be used to generate electricity. A crematorium is installing turbines in its burners that will convert waste heat from the combustion of each corpse into as much as 150 kilowatt-hours of juice — enough to power 1,500 televisions for an hour. The facility plans to sell the electricity to local power companies.

Some might find this concept creepy. Others might be pleased to learn that the process "makes cremation much greener by utilizing its by-products," in the words of cremation engineer Steve Looker, owner and chief executive officer of the Florida-based company B&L Cremation Systems, which is unaffiliated with the Durham enterprise.

2011-12-26T06:56:00.000-05:00

see more Funny Graphs

Call for Presentations

2011-12-23T07:24:00.000-05:00

Canadian Association for University Continuing Education

Annual Conference

May 27-30, 2012

Saskatoon, SK

Deadline: January 16, 2012

Conference Theme: Leaders of the PACK: Leadership & Advocacy in University Continuing Education

Leaders of the PACK speaks to the role that we as continuing educators play as we push and pull the academy into new ways of teaching, learning and engaging with the community. It also speaks to some of the most important issues and professional development challenges identified by the Continuing Education community in the CAUCE members’ survey (2009 CJUCE).

Do you have a message to share about renewing and revitalizing programs? Have you discovered new ways to influence your University? How do you advocate for the communities you serve? In what ways are you acting as an agent of change for your institution? These are some conversations that will take place at CAUCE 2012.

Concurrent sessions should address topics from one of four themes:

P—Program Innovation What strategies help us to stay innovative in our programming?

A—Advocacy How can we increase our influence within the University and advocate for ourselves, for lifelong and distance learning, and for the learners and communities we serve?

C—Change How can we help universities adapt to the changes that we see first?

K—Knowledge We have a responsibility to help our communities stay ahead of the changing information and skills required for a knowledge economy. How can we best do that?

We invite speakers to submit presentations that inspire out-of-the-box thinking, provoke debate, or stimulate new conversation on how to advocate for the importance and value of continuing education in a competitive learning environment—inside our institutions and outside in the global community.

Deadline for Submissions:

The deadline for presentation abstracts is Monday, January 16, 2012. Proposals may be submitted for seminars, workshops, case studies, roundtable discussions and poster presentations. All concurrent sessions will be allotted 60 minutes. Potential presenters will be notified about their submissions by Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

If your submission is accepted you will be asked to provide a final copy of your presentation at the conclusion of the conference. Post-conference proceedings will be made available to the delegates in electronic format.

Conference Registration:

Registration fees, travel and accommodation expenses are the responsibility of the presenters. Registration and payment must be received by Friday, April 20, 2012, for inclusion in the program.

For more information about presentation abstract submissions please contact:

Karen Hayward (content questions)

karen.hayward@usask.ca

ph: 306.966.7384

Shannon Sofko (administrative questions)

shannon.sofko@usask.ca

ph: 306.966.4272

Turning Japanese

2011-12-23T06:02:00.002-05:00

Ever wonder what Christmas is like in Japan? TV Tropes explains.

Christmas In Japan

Christmas in Japan is a bit different from the West. The major religions in Japan are Buddhism and Shinto, so Christmas is an entirely commercial event.

More to the point, the main celebration revolves around Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day.

It is common to give Christmas presents in Japan, and Santa Claus has even been imported to take part in the holidays. Within the family, parents give presents to their children, but the children do not give presents to the parents. The reason for this is that only Santa brings presents, so once the children no longer believe in Santa, the presents are no longer given.

Most Japanese families have a Christmas tree, and it is becoming more and more common to have Christmas lights on the outside of houses like in some Western countries. Thanks to KFC and Japan's lack of turkeys, fried chicken has become a traditional Japanese Christmas dinner.

Christmas is also considered a very romantic holiday, and lovers are supposed to spend the evening together doing suitably romantic things. It is really crucial for single women in Japan to have someone to spend Christmas Eve with; it is also really important where they spend Christmas Eve and what present they receive. The whole evening must be very special, gorgeous and romantic. Japanese women who have a boyfriend tend to show off, so women who don't are not happy to talk about the topic.

There is also a joke that compares Christmas to a woman's age. Cake shops throughout Japan always try to sell all their Christmas cakes before Christmas Eve. Any cakes left after Christmas are seen to be very old or out of date. Unmarried women over 25 years old used to be called 'unsold Christmas Cake.'

More on correlation and causation

2011-12-22T08:02:00.000-05:00

From Bloomberg Businessweek.

Looking for a good holiday movie?

