The value of micro-credentials and badging needs continual clarification

December 14, 2018.Reading time 19 minutes.

An image showcasing open badge concepts. The explanation reads: Knowledge isn't concrete; it can be gained in a wide variety of ways. Each day, valuable skills and expereince are attained by learners who get involved with activities outside of their formal classroom education. Sports teams and other extracurriculars can positively benefit a student's psyche. Unfortunately, traditional resumes and portfolio programs aren't typically formatted to shed light on the soft skills that are gained through this kind of involvement..

Welcome today to David Porter, CEO of eCampusOntario, who joins us to discuss the value of micro-credentials and badging. After an intriguing keynote presentation at an educational event, David reached out to several education colleagues who work and research in the micro-credentials and badging arena. Today he shares his observations from these discussions, and provides […]

Regional Collaboration in Promoting OER Adoption

December 12, 2018.Reading time 15 minutes.

Today WCET Frontiers is excited to showcase the recent Open Educational Resources (OER) Implementation and Policy Summit for the MHEC States. This multi-state OER meeting brought together OER advocates from across campuses, legislatures, faculty, students, and more to collaboratively learn about OER and OER expansion for their states. To give us a review of this […]

Marketable Skills + Credentialing = the Value of Signals

December 6, 2018.Reading time 11 minutes.

Defintion of "signal" from oxford dictionaries: VERB Transmit information or instructions by means of a gesture, action, or sound. NOUN A gesture, action, or sound that is used to convey information or instructions, typically by prearrangement between the parties concerned.

What signals do you use to showcase your skills and expertise? Our students need a way to let future employers know about their collegiate experiences and accomplishments. Today we welcome Mike Simmons from University of North Texas to discuss their institutional solution to changing workforce and higher education needs when it comes to credentials. Thank […]

Accessibility & Procurement: What do we need to know?

November 14, 2018.Reading time 22 minutes.

quote box: Higher education needs to “bake” accessibility into our activities rather than wait to “bolt” it on after the fact.

WCET and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) jointly offer this blog post on a topic of national interest to education communities. This post is part of the on-going collaboration on accessibility issues between WCET and OLC. Thank you to Kelly Hermann, University of Phoenix, for today’s guest post on these important issues! If you’re attending OLC Accelerate […]

The Benefits and Challenges of Course Learning Outcome Assessment in Every Course Every Term

November 7, 2018.Reading time 11 minutes.

Model of the ACT instructional design model. One the outside, analyze - teach - change in a circle surrounding "course, learning outcome, continuous improvement system"

How does your college or program handle learning outcome assessments? Today we’re thrilled to be joined by several representatives from the University of Western States, Bernadette Howlett, Denise Dallmann, Dana Sims-Barbarick, and Susan Donoff, to discuss the University’s Every Course Every Term (ECET) initiative. This continuous improvement program helps faculty collect and act on course […]

The Role of Procurement in Digital Accessibility

October 23, 2018.Reading time 27 minutes.

WCET and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), in conjunction with the National Center on Disability and Access to Education (NCDAE is a partner with WebAIM), jointly offer this blog post on a topic of national interest to education communities. This post is part of the on-going collaboration on accessibility issues between WCET and OLC. Join […]

Transforming Our Model for Student Success: The WRAP Initiative

October 19, 2018.Reading time 14 minutes.

quote box reads: “It’s truly rewarding to watch our campus do a complete 180-degree turn, 9% virtual in 2004 and now is 9% face-to-face in 2018. To accomplish this and have increases in matriculations, persistence, and graduations as well as keeping a population of over 24,000 students active by completely overhauling our model is incredible.” - Jason M. Ruckert, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide

Welcome to the final blog post in our WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Award blog post series! Today we are joined by Jason M. Ruckert from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, to discuss their 2018 WOW Award winning initiative: Worldwide Retention, Affinity, and Persistence or WRAP. The WRAP initiative encompasses immersive solutions which include the incorporation […]

The Department of Education’s Plans for Overhauling Accrediting and Innovation Regulations

October 15, 2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

List of topics to be considered: Accreditation. Barriers to Innovation. State Authorization. Regular and Substantive Interaction CBE New Items to “Watch.” Other.

On Friday, October 13, the U.S. Department of Education published the unofficial version of its plan to establish an “Accreditation and Innovation” negotiated rule making committee. The final version should be published in the Federal Register today and includes the call for nominations to serve on the committee and three subcommittees. You may recall that […]

EdReady Montana: Scaling a Low-Cost College Readiness Initiative Statewide

October 11, 2018.Reading time 14 minutes.

Today we continue our 2018 WCET Oustanding Work (WOW) Award blog post series! For this post, we’re joined by Ryan Schrenk and Robert Currie of the Montana Digital Academy (MTDA) with the University of Montana, who are here to tell us all about the EdReady Montana Program. EdReady Montana is an initiative to help students […]

Research Dispels Myth that Adult Students Don’t Cheat in Online Classes

October 2, 2018.Reading time 11 minutes.

Textbox reads: "The results of our resarch have been consistent: adult studetns often cheat on exams."

We love insights and stories about improving academic integrity in all settings and we welcome today’s guest post. Beth Rubin, Ph.D., has been practicing and leading online education at for-profit and non-profit universities for the past 19 years. She is currently the Dean of Adult and Online Education at Campbell University. Relatedly, WCET invites you […]