Accelerated Program

A Credit Hour

2011-02-24T13:59:00.000-06:00

I have been asked several times over the past few months to define a credit hour. First, we should not be looking to define a credit hour.

The credit hour is based on a history of “time” in class. The Carnegie Unit credit hour definition was developed between 1890 and 1900. The first influence of the defined unit was from the National Education Association; they appointed a committee to address issues on college requirements. The second influence to the creation of the Carnegie Unit, as it came to be called, was a foundation created by Andrew Carnegie to pay retirement pensions for college and university teachers. In an effort to define who would receive these benefits, the Carnegie Foundation and the General Education Board surveyed institutions across the U.S. It was determined that those eligible to receive the pension benefits must be from an institution that accepted the unit plan for admission, which was defined as carrying any one of four courses over five days a week. Thus, a faculty member who had a load of 12 credit units in a semester were considered fulltime employees and could receive full time pension benefits for the number of years worked at this level. The foundation stipulated that it was not counting learning attained, but time spent on the subject to determine faculty load. Because most universities did not have a pension program for their instructors, they quickly adopted the standard unit measure for their courses. Courses that met one hour a week for 15 weeks or 15 hours of time were worth one credit unit. The credit unit was defined in order to calculate faculty load and was not meant to demonstrate student learning. Education was shaped by a system designed for industrial factories. Time on task equals a certain amount of money. Unfortunately, because money was the issue, institutions blindly allowed the system to develop and flourish. As the age of accountability came into full view, institutions are now required to prove that students "learn" as a result of "attending class". The time based measure of the credit hour does not measure student learning, and was never meant to measure it. In 1909, the Carnegie unit was accepted across U.S. institutions.

In this day of multiple delivery methods, the use of time to document achievement of a degree has long passed. Many innovative programs, including Prior Learning Assessment and the Council of Adult and Experiential Learning, have changed the way undergraduate and graduate degrees are earned. Accelerated and intensive delivery formats are just one more step in the progress toward learning outcomes.

Accelerated programs have generally been defined as less time with instructor-student contact (as compared to the traditional Carnegie unit) and quality and effectiveness is measured by the students’ achievement of the course learning objectives. If education is about learning, then the measurement must be the student's achievement not the time spent in a classroom.

Resources
Shedd, J. (2003). The history of the student credit hour (pp. 5-12) New Directions for Higher Education, 122. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Walberg, H. (1988). Synthesis of research on time and learning. Educational Leadership, 45. 76-85.

Second, please read the American Council on Education letter to the Department of Education. This is the best articulation that I have read on the issue.

All education programs must continue to address this issue through learning outcomes. Mark your calendars to attend the CAP Annual Conference. We have accreditation personnel who are deeply involved in these issues presenting. Be looking for that brochure!

Final Regulations (Almost)

2010-11-08T11:44:00.000-06:00

For those who might have missed the news, on October 28, 2010, the Feds released some of the final regulations concerning higher education institutions. You need to catch up by reading Inside HigherEd (Almost) Final Rules. Also, review the Federal Regulations:

Start looking at your programs in light of the new regulations and mark your calendar for August 4, 5, & 6, 2011 to join CAP in Denver, Colorado for a conversation about these issues.

Quicker Degrees

2010-09-21T13:30:00.000-05:00

A really good article to read is A Federal Impediment to Quicker Degrees by Senator Lamar Alexander. We have known for years that there were financial aid issues for the adult population. Now quicker degrees are in the news. University Business Magazine new issue has a featured article entitled Three to Degree. CAP is mentioned in this article as a resource. Remember we have to get the word out that accelerated programs have been working with shorter time frames for over 40 years.

Accelerated Programs in the News

2010-09-15T16:03:00.000-05:00

Others are beginning to see that learning formats can be changed and held to the same learning outcomes. Thank you to Melissa Ezarik for investigating and writing an article about shortened time for a degree! I recommend reading "Three to Degree" in the September 2010 University Business magazine. More universities are looking at shortened time frames for degrees and less time in the classroom. The programs highlighted in this article are not necessarily focused on the adult student, but on college students who are focused and don't need that exploratory time to find a degree match. There is more support of innovation in higher education!

Mark your Calendars

2010-09-01T12:21:00.000-05:00

The week of September 27th, NBC News "NBC programs including “Nightly News,” “Today” and “Meet the Press,” as well as offerings on MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo, will include “[s]pecial news coverage and programming airing across all NBC News programs and platforms will extend beyond the two-day summit,” the company said in its initial press release." (InsideHigherEducation).

Looking for Volunteers

2010-08-26T15:49:00.000-05:00

CAP is Looking for Volunteers.
I hope this message finds you doing well. I know the August push has arrived and hopefully the enrollments at your institution are up. Please take a moment to breathe and read this short message.

