By Heather Adams - EvoLLLution. I’m a non-traditional student. I’ve been in the workforce for more than 20 years and before I transferred to UCLA — where I just completed my bachelor’s degree — I attended community college. My first day at community college was rather nerve-wracking. Trust me, when you’re 30-something with a backpack and you find someone with a shared experience, you’re like, “Thank God! Let’s talk.” This is how I met Robert. More...

By Elizabeth Mulherrin - EvoLLLution. New adaptive learning models and supporting software are emerging that offer a variety of approaches for learner support, and they’re showing positive results. Online learning resources such as the Pearson MyLabs, powered by Knewton adaptive technology, provide students with a customized pathway for learning content based on an entering diagnostic and provide faculty with dashboards of student progress. More...

By Ramendra Singh - EvoLLLution. Just over a month ago, as you checked your Facebook account to see what your friends and family had been doing over the course of the previous hour/day/weekend/week — depending on your “Facebook frequency” — you couldn’t help noticing you or someone you knew was tagged to take the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” You saw them take the challenge, and then you saw them tag more people. More...

By Devora Shamah - EvoLLLution. Support for all students is most effective when it’s anchored by caring, mentoring relationships. Students feel better about engaging with their education (and generally have better academic outcomes) when they perceive others to be invested in their success.[1] Especially on large campuses, it’s important that faculty reinforce for students that they’ve been noticed and that, with effort, they can succeed. In order to better support and retain adult students who are coming back to campus, college administrators and faculty should provide a variety of ways to connect with faculty outside of class. More...

By Ian Roark - EvoLLLution. As with any topic that involves dichotomous views in an environment of change, the discussion of whether or not higher education institutions should treat students as customers engenders controversy and strong opinions on either side of the issue. Both sides have valid points that are rooted in theory and research. More...

By Esther Prins - EvoLLLution. The first challenge is perhaps the most obvious and that is physical access due to geographic isolation. In Pennsylvania, where our study focused, higher education institutions are not evenly distributed across the state. As you might imagine, they’re most concentrated in urban areas. This is especially the case with community colleges. Those tend to be located around the periphery of the state and the more rural areas tend to get overlooked by that. More...

By Maureen MacDonald - EvoLLLution. I periodically hear continuing education (CE) administrators and programmers lamenting the fact that they are on the fringes of the university rather than being a part of the institutional “core”.  In some institutions, this may be the reality. However, there are a number of arguments — pro and con — surrounding the positioning of a continuing education unit at the margins of traditional university activities and structures. More...

By Phil Hill - EvoLLLution. In both industries, we’re in the heyday of technology-driven changes; a lot of people are looking for dramatic changes to come from the technology in both industries. Related to that, there’s been an increasing amount of investment capital coming from venture capital firms and private equity. It doesn’t mean the changes are going to stick, but a lot of this is driven by investment and the hype  going on right now. More...