2011-12-22T07:11:00.001-05:00

Slate's Colin Fleming lists five underrated Christmas movies worth your viewing time. As a bonus treat, two are animated.

Christmas Movies: The Top Five Most Underrated

Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
The Night Before Christmas (1941)
A Christmas Carol (1971)
The Blue Carbuncle (1984)
The Office Christmas Special (2003)

And here's five to avoid The Top Five Truly Bad Christmas Movies.

God help me I do love top ten lists

2011-12-22T06:14:00.000-05:00

The 10 Most Annoying and Ubiquitous Holiday Songs

Don't gift up

2011-12-21T09:56:00.000-05:00

Wondering about gift etiquette at your college? Alison Green, the manager in Ask a Manager, has some advice. I agree with the sentiment that you shouldn't gift up.

how can I tell my boss how much I appreciate him?

However, I’d urge you to forego giving your boss anything, unless it’s tradition in your office (but it doesn’t sound like it is). There’s a school of etiquette (to which I subscribe) that says that you don’t give gifts “up” when there’s a power disparity — because it can be awkward or there can be the appearance of obligation or because it can appear kiss-assy.

The Aspen Institute names the top

2011-12-21T07:01:00.000-05:00

U.S. community college. No Tennessee community colleges were recognized but West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah was a Finalist with Distinction, noted for its higher than average graduation rate.

Florida’s Valencia College Named Top US Community College

Highlighting the need to improve student learning and graduation rates in community colleges — leading to good jobs — the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today announced that Valencia College in Orlando, Florida, is the nation’s top community college and honored four “finalists with distinction” from an original pool of over 1,000....The announcement follows a rigorous, yearlong effort by the Aspen Institute to assemble and review an unprecedented collection of data on community colleges and the critical elements of student success: student learning, degree completion and transfer, equity and employment/earnings after college.

This is the first national recognition of extraordinary accomplishments at individual community colleges. The Prize celebrates these top performers both to elevate the community college sector nationwide and help other institutions understand how to improve outcomes for the seven million students — nearly half of all undergraduates in post-secondary education — working toward degrees and certificates in community colleges.

Everything I know about holiday traveling

2011-12-21T06:31:00.000-05:00

I learned from the movies. Like stay clear of news cameras from Four Christmases. Eleanor Barkhorn and Kevin Fallon give 22 more tips in The Atlantic.

23 Holiday Travel Tips From Movies

Banish buzzwords

2011-12-20T07:05:00.000-05:00

From your resume and LinkedIn Profile. Everyone is a creative team player with effective problem-solving skills. How are you different? From CNN.com and Time.

2011's most overused resume buzzwords

Ten Buzzwords To Take Off Your LinkedIn Profile Now

Team building 101

2011-12-20T06:59:00.001-05:00

see more Funny Graphs

Let's go Peay

2011-12-19T12:56:00.000-05:00

I've commented earlier on Austin Peay State University's slick academic planning software. They are pushing the envelope in many ways, and APSU is highlighted in Marc Parry's recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. "Think of it," Parry explains, "as higher eduction meets Moneyball." Speaking of Austin Peay, we recently discovered that they had copied our Winter Session pretty much lock, stock, and barrel. Stealing good ideas is SOP in continuing higher education, and naturally I've been as guilty of this activity as anyone. But I would at least change the wording on my website...

Colleges Mine Data to Tailor Students' Experience

Think of the problem in terms of a supermarket cereal aisle, says Tristan Denley, provost of Austin Peay State University, in Clarksville, Tenn. You find every choice known to man. But unless you've opened the box, you have very little information to judge what's inside. How do you pick one?

Part of the answer, he says, is technology that can look at people like you who have made such decisions in the past, and see whether those decisions worked out. In April, Austin Peay debuted software that recommends courses based on a student's major, academic record, and how similar students fared in that class.

Some professors fretted about students misinterpreting the Netflix-like tips as commands, but the Gates Foundation quickly ponied up $1-million to refine the software so other colleges can adopt it.

Now Austin Peay plans to expand on its work with a new tool that offers tips for making a more important decision: picking a major.

The feature, to be rolled out this spring, focuses on two problems: students who don't know which major to pick, and students who thought they knew, but ended up with a bad fit. A human adviser might be at a loss to suggest an alternate path, Mr. Denley says. But data could offer concrete possibilities.

For example, students often start climbing the ladder to become a nurse or a doctor, perhaps because they have relatives in those professions. Yet early on it's clear their grades won't carry them up to those goals. The data robot might suggest another health field. It might also suggest something totally different, like graphic design, because a student displays a pattern of grades similar to others who flourished in that direction, Mr. Denley says.