We had a dynamic CAP Annual Conference on July 21 - 23, 2010 in Denver, Colorado, hosted by Metropolitan State College of Denver. We developed new energy and enthusiasm for our jobs and for the accelerated program delivery model. We also discussed the viability of CAP, which I am happy to say is a thriving organization. The Executive Board and Jeannie McCarron have done an excellent job this past year trimming the budget and coming through with a balanced budget plan. One of the initiatives the Executive Board is taking on this year is to connect with the membership. We want to hear from every CAP member this year! At our last Board meeting, we created a new position: Membership Connection. This sub-committee chairperson will coordinate our CAP volunteers.

CAP volunteers? What is that? I am so glad you asked!!

If you are willing to volunteer one hour (60 minutes) a month (yes a month) to assist the CAP Membership Connection Team, then you are a CAP volunteer. Please email Jeannie McCarron (jmcarro@regis.edu) right now to become a member of the team! The Membership Connection Chair will have a list of the members of CAP and he/she will divide up that list among the volunteers and assign everyone five to ten people a month to contact via email or phone call.

Why would you contact a member in CAP? Another great question!

As you might have heard (if you reading the Accelerated Program blog or the CAP Newsletter), then you would know that accelerated programs are being attacked from within and without. For CAP to be a proactive organization and a voice for Accelerated Programs, we must hear what is happening to our members and their institutional programs. Our Membership Connection Team members will chat with colleagues from another institution and ask how things are going. Then, you will be asked to email who you contacted, any updated information (job titles, email, phone) and triumphs or challenges back to our Member Connection Team Chair who will make a monthly report to the Executive Board. It is as easy as that!

CAP needs volunteers to spend one hour (60 minutes) a month talking with other CAP members. Please join us in this endeavor to reach everyone in our organization this year! Email Jeannie McCarron at jmccarro@regis.edu. right now!

Looking for Volunteers for just One Hour a Month!

The Scrutiny Continues

2010-08-12T14:27:00.000-05:00

Please know that I am in NO WAY condoning bad behavior on the part of any institution (for profit, non profit, or public). However, quality programs have the potential to be penalized because of the actions of others exposed for unethical practices.

The news continues in InsideHigherEd:
The August 9th article, Has the Conversation Changed, still has the for profit institutions in the news. What I want to highlight is the attach on accreditors and the ideas of thinking the "entire orchard" is bad.

"Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and other members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voiced concerns about the GAO's findings and cornered the leader of a national accreditor, who insisted that his agency’s standards were “rigorous,” even though the accreditor had given approval to some of the campuses where the GAO found problems. (While it’s not an accreditor’s responsibility to hunt for fraud, some senators wondered how people examining the institutions could miss such seemingly endemic problems."

“Are we talking about a few bad apples or are we talking about the entire orchard being contaminated by a business model that churns students, that provokes the kind of recruitment and unethical conduct we saw in the GAO, because of a need to increase profits?” Harkin asked, rhetorically, at the hearing. His repeated use of "systemic” to describe the problems suggested that he is going after the whole orchard.

This view of higher education is upsetting for all educational professionals in the field. All CAP institutions should be documenting their quality and writing their Senators and Congresspersons. Tell the the good side of the story. It seems the "bad" is the only one being shared.

Definition of a Credit Hour

2010-08-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is reviewing daily the Department of Education new proposed language. The Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 117 / Friday, June 18, 2010 / Proposed Rules has the new proposed language defining a credit hour.

The Department proposes to add to § 600.2 a definition of a credit hour that would measure credit hours in terms of the amount of time and work during which a student is engaged in academic activity using commonly accepted academic practice in higher education, and further would provide for institutionally established equivalencies as represented by learning outcomes and verified achievement.
(emphasis mine)

What all accelerated and online degree programs must do is fully articulate their learning outcomes for degree programs and verify the achievement by the students. If the institution has a degree program that is face-to-face and one that is accelerated or online, then the learning outcomes must be the same and must demonstrate equivalent learning achievement by the students. We must resist the pressure of our financial aid officers to give a number of hours of seat time or number of hours of online engagement. Butt in seat does not equal learning. Credit hours should not be defined by time, but by learning achieved. If you are asked by your financial aid officer to define a credit hour in time, send the financial aid officer to the above proposed language and then attach your assessment plan. If any institution does not have an assessment plan for every degree program offered, they must develop them immediately.

This is the time to stand up for our programs and the learning that is achieved. Those with accelerated and online degree programs know that this format reaches a population that would otherwise not be able to earn a college degree. These adults are working full time and trying to improve themselves and the earning ability for their families. I truly understand the issues with bad degree programs and diploma mills; however, the format is NOT the issue. The leadership ethics at the institution might be closer to the issue. Thousands of adults earn a college degree every year because of the accelerated program format. This the workforce the Obama Administration is trying to educate. Why would we jeopardize their careers by counting hours? Learning is what is important here!

CAP Is a Vital Organization

2010-07-30T15:11:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone made it home from the CAP 2010 conference safe and sound. I will blog more on the conference in a couple of days. I want to take this opportunity to comment on the vitality of the organization and the membership. Within this organization, there are amazing people who are dedicated to accelerated programs in design and in practice at their home institutions. I am so pleased to be Chair for the 2010-2011 year as we move our cycle around to an Annual Meeting in the Summers.

Mark your calendars now for the 2011 Conference on August 4, 5, & 6.

