Job opening

University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service

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Assistant Vice President

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The University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service is inviting applications for an assistant vice president (AVP). The AVP will service on the leadership team of the institute to set strategic direction, to oversee implementation of programs, and to cultivate stakeholders and partners. The creation of this position will enable us to effectively plan our initiatives to support the university's strategic goals in outreach and public service. The position requires a master's degree in public administration or a related field, with a doctorate preferred, and a minimum of 10 years senior level administrative experience, preferably in a higher education, non-profit or government environment. The position will be based in Knoxville or Nashville (Tennessee) and will require extensive statewide travel. For addition information on this position and how to apply, visit the website http://www.avp.ips.tennessee.edu/

Higher education pays

2007 Trends in Higher Education Series

What Every Parent Should Know About Paying for College

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Earnings after college make borrowing a good investment for most students.

http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/trends/parent_should_know.pdf

From the College Board:

• Every year more than 6 million students borrow to go to college. Students who borrow to earn bachelor’s degrees graduate with an average of about $20,000 in debt.

• Within 11 years after completing a bachelor’s degree, the typical college graduate earns enough more than the typical high school graduate to make up for four years out of the labor market and also repay loans for full tuition and fees at a public four-year college.

• Over a working life, the typical full-time year-round worker with a four-year college degree earns more than 60 percent more than a worker with only a high school diploma.

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• Those with master’s degrees earn almost twice as much, and those with professional degrees earn almost three times as much as high school graduates earn over their working lives.
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Look at it this way. If you took the $20,000 loan and used it for a new car instead of going to college, you'd need to replace that car in at least 11 years, providing you could afford gasoline that far into the future. Had you spent that $20,000 on a college education, you'd never need to replace it and would have paid it off and then some in that same 11 years.

Benefits to society from college completion

Fast facts from Education Pays 2007


The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society



http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/trends/education-pays-2006

From the College Board:

• The typical college graduate working full-time year-round pays about 134 percent more in federal taxes and almost 80 percent more in total federal, state and local taxes than the typical high school graduate.
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• College graduates are more likely than others to donate blood.
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• In every age group, adults with higher levels of education are more likely to vote.
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• Adults with higher levels of education are more likely than others to be open to differing opinions.
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• Workers with lower education levels earn more if others in the same metropolitan area are more educated.
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• College graduates are much less likely than individuals with lower levels of education to be unemployed, rely on public assistance programs, or live in a poverty-level household.
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• Among all racial/ethnic groups, unemployment rates are much lower for college graduates than for high school graduates.

Blue Plum in Johnson City

This is a wonderful, free music and art event in downtown Johnson City. This year, Doc Watson is performing on the main stage. More information can be found at www.blueplum.org/
Our Master of Professional Studies program contributes to the festival.

Lawmakers should focus on adult students

Did you guys see this: http://chronicle.com/news/article/4367/colleges-seek-new-ways-to-draw-adult-students-says-report-with-state-by-state-data

Amy Johnson
Coordinator, Online Student Success
Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies
East Tennessee State University

Relocating?

From CQ Press:


For the fifth consecutive year, New Hampshire has been named the Most Livable State. The Granite State excels in a number of important quality-of-life measures, boasting low crime, low poverty, and high income levels, as well as a well-educated population. Joining New Hampshire at the top of the rankings are Utah, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Iowa. At the opposite end of the Most Livable State rankings, Mississippi holds on firmly to last place. It has held this position for nine of the last ten years. Preceding Mississippi are South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

The rankings are contained in State Rankings 2008: A Statistical View of America. Formerly published by Morgan Quitno Press, State Rankings and the Most Livable State Award are now published by Washington-based CQ Press, the reference and textbook-publishing division of Congressional Quarterly. The content in State Rankings 2008 both replaces and expands upon the content in the State Fact Finder annual reference book that CQ Press customers have come to know. State Rankings 2008 is the flagship title in a new and improved line of state rankings books that make up the new State Fact Finder Series.

Read the entire press release at http://os.cqpress.com/PressRelease_MostLivableState2008.pdf
Purchase the report at www.cqpress.com/product/Education-State-Rankings-2007-2008.html

I spent my honeymoon in the most livable state and lived a few years in another in the top five. Didn't seem the most livable at the time.

The impact of continuing education

What Is Impact?





Impact is the difference your programs are making in peoples lives. In more technical terms, impact is the quantifiable difference a research or education program makes in the quality of life for its clients and citizens.