More on correlation and causation

2011-12-19T07:01:00.001-05:00

From I Love Charts.

Correlation and causation

2011-12-19T06:48:00.002-05:00

From xkcd.

MTSU's Adult Learning Conference

2011-12-16T07:14:00.000-05:00

Middle Tennessee State University
in partnership with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission
with support from the Lumina Foundation
is proud to present the 2012 Adult Learning Conference.

February 16-17, 2012

Navigating the Terrain of the Adult Learner:
Signposts to Achievement, Development and Success

This year’s conference will focus on the importance of adult learners to Tennessee’s college completion goals and provide Tennessee colleges and universities with resources to improve the success of adult learners at their institutions. Using the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning’s (CAEL) “Nine Principles of Effectiveness for Serving Adult Learners,” conference participants will learn how the new state funding formula applies to the adult learner population, and have the opportunity to explore promising practices in supporting this large and growing population as we all learn to navigate this new terrain.

Since the third year of the conference, adult learners have also been included in the Adult Learners Conference. A separate student track of break-out sessions allows them to meet other students from across the state and to share ideas to take back to their home institutions.

Please visit the conference web site for more information and to register for the conference.

Put a sassy biotch

2011-12-16T07:07:00.001-05:00

On your Christmas table. From The New York Times.

With Rude Names, Wine Stops Minding Its Manners

It's peppery and full of fight. The tannins have grip. The nose takes no prisoners. This shiraz is a bitch.

It says so on the label. Royal Bitch is the name of the wine, one of a teeming sisterhood of cabernets and chardonnays from a variety of producers with labels like Sassy Bitch, Jealous Bitch, Tasty Bitch and Sweet Bitch. They’re reinforcements for a growing army of rude, budget-priced wines that have shoved their way into wine stores and supermarkets in the past few years — most recently Happy Bitch, a Hudson Valley rosé that made its debut last month.

Only four?

2011-12-16T06:03:00.000-05:00

Most of these can be filed under think before you speak, but the first one, That's Impossible, got my attention. I may phrase it as We can't do that, but the meaning is the same. Those very words from my mouth may close my mind to possibilities. From CBS Money Watch.

4 things a manager should never say

People listen to leaders. It's one of the qualities that helps define them as leaders -- and their followers as followers.

leaders need to mind what they are saying, and avoid knee-jerk responses. "A leader's brain must always work things out ahead of his mouth speaking them," says Patrick Alain, author of The Leader Phrase Book: 3000+ Phrases That Put You In Command.

To help wannabe leaders cement their status, Alain has compiled a shortlist of four phrases that a good leader will never, ever say. Avoid these lines and people will be more likely to follow your lead.

One of my faculty members was complaining

2011-12-15T07:22:00.000-05:00

About another dean. "He badmouths that program," she said, "Until he can use its existance to help his case for establishing this new degree. That's hypocritical!"

"Perhaps," I said. "But that's the first thing we learn in Dean School."

Wondering how you compile social media reporting?

2011-12-15T06:30:00.000-05:00

There are some tools out there, evidently. Mike Petroff, writing in .eduGuru, talks about the importance of curating social media and how some institutions are doing it.

Social Media Curation for Higher Ed Events

If you’ve worked in higher ed for a few years, you have probably assisted with an on-campus event during orientation or move-in week. The excitement exuded by the new students is undeniable when they finally arrive. Many schools are now using social media to connect new students before these events, open up conversation between current students and alumni, and share coverage of orientation activities. If your audiences are social media savvy, they’ll surely follow your Twitter hashtags, find content on Facebook or check your YouTube playlists for updates. But, how do you curate that great social content and conversation from your events into a readable format for the masses?

ACHE call for proposals

2011-12-14T08:14:00.000-05:00

ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting

Collaboration and Partnership: Our Keys to the Future

November 12-14, 2012

Austin, Texas

Your submission is requested!

Theory and praxis
Successful, sustainable collaborations/partnerships
Overcoming barriers to successful partnerships and/or collaborations
Best business practices in working with other agencies, associations institutions, organizations, or other partners
Best relational practices in working with other agencies, associations institutions, organizations, or other partners
Impact of technology
Prospecting for potential partners

How to submit

D-i-v-o-r-c-e

2011-12-14T07:10:00.001-05:00

Tennesseans divorce at a higher rate than average. From The Examiner.com.

Census: Nashville’s divorce rate higher than southern states

The state of Tennessee is one of the southern states that appear to be ‘divorce happy.’ According to the census report released on Thursday, TN is one of the 14 states which had much a higher divorce rate than the national average using data gathered from the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS). What’s more intriguing is that Nashville’s divorce rate is even higher than the combined rate of all the southern states.