Also, I am pleased to announce that CAP is financially stable. We are moving forward with plans to become an louder voice for Accelerated Programs in the U.S. Join the chorus! Accelerated Programs are here to stay and grow. The Commission for Accelerated Programs is here to stay and grow!!

What an Incredible Conference

2010-07-23T19:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, I intended to blog each day. I guess I got too busy being Association Chairwoman. I will add entries about the events. Let me just say now that every plenary speaker was fabulous. For those that had to leave early, you missed a dynamite session on accreditation. If you are an HLC institution, you really must check out the changes that HLC is making to the accreditation process. No longer will institutions be left alone for 10 years....more to come!

Remember from my speech. Social media is only social if you participate. I look forward to your comments!

CAP Annual Conference

2010-07-21T12:50:00.000-05:00

Over the next three days, professionals from institutions who have degree programs for adult students in an accelerated or intensive format will gather in Denver, Colorado, at the campus of Metro State College of Denver. We are discussing how to develop accelerated programs, faculty development programs, marketing, admissions, academic advising, and accreditation issues. Stay tuned and I will add comments each day.

How Can We Help Students Complete Degrees?

2010-07-13T17:20:00.001-05:00

While this article may not be of interest to some in the field of accelerated programs, I think it does help with our continuing dilemma of retention. In this article, Exploring Emotional Intelligence, Learner Autonomy, and Retention in an Accelerated Undergraduate Degree Completion Program the researchers look at why some students in a degree completion program complete all the "gap" credits (as they refer to them). In degree completion programs, students usually have to transfer into the institution a minimum number of credits to start a degree program. Within that degree program, a set number of courses and credit hours (usually equaling to a major in undergraduate studies) are offered. The number of semester credits in these undergraduate degree programs range from 30 to 36. This leaves a number of credits around 20 or more that the student still need to fulfill to graduate. Anyone who works in academic advising or student services understands sometimes it is quite difficult to get these students to engage and complete those last credits. I once tracked a student for a year, calling her at least once a month about the one credit hour she needed to complete a bachelor's degree. As the Director of Student Services, I tried all sorts of motivations to try to get her to enroll in ONE credit. I honestly think she would have never finished the bachelor's degree if I hadn't made it my mission to not allow her to give up.

Buvoltz, Powell, Solan, and Longbotham (2008) investigate emotional intelligence and learner autonomy (self-directed behaviors). They were looking at students' ability to stay engaged with learning, to persist to completion. Something I think all accelerated programs could learn from this study and keep in mind as they market the program as well as through the academic advising stage is this one nugget: "an adult's persistence in autonomous learning related more to the anticipation of future rewards of present learning than the choice to engage in learning activities over non-learning activities"(p 38). Thus when we are counseling our undergraduate adult students, it might be good to keep bringing the issues of future rewards (e.g., new job opportunities, better employment possibilities, or life fulfillment) rather than talking about the important place education should take in their lives at this moment. Just food for thought!

Community Colleges Accelerating

2010-07-06T10:58:00.000-05:00

Well, more community colleges are looking at picking up the pace for their programs. This is a new article just released by InsideHigherEd on July 6, 2010. Community colleges are a great place for adult students who are looking for new skills to improve employment possibilities. We have several community colleges in the Commission for Accelerated Programs membership. With other community colleges beginning to look at a different delivery format, the four year institutions with accelerated programs have a great opportunity to partner with them and create 2+2 degree programs. Remember the higher the education level a person achieves, the higher their income possibilities become.

If you haven't signed up for the CAP 2010 Annual Conference, this might be a good time to learn more about the how this organization can help your institution create accelerated programs.

News Items

2010-07-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

For all that are in the Middle States Accrediting Association if you are not in the loop with this information, you might want to follow it. Perhaps there is something you could do from your institution to assist with the matter.

Another accreditation agency is also in the news, the Higher Learning Commission. If you have not heard, they have recently made some changes to their accreditation process.

At the Annual Conference in July, we have a panel discussion scheduled concerning changes and processes with accreditation agencies. These two associations will be addressed by consultant evaluators. If you haven't signed up yet to attend, I encourage you to do so. Go to the CAP Network Website and click on the 2010 CAP Conference brochure. I hope to see you there!

Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements

2010-06-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

The Center on Education and Workforce released a report Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018. If you are looking for new degree programs to grow in your area, I recommend investigating this report. You might even be able to use it in your marketing material. Here is just a sample that I found interesting:

"Sales occupations will provide 6.3 million total job openings between 2008 and 2018: 1.7 million net new jobs and 4.6 million openings from retirements. Some 4.2 million of these new and replacement jobs will require some college education or more. The largest proportion of workers hired for these positions (29 percent) will require a Bachelor’s degree." p. 30

We certainly need to help adults transition to new jobs and align our curriculum to help them gain the skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow. I still believe that accelerated programs are the answer to the need in the United States to ramp up the education level of our workforce.