An impact statement is a brief summary, in non-technical terms, of the economic, environmental, and/or social impact of our efforts. It states accomplishments and their payoff to society. In short, an impact statement answers two questions:

1. So what?


2. Who cares?

From www.maes.msu.edu/intranet/Report_impact.htm#WhatIs

Continuing education for community college administrators

Future Leaders Institute (FLI)
FLI is an innovative five-day leadership seminar designed for mid-level community college administrators who are ready to move into a higher level of leadership. These individuals are currently in a position that is responsible for multiple employees, including faculty, administrators and/or staff and probably have titles such as Vice President, Dean, Associate Dean or Director.

Future Leaders Institute - East

June 22-26, 2008

Providence, Rhode Island
Application and Payment Deadlines
Estimated Cost and Hotel Information
Program topics
Online Application -- Deadline extended to Friday, April 25

- FLI Application Checklist (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions

Contact: Margaret Rivera, 202-728-0200 ext. 234.

A face of continuing education in England

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The Forum for Access and Continuing Education.

From their website:

Established in 1993, FACE is an active UK wide network for all those involved with Access, Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. As a multi-sector practitioners network, FACE and its members are at the forefront of the challenges involved in providing learning opportunities for all. As an inclusive organisation FACE encourages collaboration and partnership whilst maintaining a member-driven voice on key issues for learners and providers.

www.f-a-c-e.org.uk/index.html

A continuing education opportunity for teachers

ETSU's prolific Miocene-aged fossil site at neighboring Gray, Tennessee, is attracting scholars, volunteers, and visitors from across the country seeking to learn about the rich paleoecology of Southern Appalachia.

For more information on the courses this summer, see http://faculty.etsu.edu/zavadam/summer08course/summer.html

For information on the museum itself, see

http://www.grayfossilmuseum.org/

The 10 Most Baffling Computer Gadgets Money Can Buy

And the USB Pencil Sharpener is only number four. See the rest at www.cracked.com/article_16179_10-most-baffling-computer-gadgets-money-can-buy.html

Saving the date on the Delta

Saw the ghost of Elvis

Down On Union Avenue

Followed him up to the gates of Graceland

I watched him walk right through

Now security they did not see him

They just hovered 'round his tomb

There's a pretty little thing

Waiting on "The King"

Down in the Jungle Room

Then I'm walking in Memphis

Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale

Walking in Memphis

Do I really feel the way I feel

Marc Cohn - Walking In Memphis

1991

The Attitudes of Incoming Adult Learners

A Noel-Levitz report, The Attitudes of Incoming Adult Learners, is available on their website at
www.noellevitz.com/Our+Services/Resources+for+adult+learning.htm

The following findings are taken from the report:

More than three-quarters of incoming adult learners (77 percent) indicated they study hard "even for courses I don't like," compared to just over half (56 percent) of traditional-age students.

More than half of incoming adult learners (57 percent) expected to work at a full- or part-time job more than 20 hours a week while attending classes, compared to less than a quarter (21 percent) of traditional-age students.

Many more incoming adult learners than traditional-age students indicated they enjoyed reading.

One-third of incoming adult learners (35 percent) indicated interest in learning about campus clubs and social organizations, compared to more than half (57 percent) of traditional-age students.

Close to half of incoming adult learners (45 percent) indicated they had financial problems that are "very distracting and troublesome" compared to approximately a quarter (27 percent) of traditional-age students.

Questions or comments about this report may be directed to Tim Culver, Noel-Levitz vice president of consulting services, at tim-culver@noellevitz.com or Elizabeth Herr, Ph.D., senior statistician, at elizabeth-herr@noellevitz.com.

Call for presentation proposals extended

2nd Annual National Conference on University & College Conference Centers
The Amazing Pace: Meeting Global Size Challenges in
University Conference Centers and Event Management
August 3-5, 2008

Call for Presentation Proposals Extended
Do you have useful approaches/tips in your organization you would like to share with other university and college event planning and operations professionals? Join us in exploring the issues, challenges, and opportunities in conference and event management and operations at colleges and universities.

The program committee for the Second Annual National Conference on University and College Conference Centers (NCUCCC) has extended the deadline for submitting a presentation proposal. The new deadline for emailing your submission to mailto:NCUCCC@ccs.ua.edu?subject=Presenation%20Proposal%20Submission is Thursday May 15, 2008. Individuals will be notified about proposal acceptance by email. Visit our website for additional conference information and Call for Proposal guidelines.

