Accreditation, Continuity of Operations, and COVID-19

March 12, 2020.Reading time 11 minutes.

On March 5, 2020, the Department of Education issued guidance to institutions facing possible interruptions of study because of COVID-19. WCET’s Cheryl Dowd, Director of the WCET State Authorization Network, provided an overview of the guidance for WCET Frontiers. As of the morning of March 12th, a growing number of institutions, especially those on the […]

Granite State College’s Approach to Distance-Based Teacher Preparation in New Hampshire

November 1, 2019.Reading time 14 minutes.

Today we continue our 2019 WOW Award series. The WCET Outstanding Work (WOW) Awards honor member institutions and organizations that develop technology-based solutions to challenging educational needs. As we mentioned earlier this week, we have three outstanding award winning initiatives this year: the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s OER Council, Granite State College, and Rio […]

An Inspired Strategic Plan

July 17, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

The words "the only thing you can count on in life is change"

Welcome to Judith Sebesta Executive Director of the newly minted Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas, who is here today for a followup to her post a few months ago. Today’s post discusses the strategic planning process for the former Virtual College of Texas and introduces the new updates to the consortium. Judith also offers […]

Finding Quality in All the Right Places: Promoting Online Course Reviews to Faculty Designers

July 11, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

How do you ensure quality in online courses? That word gets a lot of buzz in higher ed! Today’s Frontiers post is all about quality and how to implement a course certification process. Joining us from the University of Central Florida is Senior Instructional Designer Aimee deNoyelles, who co-designed an online course review process for […]

Augmented Reality Adventures in Teaching Horticulture

May 22, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

Today we welcome Shannon Riggs, Executive Director of Course Development and Learning Innovation for Oregon State University Ecampus. She is also the author of the forthcoming Thrive Online: A New Approach for College Educators (Stylus, 2019). Shannon shares with us a most fascinating and recent example of innovation — using Augmented Reality to teach Horticulture […]

Accidental Adoption: When the Tool Finds You

May 3, 2019.Reading time 11 minutes.

Picture of man sitting at a table and working on a laptop computer. He is wearing headphones and drinking coffee.

Today we welcome Kenneth Rogers, Enterprise Instructional Technology Specialist with Alamo Colleges District as he shares a story from which all contemporary educators can glean insight. Integrating new technology requires courage and a willingness to embrace change and yet springs tremendous growth and opportunity, just as Kenneth captures in this blog. Enjoy! -Erin Walton – […]

The University of Missouri System Seeks Success in eLearning Through Innovative, Needs-Based Approach

April 24, 2019.Reading time 12 minutes.

Official sign of University of Missouri System including Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla, and St. Louis.

Today we welcome Steven Chaffin, Research Consultant, and Steve Graham, Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, both from the University of Missouri System. Online learning is an increasingly attractive alternative for students and educational institutions, and yet, to be successful in this realm requires thoughtful and deliberate action. Let us learn from the trail-blazing […]

Finding Inspiration for Strategic Planning

April 19, 2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

Yellow quote box that reads, "We have a strategic plan -- It's called doing things," by Herb Kelleher.

Today we welcome Judith Sebesta, Executive Director of Virtual College of Texas as she shares a poignant, entertaining story of valuing strategic planning and the many benefits it offers all organizations, particularly those that receive state legislative appropriations. Enjoy! -Erin Walton – contract editor for WCET The classic Pixar movie Toy Story conveys some compelling […]

Adventures at the Consumer Electronics Show: the world’s largest “Digital Disney World,” the higher ed perspective

February 8, 2019.Reading time 20 minutes.

Picture of the shoes of two people standing on tile that reads, "Passion Led Us Here."

Executive director of WCET, Mike Abbiatti, recently attended the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. New and soon-to-be introduced electronic products are unveiled each year at the Show. The following blog contains the details and reflections of his adventure through the latest technological innovations. He also wonders what the impact of these new tools […]

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 […]