The Nashville-Davidson County data from City-Data.com shows Nashville’s divorce rate sitting a 13.2 while the newly released Census statistics reports a combined average of the southern states at 10.2 per 1,000 for men and 11.1 per 1,000 for women.

Showcasing your college teaching

2011-12-14T06:26:00.000-05:00

With an e-portfolio. You should have an e-portfolio. We require portfolios as part of the culminating experience in many of our degrees, and we've switched to e-portfolios in some of them. We haven't found the perfect software, yet, I'm afraid. I'm also on a statewide PLA task force that has discussed e-portfolios as a means for students to document their college-level learning. From David Brooks, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Should Graduate Students Create E-Portfolios?

I asked Chris Pastore, a newly hired visiting lecturer in my department, about his online portfolio, because a senior professor on the search committee that hired him had praised it. Chris built his site as one of his final projects while earning a master's in teaching philosophy at the same time he was completing his Ph.D. in history. The learning curve for Web design, he said, was fairly steep yet painless. None of the jobs he applied for in the last year asked for a teaching portfolio, but he was able to showcase his electronic version by simply dropping his URL in his cover letters to potential employers.

While it appears concise and well organized, his e-portfolio also allowed him to include far more material than the traditional, 20-page print portfolio sent to search committees. And, Chris said, search-committee members could all read the information simultaneously, rather than having it linger on one person's desk indefinitely.

Most faculty members I consulted admitted that they are quick to scope out the personal Web sites of job candidates. Graduates who maintain e-portfolios confirmed that when they've tracked their hits, most of the hits are from the places where they've applied for jobs or fellowships.

I'm not aware of any academic jobs that require candidates to have e-portfolios—yet. Most of what's possible to put together on a site is possible in PDF form, too. So, when coursework, comps, conference presentations, and dissertation deadlines loom, why do it?

It's more than a question of careerism....

Accelerated Opportunity

2011-12-13T07:06:00.001-05:00

A new Kentucky program combines adult basic education and technical training in a community college setting. This seems like a promising partnership. From Merlene Davis, writing in Kentucky.com.

New accelerated adult ed program hopes to get students better jobs

The Accelerating Opportunity program at eight community colleges in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System will give qualifying adults a chance to earn college credits and skills that can lead to better-paying jobs.

A partnership between Kentucky Adult Education, the Kentucky Workforce Investment Board and KCTCS will give adults a chance to get basic adult education at the same time they are taught technical skills. After at least one semester, students will earn a certificate, which they can use to be placed in jobs in that field.

"We know that many students come from the adult education pathway who are maybe behind academically, or older adults who struggle to get into jobs that are careers," said Jay Box, chancellor at KCTCS. "When they enter the college system, they run into the slow process of developmental education before they can get to technical programs. Some get frustrated and drop out."

With this new program, the adult education teacher works side by side with the technical instructor. For example, if a student studying office systems technology at Bluegrass Community and Technical College has a deficiency in sentence structure, the adult education teacher can address that problem and have it put into career context by the office management instructor who is in the same classroom, Box said.

Coffee. Is there anything you can't do?

2011-12-13T06:20:00.000-05:00

Click to Enlarge
Via Espresso Machine Advisor.com
View Other Infographics

Three TACHE conference sessions posted

2011-12-12T07:12:00.001-05:00

On the TACHE website. The Chancellor's PowerPoint is particularly powerful.

Go to www.TnACHE.org and go into the members section. Click on Past Conferences and you will find:

1. Complete College Act and Challenges, PowerPoint from Chancellor Morgan, TBR

2. Reinventing: Formula Funding, PowerPoint from David Wright, THEC

3. Reinvesting: Using eMarketing for Non-Credit Programs, PowerPoint from Michael Aikens, TTU

America's 20 Dirtiest Cities

2011-12-12T06:23:00.000-05:00

Pollution-wise, that is. Forbes ranks them. Most of the worst are in California. Knoxville, however, is 15th.

America's 20 Dirtiest Cities

15. Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN

Population: 1 million
Year-round particulate pollution rank: 24
Short-term particulate pollution rank: 33
Ozone pollution rank: 18

Today is

2011-12-11T06:24:00.003-05:00

Balance Transfer Day. Time explains:

Balance Transfer Day is the Next Facebook-Driven Protest Against Big Banks

A new month, a new Facebook-led protest against big banks. Protesters have declared December 11 “Balance Transfer Day” in an effort to get Americans to ditch their high-interest credit cards for cards with lower rates or zero percent teasers.