Share your knowledge and expertise in the following areas:
Sales & Marketing
Customer Service
Operations - Hotel, Food & Beverage, Business Administration
Facilities Management
Financial Management
Conference Support Services
Trends and Issues of Collegiate Event Planning
Program Development
Conference Services - Registration, Event Management, Program Planning
Emerging Technologies

The conference is co-sponsored by The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies and The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel.

Job opening

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, CONTINUING EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: (Full-time: 37.5 hours/week) Chattanooga State Technical Community College application can be accessed at: https://jobs.tbr.edu/ . (Click on Chattanooga State) and must be received in Human Resources by 12:00 a.m. (midnight), ET, 5-9-2008. Paper applications are no longer being accepted. (For assistance, 423-697-2600) Minorities and women are strongly encouraged to apply. Transportation expenses available/some restrictions will apply. AA/EOE/Titles VI & IX/Section 504/ADA/Drug-free workplace.

Call for papers

Call for Papers
International Pre-Conference 2008 of the
Commission on International Adult Education (CIAE)
American Association for Adult & Continuing (AAACE)
Sunday, November, 9 (evening) through Tuesday, November 11 (mid-day)
Sheraton Denver Hotel, Denver, Colorado
Please provide the following information:

Name(s) of presenter(s):

Address:

Telephone/Fax:

E-mail:

Title of Paper:

Brief description (Approximately 250 word abstract, but use additional sheets if necessary):

AV Equipment needed:

Date you will arrive in Denver, CO:

Please submit your proposal (by mail or e-mail) by July 15, 2008. Full papers will be published in the CIAE Pre-Conference Proceedings. You will be informed by August 15, 2008 if your proposal has been accepted for presentation at the Pre-Conference. Send proposal to:

Marcie Boucouvalas, Ph. D. Director, Commission on International Adult Education – Virginia Tech National Capital Region, 7054 Haycock Road, Falls Church, VA 22043 USA. or e-mail: marcie@vt.edu.
Fax: (703) 538-8465.

Full paper is due by September 30, 2008, in order to be included in the CIAE Pre-Conference Proceedings, which will be available in Denver to each registered participant of the Pre-Conference. Thank you.

AAACE Conference Theme: Creating Your Future within AAACE Future
Conference is Tuesday, Nov. 11 – 14

The new JCHE is out

The new Journal of Continuing Higher Education has arrived. The JCHE strives to support continuing higher education by serving as a forum for the reporting and exchange of information based on research, observations, and the experience relevant to the field. Issues are published in the winter, spring, and fall.

Consider writing for the Journal. Submission and manuscript guidelines can be found at www.acheinc.org/2008%20Site/jcheguide.html

Posted for the benefit of Dr. James C. Lefler, Assistant Vice President, Evening and Distance Education at Northeast Technical Community College and every other Continuing Educator who rides a bike.

In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream

At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines

Sprung from cages out on highway 9, Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin' out over the line

Baby this town rips the bones from your back

It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap

We gotta get out while we're young

`Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

Internet access blocked in law classrooms

Late last month, as students returned from spring break, the University of Chicago Law School announced that Internet access would be blocked from classrooms.
From Hey, You! Pay Attention! at

www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/18/laptops

Promoting podcasting in continuing education at ETSU

One of the things we did at ETSU this year to help integrate technology into our off-campus cohort offerings was to create iPod Grants. We ordered iPod Nanos engraved with ETSU and announced that we would have a competition to award them to faculty teaching in Cohort and Cross-Disciplinary Studies programs who integrate podcasting into their courses. Instructors reported plans to use podcasting to:

Increase group participation in online courses.

Create an “audio theatre.”

Record and incorporate presentations from local entrepreneurs and performers into distance courses.

Respond to a larger variety of learning styles.

Enhance students’ information and media literacy.

Develop listening and presentation skills.

Enhance community outreach and promote non-traditional student enrollment.

We awarded 11 this year to faculty from 7 departments. Eighteen courses were influenced as a result in Knoxville, Hampton, Morristown, Cleveland, Kingsport, and online. And we're running out of iPods...

Another from Philadelphia

There are several restaurants and taverns close to the site of the 2009 ACHE Annual Meeting and Conference. We visited the Artful Dodger www.artfuldodgerphilly.com/, which, according to its website, "dates back to the early 1800’s. While it is rich in history, it remains an active part of the neighborhood where you can enjoy a pint of ale, great food, sports, music, and other activities."