Carnegie Unit Once Again

2010-06-18T10:12:00.000-05:00

Hopefully, you are following the latest Higher Education News. The government is once again trying to mandate the definition of a credit hour. Inside Higher Education reported on June 16, 2010 that the new proposed definition:

a credit hour as "one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit," or equivalent amounts of actual instruction for quarters or other time periods.

Why are we back to the archaic method of measuring learning and education by "butt in seat time"? Numerous reports have proven that different delivery formats are actually better or equivalent to creating the learning necessary.

To their benefit, the also included an alternative definition:

a credit hour "[i]nstitutionally established reasonable equivalencies for the amount of work required in [the previous definition] for the credit hours awarded, including as represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement."

Why doesn't the committee look at their own Department of Education report: Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. They reported on page xiv: "Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction." Face-to-face time with an instructor is not the answer to providing a quality education.

Institutions with online and accelerated programs need to watching carefully this development (that would be practically every higher education institution in the United States). When will we let the professional educators determine learning? Although an alternative definition was given, I am still not convinced the accreditation agencies won't succumb to the pressure and demand that institutions count "butt in seat time" and we will be back to letting the "bean counters" tell professional educators how to really do their jobs.

What information do you have available to help your students online?

2010-04-15T13:37:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was researching and preparing for a presentation on retention. As I was exploring different topics and thoughts, I stumbled onto a website, Study Guides and Strategies. As I am also launching an online program this summer, it got me thinking about what do we have available to support adult students. How could they possibility understand the higher education culture, when I often have difficulty understanding it and I have been in the field for at least 25 years? My question to the accelerated programs is do we, as professionals in the field of education, assist our students in understanding how they learn and the important aspects of the college/university or do we think they will just learn it somewhere along the way? Do we leave it up to others, such as the website above, to create information for our adult students? If so, why do we do that? Just some thoughts as you look at your own institutions website and services to adult students in a face-to-face or online environment.

Excellence in Teaching Award

2010-03-18T13:51:00.000-05:00

Each year at the annual conference CAP recognizes outstanding instructors from our member institutions. Many times part-time and full-time instructors in accelerated programs are overlooked for institutional awards, because of the way the criteria is written. I encourage you to take the time to nominate one of your outstanding instructors. These people love to teach, are passionate about the topics, their students, and their institutions. It is so encouraging and heart-warming to all CAP members to see the quality of programs and instructors at our sister institutions.

Nature and Recognition of the Award:
Each year up to three faculty from CAP member institutions will be recognized for excellence in the facilitation of learning in an accelerated program. The award recipients will receive a complimentary pass* to the 2010 CAP conference July 22-23 in Denver, and will be honored and given their awards during the CAP Business Meeting. Award recipients will also be encouraged to attend the annual conference in order to participate as a panelists and/or roundtable facilitator. The recipients will be asked to supply CAP with a color picture, preferably in electronic format. (*Please note that CAP cannot reimburse award recipients’ travel expenses, but will waive the conference registration fee for each recipient.)

Criteria for Selection:
CAP institutions may nominate one faculty member each year. If more than one nomination is received from an institution, the institutional members submitting the nominations will be contacted. CAP will request that the institution narrow their nominations to one. Nominees should demonstrate outstanding teaching in accelerated programs. Full-time or adjunct faculty members are eligible for nomination, but they must teach in an accelerated program. A variety of measures should be used to select the nominee, including:

The quantitative and qualitative information provided by student evaluations;
Evidence demonstrating how the faculty member relates to students as persons, encourages students as learners, challenges students to reach their maximum performance, makes the learning relevant and meaningful to the students, and gives constructive and timely feedback on assignments;
Peer observations and reviews, anecdotal documentation of contributions to faculty meetings, curriculum development, facilitation of faculty development workshops, and community service;
Evidence of outstanding and effective classroom facilitation, learning techniques, and accomplishments and contributions to the institution;
Evidence of demonstrating academic excellence and contributions to the wider academic community.

Submission Guidelines:
Each CAP institution may nominate one faculty member. Therefore, CAP members from the same institution should collaborate on their nominations. A completed application will include:

The CAP ‘Excellence in Teaching’ Nomination Form completed in full (attached, and also available on the CAP Network Website at www.capnetwork.org).
A typed overview of the nominee’s accomplishments and contributions to the program.
A copy of the nominee’s resume or curriculum vitae.
Additional documentation could include, but is not limited to:

Copies of end-of-course surveys;
Peer review reports;
Video tape of classroom teaching (no longer than 30 minutes);
Evaluations (quantitative and qualitative) of faculty development workshops conducted;
Institutional reports of excellence in curriculum development;
Comments from students, other faculty members, program staff, or the institutional administration about the instructor’s teaching style and contributions to the institution;
Scholarly articles published or other contributions to the wider academic community.

Awards Committee:
All submissions will be reviewed by the Awards Committee, which includes one member of the CAP Board and two other members who serve on one of the standing subcommittees. If a nomination is received from an institution represented on the Awards Committee, the Awards Committee member will recuse him/herself from the selection process.