“[W]hy don’t we beat the banks at their own game and demand the same 0% interest rate that they receive from the federal government?” the protest’s organizers say on its Facebook page. “This can be achieved by transferring card balances from interest bearing accounts with large banks to 0% interest cards issued by credit unions and community banks.” But consumers might find this hard to accomplish, and it’s possible that the very big banks against which the movement is campaigning could be the unintended beneficiaries.

I should be playing basketball with this guy today

2011-12-09T07:28:00.001-05:00

In our usual Friday game. When I retire, I'll leave him the K off my first name so he can properly spell his.

Dr. Marc Fagelson presents research on blast-induced tinnitus

A professor of audiology at East Tennessee State University who has explored the connection between tinnitus and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. military veterans recently presented his research findings at a conference held by the United States Department of Defense (DoD).

Dr. Marc Fagelson, the director of ETSU’s audiology program, works with veterans at the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in a clinic that specializes in management of bothersome tinnitus, a condition where a person hears a sound – often characterized as a “buzzing” or “ringing” – that has no apparent external cause. He was one of only 12 researchers to present at the “International State-of-the-Science Meeting on Blast-Induced Tinnitus,” held recently by the DoD in Chantilly, Va.

Louisiana starts program for adult students

2011-12-09T06:09:00.000-05:00

Consolidating services for adult students. What a novel concept (sigh). This article from The Hechinger Report also reports on the good work done by Graduate!Philadelphia and its executive director, Hadass Sheffer. ACHE members already know Hadass, of course.

For millions of college dropouts, second chances prove difficult

Now public-policy groups, private foundations and higher-education officials have a new idea for increasing the share of the population with college degrees: convincing people who quit college to come back.

A program called the Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana, or CALL, for instance—sponsored by that state’s board of regents—offers courses that take less than half as long to complete as traditional college courses, and awards credit for what students already know through a process called “prior-learning assessment.” All of this is meant to help people with some college credits complete their degrees.

One of CALL’s success stories is John McGee, who had spent seven years in the military and more than a decade as a manager at a Louisiana casino when he went back to college as a working adult. Despite his experience, McGee had to take the same introductory courses as an 18-year-old, leaving him bored and frustrated.

Through CALL, McGee tested out of five introductory courses by passing a series of exams. He took the rest of his classes online in the accelerated format, and finished an associate degree in less than a year.

Make u wanna holla hidy hoe

2011-12-08T10:34:00.002-05:00

I got a text from my colleague Brian Van Horn from Murray State last night that read: Just saw a preview for a show called "Moonshiners" on the Discovery Channel. Just so happens I noticed one of the guys making the product had an ETSU shirt on!

Fortunately, as I mentioned last week in connection with Penn State, there's no such thing as bad publicity. And to paraphrase Doolittle Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter, at least he has a job.

Want to be a college president?

2011-12-08T07:44:00.001-05:00

Consider Georgia. From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Wanted: Presidents for Georgia colleges

The University System of Georgia is hunting for college presidents and will need at least eight new campus leaders by August.
The system currently has presidential search committees in operation for Valdosta State and Georgia College & State universities. Four other colleges have interim presidents, and two additional presidents plan to retire June 30. The new president of Gordon College starts Jan. 1.
On top of that, Chancellor Hank Huckaby is searching for a new chief academic officer, a key position that provides leadership over academics and research for more than 318,000 students and 11,000 faculty members at the state's 35 public institutions. The system expects to have finalists for that position in early 2012.

"We have a lot of turnover right now, but there have been other years where there were about 10 president openings," system spokesman John Millsaps said.

From my mouth to your ear

2011-12-08T06:50:00.001-05:00

So true...

2011-12-07T15:51:00.002-05:00

Nuns on the run

2011-12-07T11:30:00.001-05:00

And other news about SACS from Inside Higher Education.

Accreditor Punishes La. College for Board Upheaval

The college commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed two colleges on probation and imposed lesser sanctions against numerous others during its just-concluded meeting in Orlando -- with many of the accreditors' actions related to financial woes. A prominent exception is the commission's decision to impose a six-month probation on Our Lady of the Holy Cross, which was investigated outside the regular accreditation review cycle after the order of nuns that governs the nonprofit corporation that controls the college abruptly dismissed its Board of Regents and its president in August. SACS cited violations of several of its standards related to governance and external influence, said Belle S. Wheelan, the accreditor's president, who added, "We just don't know who's running the place right now." A spokesman for the college, Stephen Morgan, said the community of Marianite nuns had scuttled the board because the regents were deeply, and irreconcilably, divided over the performance of Holy Cross's former president, the Rev. Anthony De Conciliis. He said college officials were confident that they ultimately could explain to the Southern accreditor why the corporation board's actions were legitimate under SACS's policies on tiers of governance. Morgan acknowledged that the accreditor's action could affect the enrollment of students potentially transferring to Holy Cross.