We had a wonderful lunch at the Old Original Bookbinders www.bookbinders.biz/ where Joe DiMaggio, Lillian Russell, Richard Nixon, The Rat Pack, Bob Hope and a host of other celebrities have all enjoyed seafood, cocktails, and friendship.

Our dinner on Tuesday night took place at the City Tavern www.citytavern.com/. According to its website "the Tavern was built for the convenience and credit of the city by a group of eminent Philadelphians who felt that their hometown deserved a fine tavern which reflected its status as the largest, most cosmopolitan city in British North America. When the Tavern was completed in 1773, it was one of the most elegant buildings in the city." The food and atmosphere were wonderful. Here's a picture of one of the City Tavern's comely serving wenches...

From the site of ACHE 2009

From the lobby of the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel. The facility and location are wonderful and convenient to dining, shopping, and history. specialoffers.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton_society_hill/so.htm?PS=PS_aa_Google_sheraton_society_hill_Creative1_0522206_NAD_FM

On the road again

On the road to the ACHE Mid-Year Board of Directors Meeting in Philadelphia. We are meeting at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel, which is the site of the 2009 Annual Conference and Meeting, November 15-18, 2009.

Dude, where's my flying car?

Find the answer in "You Call This the Future?" , co-written by Carl Sagan's son, Mark, with Mark Frary and Andy Walker. Find more information in "Why the Future Goes Flooey" at cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/10/875441.aspx

And to see what Ladies Home Journal was predicting for the year 2000 in 1900, visit www.yorktownhistory.org/homepages/1900_predictions.htm

Paths to the community college presidency

Over half of current 1200+ community college presidents are planning to retire within the next six years. The path to the presidency is no longer traditional. Many are looking at the business and continuing education side. From University Business:

The traditional career path for the community college leader-start as a professor, become a department head and then dean, take on a vice presidency, and then enter the presidency-has fallen to the wayside.

Marilyn Amey, a professor of educational administration at Michigan State university, and Kim VanDerLinden, a doctoral student at the university, surveyed the leadership landscape for a research brief titled "Career Paths for Community College Leaders" (American Association of Community Colleges, 2002). The survey of 1,700 administrators provided illuminating data on where these leaders started out. Less than a quarter (22 percent) of presidents were promoted from within, while 66 percent came from other institutions. The survey also uncovered two emerging steppingstones to the presidency: through occupation and vocational education positions and through business and industry liaison positions such as workforce development. [emphasis mine]

See the entire article at www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=864&p=2

Continuing education for exotic dancers

Although I doubt many of our colleges will have competing programs, here's a link to the Exotic Dancer, M.B.A., program. edmba.starlight-ministries.org/

Their day-long seminar teaches participants to become a SuperStripper and uses the following pitch:

Start treating your work in a strip club as just that, WORK! Create for yourself
the future you want to create! The Exotic Dancer, M.B.A. program will help you
get there! Planning on coming? Grab your stilletos! Break out your g-strings!
Put on your stripper suit (hot pink track suit, of course). Press the button to
register, or contact us through the form below.

I couldn't find a suitable graphic for this entry.

A timely cartoon

After hearing about the various generations at the ACHE South Conference, this recent Dilbert cartoon seems most appropriate. Joe Combs was a little hard on the Millennials (he calls them the Net (Y) Generation), labeling them (not entirely seriously) as selfish, disrespectful, and materialistic. You can find more Dilbert cartoons at the Dilbert Widget located on the bottom left of my blog. I expect that Joe's presentation will be posted at the ACHE South Website soon. You can read the Wikipedia section on this generation at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

ACHE South awards

The following awards were given this morning at the Association for Continuing Higher Education South awards lunch:

• Distinguished Program Award-Non-credit: The Auburn University Academy of Lifelong Learners. Program Coordinator--Mary Quinn Burkhart


• Outstanding Faculty Award: Russel Jacques, Florida Institute of Technology


• Joseph P. Goddard Scholarship: Victoria Culbreth, Northern Kentucky University. Victoria is working on a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Indiana University.


• Wayne Whelan Research Grant: Elizabeth Laves, Western Kentucky University. Elizabeth will "investigate online distance education courses offered as concentrated study in three or five week formats to determine if and how teaching presence as proposed in the Community of Inquiry Model impacts student perception of learning from both the students' perspective and the faculty perspective."


• Mini-Grant Award: C. Keith Young, Northeast State Community College at Elizabethton. Keith will "identify models for public-private partnerships between community colleges and the public sector."

You can link to the Awards Program at www.ache7.org/sp07conference/awards.pdf

College but no degree....