Selection Procedure:
All nominations and supporting documentation must be received by Monday, April 12^th (Instructions and mailing information are noted on the Nomination Form). Because of the change of date of our annual conference from November to July this year, we will be asking for an unusually fast turn-around time once the information arrives at your institution. We want to allow enough time for winners to make their travel arrangements. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping one of your faculty to be 'appreciated' for this honor if so chosen.

Nomination materials will be forwarded to the Awards Committee who shall review the nominations and recommend to the CAP Board their selections. The final decision to present these awards rests with the CAP Board.

Notification of Selection:
Awardees will be notified by Friday, April 30^th by a member of the CAP Board.

We hope you take this opportunity to nominate an outstanding educator in your accelerated program. Our faculty deserve to be recognized for their dedication to adult and nontraditional learners.

SAVE THE DATE

2010-03-08T16:11:00.000-06:00

2010 CAP Conference, Denver

IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES IN ACCELERATED LEARNING

July 22-23, 2010

A Full 2-Day Conference!

Metropolitan State College of Denver

Themes include:

* Marketing Accelerated Programs
* Prior Learning Assessment
* Online Affordable Textbook Solutions
* Preparing for Accreditation

CAP will also offer two Pre-Conference Workshops:

1) Faculty Development in Accelerated Programs
July 21, 2010 (full-day workshop)
Metropolitan State College of Denver

2) Accelerated Programs 101 (for those newer to accelerated learning)
July 21, 2010 (1/2 day workshop)
Metropolitan State College of Denver

2010 CAP Conference Fees:

CAP Pre-Conference AP101 $ 95.00 (Member) $149.00 (Non-member)

CAP Pre-Conference – Faculty Development
$175.00 (Member) $230.00 (Non-member)

CAP Conference $395.00 (Member) $700.00 (Non-member)

Attending CAP Conference + AP101 $450.00 (Member) $750.00 (Non-member)

Attending CAP Conference + Faculty Development
$515.00 (Member) $800.00 (Non-member)

Hotel Information:

The CURTIS Hotel

1405 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202

1-800-525-6651

www.thecurtis.com

Rate: $139/Night

Additional Information will be available on the CAP Network Website (www.capnetwork.org) by April 1st, 2010.

Questions?
For questions or additional information, please contact Jeannie McCarron at (303)964-5253 or jmccarro@regis.edu.

What's New with Accelerated Programs

2010-02-04T14:57:00.000-06:00

Accelerated programs in higher education seem to still be plagued by unbelievers. With accreditation agencies measuring higher education quality on learning outcomes, it seems puzzling to me that we are concerned about seat time. The next generation of learners (millennials) have embraced the concept of learning anywhere at anytime. We in the ivory towers of higher education must get ready for new learning methods. Pew Research Center just published a report, "Social Media and Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults." They reported that 83% of adults own a cell phone, Blackberry, or iPhone. These devices only assist us in finding information anywhere, anytime. In addition, those under the age of 30 are more likely to own a laptop or netbook than a desktop computer. Another convenience for anytime, anywhere learning. What are you doing in your in higher education accelerated program to incorporate anytime, anywhere learning?

Highlight a Program

2010-01-25T15:03:00.000-06:00

The Commission of Accelerated Programs is a resource for higher education institutions concerning definitions and best practices. When I say "accelerated program," many people look at me in bewilderment. Raymond Wlodkowski (2003) defined accelerated learning programs as a structure for students to take less time than conventional (traditional, sometimes referred to as "Carnegie Hours") programs to attain university credits, certificates, or degrees. However, these programs hold to high standard of learning. They are designed to help the adult population who have fulltime jobs, yet need to further their education in order to obtain higher wage employment or personal fulfillment. These working adults cannot afford to quit their jobs in order to attend a higher education institution during the day, nor can they "afford" to take 10 years to complete a degree. Adult learners must have flexibility, convenience, and a quick way to earn a quality degree. The State of Louisiana recognized that issue and put together "A Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana". I recommend reading their booklet: "CALL: Investing in Louisiana's Adult Learners."
Perhaps, you will be inspired or you might gain an idea you can apply to your institution.

Wlodkowski, R. & Kasworm, C. (Eds.) (2003). Accelerated learning for adults: The promise and practice of intensive educational formats. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 97. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Accelerated Programs Highlighted by Lumina

2010-01-18T16:28:00.000-06:00

Accelerated programs at community colleges and credit for prior learning are both being highlighted by Lumina to help displaced workers in the U.S. We need to be assisting our community college associates who do not have accelerated programs in developing them. We have the expertise to share.

Read more at Fostering Economic Recovery through Postsecondary Education.

UPDATE OF CAP -

2009-12-17T13:51:00.000-06:00

This year (2009) has been very busy for CAP. The Executive Board has made some very significant decisions for the organization. I ask that you please take a moment from your very busy schedule to read this letter in its entirety.

The 2009 Annual Conference for the Commission for Accelerated Programs in Higher Education was a great success. Although attendance was down from previous years, the attendees responded favorably to the theme and conference presentations. The Executive Board received many great suggestions for our next conference. For those who were unable to attend the conference, I want to bring you up to date on the status of CAP. For those who attended the conference, this might clarify any questions you may still have remaining.

These are difficult times for people, institutions, and organizations. We are concerned about the economy. Friends and colleagues have lost jobs. However, I must emphasize that the spirit at the conference was one of perseverance and resilience. There are many new books out about resilience. In The Resilience Factor by Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatte, resilience is defined as a mind-set that enables you to seek out new experiences and to view your life as a work in progress. I have always thought of accelerated programs as cutting edge, entrepreneurial, and resilient entities in higher education. We are explorers out in the new frontier.

Administrators, staff, and faculty who work in accelerated programs are the ones looking for new ways of offering programs, new partnerships, and exploring the unknown margins of higher education. We must maintain a positive attitude as we explore new ideas and withstand the pressures of opposition. We are always looking for new ways of serving our population and selling others at our institutions on this “outlandish idea” of offering courses one night a week for four hours. These attributes demonstrate resilience.

There are three categories of resilience that I want to address: community, commitment, and courage. Resilient people network and build communities. That is what CAP provides for those of us working in accelerated programs. I remember when I first started working with adults in accelerated programs. I needed to know what others with my job did at their institution. I was so excited when I heard that CAP was being formed. Finally, a forum where I could talk with others about how they worked with adjunct faculty and adult students. I know that many of you felt this way as well. So, my message here is to remember in these tough times that you have a support network called CAP. Here you will find colleagues who understand your frustrations. In this economic windstorm, you may feel alone as budgets are cut and excellent employees laid off. I encourage you to call or email those persons you met at a CAP conference or workshop, ask them how they are doing, share your frustrations, brainstorm solutions, but know you are not alone.

Resilient people are committed to their core purpose. This past year the Executive Board engaged in strategic planning activities to examine the core values of CAP. The vision of CAP is “to be recognized as the leading advocate of accelerated learning in higher education and as the premier membership organization for providers of accelerated education.” We kept coming back to the fact that this organization exists to serve its members. The programs are designed to give you new ideas and the opportunity to network. With every action and decision, we asked ourselves, “How does this serve our membership?”

Resilient people have courage to endure and lead change. We need the courage to think outside our own box of accelerated learning. We need to continue to explore new ways of embracing our mission and be risk takers.

The CAP Executive Board had to be resilient this past year. The big question was how to make this organization financially sustainable. CAP was originally funded through a Lumina grant and has partnered with Regis University and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) for the past six years. The membership fees and conference fees were set low, because CAP was supported by the grant funds. The grant from the Lumina Foundation officially concluded December 2008 and CAP had accumulated a small financial reserve. However, based on budget projections this reserve would be depleted in a year. From the beginning, Regis University has graciously provided office space, access to office equipment, and general administrative support in areas such as accounting, payroll, marketing materials development, copy & print services, mail and receiving, and general office supplies management. CAEL has assisted CAP with marketing of workshops and conferences as well as managing CAP’s membership fees. Both organizations have a representative on the Executive Board, and they have given incredible amounts of time, wisdom, and guidance as CAP as tried to gain the strength to stand on its own.

The efforts instituted in 2009 to increase income included sponsorships and consulting Through hard work and perseverance, the 2009 conference sponsorship income exceeded the goal set by the Executive Board, and CAP entered into its first ever affiliate corporate relationship with Flat World Knowledge, Inc. At the 2008 conference, CAP announced the new consulting service available to assist member institutions. An institution could contact Jeannie McCarron with their specific need and she would work with the Executive Board to match up professionals from within our organization who could produce an outstanding workshop to address the need. In 2009, CAP delivered one consulting workshop, and we already have two more consulting workshops planned in 2010.

The Executive Board also explored another grant. CAP contracted with CAEL’s grant writing staff and put together a proposal for another Lumina grant. We were hopeful that we would see some additional funds via this route. However, Lumina did not fund our proposal, indicating that we no longer aligned with their new mission. Finding a new source of grant income will continue to be a focus in 2010. Unfortunately, CAP does not have the funds to hire a part-time grant writer, again. However, CAP has a subcommittee for grants which is being run by interested persons within our membership. We are looking for additional members to assist with this endeavor. If you would like to give back to CAP in this way, please contact Jeannie McCarron.

The CAP Board had to make a very difficult decision this last year. CAP had to discontinue a staff position in order to keep itself viable financially. I am sure many of you remember Cindi Lombard, who was an asset to our organization for many years. She came to many conferences and you might remember her most at registration. We had to say goodbye to Cindi in February of this year. Just as you may have had to lay off personnel this year, we understand each other’s pain with these actions.

The 2009 summer workshop in Denver, Colorado was a success both programmatically and financially largely due to the volunteer time given by members of the Executive Board and the gift of free facilities. Chad Gruhl, a member of the 2009 Executive Board, obtained the facilities at Metropolitan State University of Denver for free. The attendance was small, but the workshop was interactive and beneficial to attendees.

As the year progressed, the Executive Board was constantly looking for new avenues to sustain this organization. We were given another opportunity, but it came at a heavy price. After months of debates and conversations with Bill Husson at Regis University and Pam Tate at CAEL, the Board made probably their most difficult decision. The Executive Board decided to alter the relationship with CAEL. CAEL has taken care of CAP’s membership and conference registrations since our formation. They have negotiated contracts at the conference venues and marketed the CAP conference along with the CAEL conference. In return, CAP paid CAEL 15% of the CAP conference registration fees.

The Executive Board decided CAP must take responsibility for its own membership fees and conference venue. As of January 1, 2010, CAP will take over the administrative responsibilities for membership and conference. To assist with this new responsibility, CAP also added the Events Officer position to the Executive Board. The Events Officer will be responsible for negotiating the facilities and catering contracts for the conference.

This administrative change also means that CAP membership is not contingent upon CAEL membership. The Executive Board strongly encourages CAEL membership and attendance at their conference and events. CAP and CAEL will continue a close relationship. The missions are still supportive of each other. CAP will market CAEL’s events and CAEL has offered to market CAP’s events. We are pleased to announce that Diana Bamford-Reese will still serve on the CAP Executive Board as our affiliate representative from CAEL. Diana’s wisdom and guidance are irreplaceable. CAP truly is indebted to her and CAEL for the many hours she gives to us. We believe there is great synergy between the two organizations. Many of you know that CAEL has an accelerated learning track at their conference; CAP has offered to assist with presenters for this track. We will be requesting presentations from our membership.

Because November is an extremely busy conference month, the annual conference will be moved to July and to Denver, Colorado. Denver was chosen because it is the home of CAP (with our offices at Regis University). CAP is known there and can negotiate locally and gain lower prices for services. Please mark your calendars for the 2010 Conference on July 22^nd and 23^rd.

As you know income must cover expenses, so just as institutions raise tuition rates, the Board raised the 2010 membership dues. First, if you have paid your membership dues already for 2009, there will be no immediate increase. The 2010 CAP membership dues are raised to $285.00. Currently, membership rate is $270.00, if you account for both the $150.00 CAP membership fee and the $120.00 CAEL individual membership fee. In addition, if you are a CAEL member, the CAP 2010 Executive Board voted last week to allow a 20% discount on your membership fee. This means anyone who is a CAEL member would only pay $228.00 for a CAP membership in 2010. We know that many of you would prefer an institutional membership system; however, for the 2010 year, CAP membership fees will remain on an individual basis. Because CAP now is responsible for membership, the CAP Executive Board can now explore an institutional membership fee structure for the 2011 year.

This has been a difficult year for all of us, but CAP is poised to embark on a new adventure. This adventure can grow our organization, make it self-sustainable and mark it as the leading voice for accelerated programs. Yes, there are risks, but together, with this community of members, commitment to our core values and courage to change, CAP has a bright future with you.

The 2010 initiatives include: our members, communication, sustainability – balanced budget, grants, sponsorships, and consulting. As chair of the 2010 Executive Committee, I will be blogging and announcing new research or information about accelerated programs. Bookmark this site: www.acceleratedprogram.blogspot.com. Mark your calendar for July 22^nd and 23^rd for the 2010 Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado.

If you have any questions or would like to more involved with CAP, please email Jeannie McCarron at jmmcarro@regis.edu or me at racollin@ksu.edu.

Sincerely,
Royce Ann Collins, Ph.D.
2010 Chair – Commission for Accelerated Program

CAP Conference

2009-10-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

If you have not signed up to attend the CAP Conference in November, you still have time. This conference is presented by the Commission for Accelerated Programs (CAP), in affiliation with the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the College for Professional Studies at Regis University. Accelerated Learning: Virtual and Face-to-Face, will take place directly prior to the 2009 CAEL International Conference, Working Together to Make Learning Lifelong. For additional information about the 2009 CAEL International Conference, you may visit
http://www.cael.org/cael_conference.htm.

Plenary speakers will be 1) Barbara Walvoord: Assessment of Accelerated Programs (Virtual and Face-to-Face), 2) Bill Husson: The Future of Accelerated Learning in a Technological Age, and 3) Luke Dowden: Is the Hokie Pokie What It’s Really All About? Accelerated Online Learning.

Don't miss this great line-up of speakers!

Wikis

2009-09-29T22:03:00.000-05:00

I have been using wikis in my courses this fall and have found them to be a great tool. A colleague is also incorporating the blog tool to continue the discussion of a face-to-face course with an electronic medium. Learning is no longer in a box. It is growing and keeping students collaborating. I hope others will continue to use and explore these tools.

Social Media

2009-09-05T16:12:00.000-05:00

There is a new way to communicate with our students....it is called Social Media. However, it really is not new...some of us BabyBoomers are just slow to embrace and see the benefit. If your institution is not using these ideas, start immediately. Here is a quick video to help you understand the importance: Social Media Revolution. How are you communicating with your adult students? Do they have to go find the information or does it get pushed to them?