UPCEA annual conference registration is open

2011-12-07T09:24:00.001-05:00

UPCEA 97th Annual Conference

March 28-30

Hilton Portland & Executive Tower hotel

Portland, Oregon

SACS rules on Nashville universities

2011-12-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

TSU's warning is lifted; Fisk is put on probation. Also, nearby Carson-Newman University's warning status is removed. For Fisk and Carson-Newman, the issue is and has been financial. From The Tennessean.

Accreditation process undergoing scrutiny amid TSU, Fisk votes

Tennessee State University spent the year proving to monitors that its leaders use research to make good decisions and give students the best chance for success.

The result: Full reaccreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the continuing federal student aid and public confidence that goes with it.

But another Nashville institution learned Tuesday it will take another year to prove it’s financially stable enough for the same label. Fisk University’s struggles to stay afloat have kept it in the public eye.

SACS placed both Nashville schools on warning status last year, listing a number of deficiencies that needed to be fixed before full reaccreditation. On Tuesday, at an annual meeting in Orlando, SACS commissioners voted on whether both institutions did enough to prove themselves.

Can I get PLA credit for this?

2011-12-07T08:47:00.000-05:00

Cheap shot, I know. From The New York Times.

At Johnson & Wales, Students Mix Drinks for Credit

In the typical culinary classroom, students go through their paces slicing, dicing, butchering and baking. If they mix a martini it will probably be to relax after all the hard work.

But at Johnson & Wales, a university based in Providence, R.I., that has campuses in other states and a world-class program for degrees in the culinary arts, students mix martinis (and other drinks) for credit.

About a year and a half ago, the university opened a state-of-the-art beverage laboratory with 20 professional-style bartending stations, including sinks, and a working microbrewery, all in the sleek new Cuisinart Center for Culinary Excellence, on its waterfront campus.

Other professional culinary schools offer wine studies or classes in spirits and cocktails, but this new lab sets Johnson & Wales apart. Last year more than 200 students washed glassware, made ice, concocted standard drinks and created their own in the lab. Beverage courses are required for culinary students starting in the freshman year of a four-year program. Students studying hotel and restaurant management can also take them, and even some in the business school sign up.

Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs

2011-12-07T06:16:00.000-05:00

Call for Nominations for the 2012 Annual Faculty Award

The AGLSP Annual Faculty Award is offered each year by the Association to honor an outstanding faculty member who teaches in a Full Member program. The award was established by the Association’s Board of Directors in 1991 to recognize outstanding faculty who exemplify the qualities of interdisciplinary, liberal teaching and who have participated significantly in teaching or advising students and/or have actively participated in other faculty service in a Graduate Liberal Studies program.

The 2011 AFA was awarded to Professor Sheldon Solomon of Skidmore College. Professor Solomon is recognized for his staunch, tireless support of the MALS program and its students since its inception in the early ‘90s.

Nominations for the 2012 award are now open. Download criteria.

Where to locate your national conference

2011-12-06T07:04:00.004-05:00

Travel + Leisure ranks America's top 35 cities for Quality of Visitor Experience. Locally, Nashville comes in at number 12; Memphis at 26. Austin, Texas, site of next year's ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting, is ranked 13th. I've pulled out the top ten because, well, I have a weakness for top tens. And I think it's a little surprising to see Portland, Maine and Providence so highly rated.

America's Favorite Cities 2011 - Visitor Experience

Savannah
Santa Fe
San Juan, P.R.
Charleston
Denver
San Diego
Portland, ME
Portland, OR
Seattle
Providence

I may have mentioned earlier that I love my iPhone

2011-12-06T06:47:00.000-05:00

Click to Enlarge
Via AYTM
View Other Infographics

ACHE South registration is open

2011-12-05T14:01:00.001-05:00

REGISTRATION is now open for the ACHE South Conference, April 23-26, 2012 ACHE SOUTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012.

Soon it will be Spring in the Bluegrass! For those you who want to have an incredible experience, we have an opportunity for you to see the finest in all of horse racing on Wednesday afternoon, April 25, 2012. Historic Keeneland Race Track www.keeneland.com will be open during the month ofApril for thoroughbred racing and we will be purchasing tickets to enjoy the races while dining in one of the luxurious glass-enclosed dining rooms overlooking the track. Even if you aren’t a betting person, just to be able to enjoy the beautiful grounds and atmosphere, and see a thoroughbred race horse up close is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Obtaining tickets to a dining room is highly competitive and restrictive in nature. We will be able to offer a limited number of tickets for this optional event at a cost of $60. Included will be transportation to and from the track, admittance to the track and dining room, a daily racing program, and a scrumptious buffet lunch. The dining room meal is all inclusive except for beverages, you may purchase alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks separately. Betting windows are conveniently located within the dining room but you are welcome step out at any time to tour the grounds and to see the horses in the paddock before they go onto the track. There is a dress code for the dining room that must be followed: coat and tie for gentlemen, and no jeans or denim or any kind, no shorts, tennis shoes or flip flops for anyone.

As stated, obtaining tickets is competitive and we must adhere to the group ordering deadline of January 3, 2012. Many of you have indicated you are interested in this optional event so now’s the time to sign up and have your ticket reserved. After getting an email from those of you who are interested, we will place the group order on the first business day after the Christmas break. Your email should be sent to me at cgrobe2@uky.edu prior to December 21, 2011. We will confirm receipt of your request and send information about paying by check for this event. THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO ORDER!

The track offers general admission for $5 if you don’t want to go to the dining room. You may purchase this ticket at the track on race day, we will provide transportation to and from the track for $10, and lunch is on your own. We also need to be notified by email if this is your choice so we can plan for transportation.

At a later date, we will have a list of other afternoon options such as visiting a distillery, The Kentucky Horse Park, Shaker Village, a horse farm, or the Berea, KY Arts and Crafts Center—most only a 30-minute drive from downtown Lexington.

File under

2011-12-05T07:13:00.000-05:00

There's no such thing as bad publicity. From The New York Times.

Despite Scandal, Applications to Penn State Rise

The abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University does not appear to have slowed applications to the school’s undergraduate programs.

As of Friday, applications to enroll next year at one of the 20 campuses that comprise the Penn State system were up 4 percent when compared with the same period last year, with applications to the system’s University Park flagship in State College, Pa., up 2 percent, Anne Rohrbach, executive director for undergraduate admissions, said in an interview Wednesday.

All told, nearly 28,000 students have applied to be undergraduates next year on the University Park campus, compared to 27,370 who had done so last year at this time, Ms. Rohrbach said. Each is vying for one of about 7,200 seats in the freshman class. Though Penn State accepts applications year-round, on a rolling basis, the deadline for so-called “priority” applications — after which some programs will be considered closed out — was Wednesday.

I always have them step outside the building

2011-12-05T06:41:00.000-05:00

Sooner or later, most managers have to fire somebody. The Evil HR Lady, writing in AllBusiness.com, has some good tips on the right way to fire someone...and the wrong way. Since she recommends having a witness present, I've followed the wrong path, it seems.

How to Fire Someone

Whether it's for cause or a layoff, terminations are going to happen and you need to do it right. I'm not talking about documenting the reasons behind the firing or choosing whom to lay off -- I'm talking about how to fire someone.

There are right ways and wrong ways to go about this, and often people choose the wrong way because it seems easier and managers are generally wimps. Sure, it's hard to tell someone that they no longer have a source of income, but when it has to be done, it has to be done.

Video on ETSU's new president

2011-12-02T19:58:00.000-05:00

From his recent campus visit. Available at wcyb.com.

I used to underestimate our Technology Centers

2011-12-02T07:26:00.004-05:00

They seemed to me a little too traditional and uninterested in serving adult students. At one time, I don't think they ran evening programs, but that has changed. But in a brave new world where degree completion rules, they do a lot of things right. Some of it may or may not be scalable to universities--I like to think that our degree programs baby our adult students in a similar fashion, but we're relatively small, and I'm not sure the BBA program could do the same thing--but they are doing a lot of things right. Although they do some things with adult students that might have Malcolm Knowles turning in his grave. This article by Larry Abramson in NPR, mentions Carol Puryear, a former continuing educator at Middle Tennessee State, as I recall. It also quotes Scott Evenbeck, former ACHE president.

In Tennessee, A Possible Model For Higher Education

Carol Puryear is the director (and den mother, you might say) of the Murfreesboro Center, not far from Nashville. She and the other staff do a lot of hand-holding to make sure students get to their goal — a certificate and a job. Many community college programs let students pick and choose classes, but once they sign up at a Technology Center their class schedule is decided for them.

"They decide on the program and they decide if they want to be full time or part time and that's pretty much it," Puryear said.

Students don't have to worry that their schedule might change from semester to semester. For the 16 months she's enrolled, student Heidi Khanna knows exactly when she has to show up for her drafting courses: 7:45 to 2:30 Monday through Friday.

Attendance is taken and makes up about a third of your grade. It's a lot more like high school than the typical on-again-off-again schedule of many college students.

Khanna is working on a computer-aided design program. Yes, architecture is in a slump, but she's also getting the skills to move into mechanical drawing. The Technology Centers work closely with advisers from local businesses to keep their programs in sync with economic reality. That's one reason why around 8 in 10 students finish and get a job in their field — amazing statistics for any higher-ed institution. But it's still scary leaving the nest.

"I'm scared to death," Khanna says laughing. "I don't know, scared of change, you know, just getting back out into the workforce."

Khanna already has a degree — but her associate of arts in liberal studies wasn't getting her the work she wanted, so she's starting over at age 39. Other students plan to use their certificates to get a job to pay for more schooling.

Call for proposals

2011-12-02T07:18:00.000-05:00

The Chair Academy's

21st Annual International Leadership Conference for College and University Leaders

March 26-29

Atlanta, Georgia

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

• Topics that complement the conference theme, Leading to a Brighter Future, will be given special consideration.
• Sessions should actively involve participants through learning centered activities and discussions.
• Presentations should be relevant, timely, and practical to educational leaders.
• Presentation and description should clearly describe the benefits to participants and the specific outcomes of the session.
• Presentations should not promote publications or other materials that involve remuneration, advertise consulting services, or endorse commercial ventures.
• Engaging proposals should “speak to participants” and describe how they will benefit from attending your session.
• Proposals for concurrent sessions require the presenter(s) to submit a paper describing the session topic which will be included in the conference proceedings CD. This paper must be submitted via email by February 14, 2012.

Rick Osborn's Continuing Education Blog

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

Save the date

Grow old along with me

New UT branding campaign announced

Why is tuition so high?

EvoLLLution has launched

Today is

Coppin State seeks to improve its graduation rate

Awards time

From the Urban Dictionary calendar

Save the date

15th Annual NABCA Conference"Regional & Branch Campuses:A Prism of Possibilities for the 21st Century"April 11 - 14, 2012Orlando, FloridaRenaissance Orlando Airport Hotel

The extroverted engineer stares at YOUR shoes when talking to you

Tennessee is a net brain gainer

I owe Comcast an apology

God help me I do love top ten lists

Social notworking

News from the TACHE president

Release the Kraken

Rock and roll, hoochie koo

Dean Dad points out the possible downside

Tennessee's newest campus

Looking ahead

Social media 101

Meetings 101

Tennessee earns a C+

Our long state nightmare is over

Meanwhile, just over the state line in Virginia

I can't believe Comcast isn't on this list

Why do adult students drop out

I may have mentioned something earlier about liking my iPhone

Nominate a deserving continuing educator

Badges?

Don't major in recession studies

Don't forget to evaluate

The ghost in the machine

Continuing education: 100 proof

Give this s.o.b. his Oscar

Call for proposals

Northeastern University goes off-campus

Call for proposals

Transmogrify has always been

Maybe this is why we don't allow back-in parking at ETSU

2012

LMU sues American Bar Association over accreditation denial

Which states attract the most out of state students?

ACHE call for proposals

Did you hear about the guy who went to the solipsist conference?

Captive audience

And Soylent Green is people

Call for Presentations

Turning Japanese

More on correlation and causation

Looking for a good holiday movie?

God help me I do love top ten lists

Don't gift up

The Aspen Institute names the top

Everything I know about holiday traveling

Banish buzzwords

Team building 101

Let's go Peay

More on correlation and causation

Correlation and causation

MTSU's Adult Learning Conference

Put a sassy biotch

Only four?

One of my faculty members was complaining

Wondering how you compile social media reporting?

ACHE call for proposals

D-i-v-o-r-c-e

Showcasing your college teaching

Accelerated Opportunity

Coffee. Is there anything you can't do?

Three TACHE conference sessions posted

America's 20 Dirtiest Cities

Today is

I should be playing basketball with this guy today

Louisiana starts program for adult students

Make u wanna holla hidy hoe

15th Annual NABCA Conference

"Regional & Branch Campuses:
A Prism of Possibilities for the 21st Century"
April 11 - 14, 2012
Orlando, Florida
Renaissance Orlando Airport Hotel