From Fadia Alvic at the University of Tennessee:

Not sure if you all have seen this article from SREB but it is something
that as an Adult Continuing Association in TN we may want to look into
supporting this interesting approach. It is about who are our students and
who we may have missed . The article points out that 20 million
25- to 55-year-olds in 16 southern states have enrolled at a college but left
without a degree, may it be an Associate or a BA. In the article
Chaloux of the SREB states that: “Some institutions have reached out to
them, but it hasn’t been a broad effort. We’re making the argument
that this is your work force, and you need to craft programs that allow adults
to complete their degrees.”

Here is the link to read the article: www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/08/adult

Scenes from ACHE South in Tunica

Amy Johnson, ETSU, representing Generation X.

Scenes from ACHE South in Tunica

Thad Laiche, Louisiana State University, highlights next year's ACHE South Conference in Baton Rouge, LA. April 27-29, 2009.

Scenes from ACHE South in Tunica

Joseph Combs, Walters State Community College, delivering the Hot Topic address on Generational Motivation and Learning Styles.

On the road

Traveling to the ACHE South conference....

ACHE & The Nontraditional Students Report

Looking at the April issue of the Nontraditional Students Report. ACHE got some mention in "Focus on your Needs When Selecting Conferences, Sessions: NSR Board Members Discuss Making the Most of Conferences."
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Esther Powell, Winston-Salem State University; Ruth Freiburger, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; and Carol Aslanian, Aslanian Group, were all featured in the article discussing the conferences they attend. Here's a sample:

For both person and professional development reasons, Freiburger likes the conferences sponsored by CAEL, the Association for Continuing Higher Education and the American Association for Adult and Continuing Eduction. She typically attends about two conferences a year. Powell attends both the regional and national ACHE conference. "ACHE has always been a very good resource and has been conducive to my needs an an adult educator," she said. . . . Aslanian likes to attend ACHE conferences and is planning to head to more graduate-level conference in the future. [emphasis mine]

The article isn't available online.

More good coffee news

Coffee may cut the risk of dementia by blocking the damage cholesterol can inflict on the body, research suggests. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7326839.stm

And don't forget to store it somewhere else besides the regrigerator. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23727879/page/2/

"Where the boys are...."

And the girls. If you're single and weighing all the factors before taking that new continuing education job, you might want to look at this map which lists how many more singles there are in a given area. For example, in Memphis, there 40,000 more single women than men, and in my part of Tennessee, there looks to be about 15,000 more single men than women. Lots of single women in the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-South, and things are pretty balanced in Montana, Colorado, and the Dakotas.

From the Creative Class Exchange at http://creativeclass.typepad.com/thecreativityexchange/2008/03/the-singles-map.html

Call for papers

ETSU has a successful Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program, and we're a member of the Association for Graduate Liberal Studies Programs (an associate member, working on full membership). The AGLSP Annual Conference, last year held in Memphis, will take place October 16-18 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their Call for Papers deadline has been extended until May 15.
The AGLSP website is at http://www.aglsp.org/

CALL FOR PAPERS

Culture, Consciousness and Nature
A Context for Climate Change

Guidelines
The organizers are looking for broad interpretations of the theme, to include philosophic, aesthetic, spiritual and cultural perpsectives as well as technical, scientific and policy discourse.
Deadline for submission of proposals has been extended to May 15, 2008. Submit by email to Stephen Duguid, Chair, Graduate Liberal Studies, Simon Fraser University, duguid@sfu.ca.

New members

Welcome the newest members of the Association for Continuing Higher Education!



Terry Ratcliff, Executive Director, Adult and Extended Education
Dominican University of California - West
Westtratcliff@dominican.edu

Clare Quigley, Academic Adviser
Arcadia University - Mid-Atlantic
quigleyc@arcadia.edu

Patricia Brinegar, Educational Consultant and Facilitator
Stonehill College - New England
pbrinegar@stonehill.edu

Eric Vitz
Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne - Great Lakes
mLakesvitze@ipfw.edu

Susan Deason, Director, Extended Learning
Illinois State University - Great Lakes
sdeason@ilstu.edu

Robert Wagner, Assistant Vice Provost
Utah State University-West
Westrobert.wagner@usu.edu

Linda F. Fonte, Associate Dean, School of Professional and Graduate Studies
St. Joseph's College - Northeast
Northeastlfonte@sjcny.edu

Robin Redmon Wright, Assistant Professor of Adult Learning and Teaching
University of Texas at San Antonio - South
robin.wright@utsa.edu

Carol Vallett , Dean of Continuing Education
University of Vermont - New England
Englandcarol.vallett@uvm.edu

Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism authors

Plagiarism is a problem in the age of online content and cut-and-pastability. Read an interview with Caroline Eisner and Martha Vicinus, the authors of Originality, Imitation and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age at www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/03/writing


Purchase the book at www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do;jsessionid=E3CB41654C287867C48A2B5FDAC5DFFE?id=287891

The new New Directions...

