Apr 29
What are your plans for the future? Do you want to run a 10K? Are you planning to have children? Would you like to own a home? We all recognize the importance of making plans for the future. Usually those plans center around our age, health, what we plan to accomplish, and is based in part on what is currently going on in our life. Businesses must also map out a plan for the future. Knowing the right audience, what the market will bring, and how to position themselves positively to capitalize on opportunities are crucial to steady growth. Unfortunately with poor planning lives and businesses can fall apart. The same holds true for educational institutions. It is sufficient to say that most universities, colleges, and secondary schools aren’t “going out of business” in the economic downturn. Nevertheless, not including the current economic times and the climate of our nation in future planning could result in multiple failed opportunities and ultimately represents bad business practices.
When students are planning for college it is becoming increasingly important to investigate what jobs are available and what fields are emerging prior to enrollment. With the cost of college tuition, a college degree is quickly approaching one of the largest investments a person will ever make. People wouldn’t put a large sum of money into a bank or stock without understanding the return on investment. The same holds true for a college degree. Especially in the current economic state, it is crucial to use an education as a step in securing a strong future as part of a long term plan. The students of today are educated consumers looking for a school that meets their needs based on research.
Educational leaders charged with managing change must use their eyes and ears to determine what programs will be necessary to sustain these incoming students. What jobs are disappearing? What fields are holding a shortage? What new jobs will be created based on current government spending and agendas? Answers to these questions should dictate what a school’s future offerings look like. In addition, schools must look at evolving technology and determine to integrate it into teaching methods, course delivery, and alternative learning environments.
Now is the time for educators to be proactive in creating new strategic plans to move their educational institutions into the next decade. We are citizens of a new world filled with green initiatives, cleaner air, more technology choices, and unlimited access to almost everything. It is up to the education community to investigate all the options and get moving!
At eLearningToolBox.com we provide a set of tools to help educational leaders be strategic and proactive. FacultyFinder.com can be used to efficiently identify qualified, experienced faculty. READI is a strong tool for helping students to be successful thus boosting retention rates. PostCourse.com allows leaders to collect the disseminate useful metrics about course quality. Let us know if you would like to discuss how your school can use these tools in its strategic plan.
Apr 13
Now that most of us have settled in for the fight ahead wrestling with the economy and obvious budget cuts, it is time to reevaluate the way we do business. While reducing spending is a great place to start, reallocation is also a crucial step in restructuring business practices that impact the bottom line. While our time continually proves to be our most valuable resource, what we do with it can make a difference in these tough economic times.
Travel budgets. The dreaded words! If you’ve ever worked on a budget committee, you know that travel or other “unnecessary spending” is the first to go on the chopping block. And while travel may be an obvious first step in cutting back, the repercussions can be costly. Typically travel through colleges and universities include conferences that cover valuable information to keep faculty and staff up on the latest offerings and often times include required credit for certifications or licenses. Unfortunately even though travel budgets are cut, the need for new information and networking with colleagues is not mitigated. So what can a school do to minimize the impact low travel budgets have on morale and potential training credit? In response to this need, many companies are now sponsoring webinars on a variety of topics that allow multiple participants from one location with no travel involved. Wimba, a leading provider of collaborative learning software solutions and services to the Higher Education and K-12 markets, conducts many free webinars in various topics of distance learning. Elluminate, Inc. provides proven, best-in-class solutions for real-time online learning and collaboration that deliver exceptional outcomes, including enhanced learning experiences, increased retention and completion rates, and higher ROI. Elluminate is another company that has a complete list of free webinars.
Organizers of traditional travel conferences have been painfully aware of the budget cuts, based on low enrollments. Texas Distance Learning Association is doing something about it! Through a clever marketing plan, the annual TxDLA conference hosted in Corpus Christi decided to create a Corkboard. This provides attendees a place post classifieds such as needing to carpool to the conference or looking for a roomy to share the hotel bill.
At eLearningToolBox, we are also doing our part to help ease the burden of costly seminars and travel associated with tradition conferences. This summer we begin our first annual Webinar Series. Topics include testing integrity, student authentication, finding qualified online faculty, and student readiness. The best part about the webinars is they are FREE. Featured speakers include Dr. Mac Adkins, CEO eLearningToolBox, Dr. Michael Theall, Assoc. Professor of Education, Youngstown State University, and Lori McNabb, Assistant Dir. Student and Faculty Services, University of Texas System TeleCampus. Don’t miss out on learning about the latest challenges in distance learning and robust solutions that will help your institution.
Now is a good time to ask yourself, why did you get involved in education? Use those creative thinking powers and think outside the box to invent new ways of meeting economic challenges. Travel is one of many budget line items to discuss. Come back next week to learn more about crucial aspects of planning for the future. While I can’t promise a crystal ball to see into the future, we will discuss some clear signs of where educational programs should be heading based on current events.
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