Accelerated Programs

2009-08-25T14:23:00.001-05:00

Classes are starting at all our institutions in the traditional semester programs. Those of us working with the accelerated programs are also starting programs as well, but we have this phenomenon happen regularly (hopefully). One of the employees of the traditional campus is in my course and the student asked why we were meeting on a university holiday. I explained that in my four years of teaching at this institution and 15 years at another institution I was always teaching on spring and fall breaks. When we work with the adult population who have full time jobs, university semester breaks just do not make much sense to them. I decided that our jobs are just to continually educate our fellow colleagues who do not live in our world of education.

I hope others are looking forward to the CAP Annual Conference, November 16 & 17, 2009 in Chicago. Block out your calendar now.

New Article on Accelerated Programs

2009-07-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

I received my copy of The Journal of Continuing Higher Education yesterday and discovered a new article. The article is entitled "Working Adults in Accelerated Cohorts: More than a Learning Community." The article describes the administrative and support services that many accelerated programs at small liberal arts institutions use. Mount Olive College in North Carolina is the setting for most of the article; however, Bluefield College in Virginia and Bay Path College in Massachusetts are also highlighted for their successful programs.

This one of the ways Accelerated Programs will become known and understood as more research is conducted and more articles published. Kudos to Robin Spaid and Evan Duff. Check out
The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 57 (2), pages 104-109.

Successful Workshop

2009-07-23T19:44:00.001-05:00

Thank you to all the CAP workshop attendees on Monday and Tuesday. The workshop was a success because of the participants and their willingness to explore new ideas. We concluded the workshop on Tuesday with wikis, blogs, Microsoft Life, and Google Tools. I know that I will not be able to use all these tools, but I am very glad I am a little more knowledgeable. I am thankful for learning about the ones I will be able to add to my repertoire. I think we have great potential to strengthen the accelerated program network.

I hope all the workshop attendees had a safe journey home. My Wednesday started with a fire alarm going off in the hotel and a mandatory evacuation. My worst fear was realized. I wondered what I would do if I were in the shower when an emergency happened at a hotel. I now know...dry off, dress quickly, and run out the door with my hair in a towel. I am so glad I did not run into anyone I knew. Just as we made it to the first floor, the hotel maintenance personnel were letting us know that it was all clear. I was very thankful I was only on the seventh floor as I climbed the stairs back up. As my Aussie friend would say...It was all good!

Faculty Development thru Technology

2009-07-20T21:44:00.000-05:00

The first day of our workshop was kicked off with a presentation on Second Life. We moved from that session to a session on how to build a technologically enhanced classroom through prototyping and faculty development by recording presentations. The afternoon was filled with vodcasting and podcasting, webinars and online teaching panel. Everyone was taking notes and learning new skills to take back to their campuses.

The best session for me personally was the podcasting/vodcasting. We created a short one minute video. I understood how I could easily do this on my laptop for my courses and contribute to my onground and online courses. With a camera on the computer and a microphone, I can create short videos for my courses. It is a great way to create an introduction for new faculty and communicate updates for all faculty. What a great, inexpensive tool, that is easy for a non-techy.

Executive Planning Meeting

2009-07-19T22:27:00.000-05:00

The CAP Executive Committee met today at Chad Gruhl's house in the mountains outside Denver. It was a lovely, peaceful setting for some indepth discussion about the organization's future. The Executive Committee meets face-to-face twice a year once at the workshop and once at the Annual Conference. These meetings in addition to the monthly conference calls keeps the organization moving forward the spread the word of accelerated programs. At the meeting, we got the opportunity to walk through the next two days of workshop as well as plan for the conference in November. In addition, we had a report of CAP's consulting service. CAP is growing and creating our own system for social networks with (this blog) and a new wiki that will be unveiled on Tuesday, July 21st, at the workshop.

Come back often for updates.

Welcome!!

2009-07-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome...you have found the blog site of the Commission for Accelerated Programs, an organization dedicated to professionsals who teach, lead, and conduct research in accelerated programs in higher education. As an advocate for accelerated education, CAP enhances collaboration and shares best practices and research findings among its members to design and deliver the most effective accelerated learning for adult and nontraditional students. For more information visit us at CAP.

This blog is intended to provide a forum to answer questions about CAP and to provide information about the organization and its activities. A recent addition to the CAP social networking environment is the accelerated programs wiki hosted on Wikispaces. The link is located in the upper right corner of this blog under the title "My Wikispaces"...come join us to collaborate on the important topics in the profession.

What are Accelerated Programs?
Accelerated degree programs were created to market to the working adult students. Entrepreneurial thinkers in the 1970s looked at they way the higher educational scheduling system eliminated working adults from attending and earning a degree. A new format model was developed which allowed adults to attend classes in the evening, but if the system continued to follow the traditional semester system it would take them forever to complete the necessary number of credit hours. This resulted in two formats being created: 1) Compressed or Intensive Scheduling and 2) Accelerated Programs.

First, compressed or intensive scheduling took the face-to-face time of a semester length course and compressed it into an eight-week time period. Courses still met for 32 to 45 contact (face-to-face) hours.

Second, accelerated programs were developed which took the semester length course and lowered the contact hours for a three credit hour undergraduate course to about 20 hours, Graduate level courses were generally lowered to 24 contact hours.