I just received Adult Education the Rural Context: People Place, and Change, the Spring 2008 Volume of the New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education series. Edited by Jeffery A. Ritchey, a partial list of contents includes:
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• "Extension and Community: The Practice of Popular and Progressive Education" (Jeff Zacharakis)


• "Rural Adult Literacy in a Community Context: From the Margin to the Mainstream" (Mary F. Ziegler, Dent C. Davis)


• "Rural Education for Older Adults" (Vivian W. Mott)


• "Workforce Learning in Rural Contexts" (Robert F. Reardon, Ann K. Brooks)

To purchase, go to http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-ACE.html

A topic like this always brings to mind Kevin Grisham's classic: The Rural Juror....

Tunica sessions

Just reviewing the agenda of the ACHE South Regional Conference that I'll be attending next week. Formerly known as ACHE Region VII, we'll be celebrating our 5oth meeting. The conference is hosted by the University of Mississippi, and they have done a wonderful job of marketing the meeting. There's definitely a taste of Tennessee in the offerings, and here are some those homestate program highlights:

Presenter: Joseph Combs (Walters State Community College)

Generational Motivation and Learning Styles: Is there a Generation Gap?

Mr. Combs will answer this question and will discuss the various generational values and needs for “The Silent or Traditional Generation,” “The Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” and “Generation Y.” He will discuss “Generation Myopia” and will answer the question: “Are the generations colliding in higher education?” He will call for a celebration of the generations and an adaptation to the learners’ needs. Mr. Combs will share 10 objectives to help meet the generational needs of our students.

Presenter: Jo Alison Lobertini (East Tennessee State University)

Strategic Leadership—Not Just for the Big Dogs

Strategic leadership is usually viewed as a top-down, visionary, mystical “thing” that only presidents, provosts, and other big-dog types tap into. Actually, strategic leadership is a way of looking at and thinking about the future that must be developed by all employees of continuing education. It is a valuable skill that each of us, no matter our positions, must master as our profession positions for growth and works to keep continuing education at the forefront of higher education.

Presenters: Cindy Adams and Dianna Rust (Middle Tennessee State University)

Evolution of a Peer Review Program for Online Course Development

This presentation describes the evolution of a Peer Review Program for online courses at Middle Tennessee State University. The presenters will discuss the Faculty Peer Assistant’s recruitment process, duties, and compensation. The Peer Review and Evaluation Form will also be shared. Participants will learn what strategies worked and will get a glimpse of the types of mentoring experiences offered.

Presenter: Tachaka Pentecost (Regents Online Continuing Education)

Tennessee Online Model for Addressing Statewide Workforce Development Needs: Regents Online Continuing Education Program

The Regents Online continuing Education Program (ROCE) has created a model to provide quality online workforce development/training to Tennessee employers and employees to meet the growing employment changes/growth of the state of Tennessee. Using online technology, employees across the state are able to obtain professional development, skill development, certification and re-certification.

The conference website is http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/ACHE/ACHE_conference.html

Top ten articles

At the EDUCAUSE Website, you can read the most popular EDUCAUSE Review articles of 2007, beginning with the following:

1. Wikis and Podcasts and Blogs! Oh, My! What Is a Faculty Member Supposed to Do? Patricia McGee and Veronica Diaz
See the rest at http://connect.educause.edu/blog/cluckett/readthemostpopulareducaus/46437

Ten years ago on this date

Alabama Changes the Value of Pi

The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the 'Biblical value' of 3.0. Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email. It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation. The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.

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And this is only number seven of the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time from the Museum of Hoaxes. See number one and the entire list at http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

Urban graduation rates

Many urban high schools are struggling with low graduation rates. Among the fifty largest school districts in the country, Detroit trails the pack with a graduation rate of less than 22%. Fairfax County, Virginia, tops the list with 82.5%. Here in Tennessee, Memphis is at 48.5% and Nashville at 50.4%. Urban community colleges, already underfunded, have a daunting mission to provide adult basic education to these populations.

See the complete ranking at http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm