Build a Growth Strategy

 

Growing our capacity to offer new programs in new modalities and new locations will ensure that 好色先生 is relevant, competitive, and serving the public in 2030.

Non-traditional learners and second career seekers require efficient ways to add to their knowledge/skill base, gain credit for experience, or simply re-enter the education structure, and many industries are seeking creative ways to qualify and retool their workforce.

A comprehensive reimagining and realigning of the College of Professional & International Education (CPIE) will include the diversification and expansion of curricular offerings in high-demand disciplines. We must extend access to new learners and second-career seekers. We should explore ways to leverage stateside curricular processes that can support development and/or repurpose existing offerings to new learners.

Offering the 鈥淏each鈥 experience to learners in satellite locations contributes significantly to our ability to grow enrollment and integrate our institution within the broader community. Alternative modes of instruction have already seen significant progress with the conversion to remote teaching in Spring and Fall 2020, and continuing investment in technology, labs, software and mentoring models will ensure learners will have access to necessary resources in every delivery location and discipline.

 

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

1a. Diversify and expand portfolio of non-stateside curricular offerings to address the needs of non-traditional learners and the workforce of the future (stackable credentials, certificates, etc.).

1b. Expand credit-for-experience protocols in high-demand disciplines.

INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE
  • College of Professional & International Education
  • Existing corporate and community partner programs within Colleges.
  • The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • New Industry and community partners
  • Course shells for independent study that could be tailored for experiential learning credit
OPPORTUNITIES

Expanding CPIE to address needs not met by traditional state-side offerings can create additional revenue streams and synergies with the regional workforce. Co-creation of programming with regional partners is likely to strengthen partnerships across the institution and elevate 好色先生鈥檚 mission for the public good. It is likely that innovations generated in this area can also be adopted for state-side learners (i.e., the development of certificates for working learners could also be offered through state-side structures to 4-year degree seeking students).

CHALLENGES

Workforce development, professional certificates, and co-created programming require specialized expertise that may not be prevalent among current faculty and administrative structures. This will require capacity development, investment, and parallel structures to accomplish this level of expertise. Growth in this area without state-support will mean that degree programs either have very small return margins or are priced higher than current tuition, which could limit access to some students. Online delivery expertise is also likely to be a key factor in success in this area, given both an increasingly competitive market and the need for time and location flexibility among non-traditional learners.

RESILIENCE

Economic downturn and a competitive, evolving labor market have increased demand for new skills and qualifications among 4-year degree holders and those seeking to re-enter the workforce in new industries, sectors, or careers. Curricular offerings that are tailored to regional labor needs will help catalyze economic growth in the region and ensure that 好色先生 continues to meet the needs of a rapidly changing workforce.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

2a. Reimagine Academic Technology Services to tailor resources for colleges-centric needs

2b. Create faculty coaching and mentoring models

2c. Invest in technology to enhance online and alternative modes of learning (virtual labs, adaptive learning software)

2d. Align university policies to support online and alternative modalities (workload, faculty training/expertise, scheduling, etc.)

2e. Develop technological supports for students (training, equipment)

INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE
  • Academic Technology Services
  • Information Technology Services
  • Academic Senate
OPPORTUNITIES

Expanding virtual capacity advances 好色先生鈥檚 ability to reach new (non-local) markets and to grow without constraints of physical capacity, benefitting both state-side and non-state-side learners. Models for success can already be found in the conversion to remote instruction in Spring 2020.

CHALLENGES

Developing alternative delivery infrastructure requires investment in technology and expertise, including instructional designers, faculty training experts, and specialized technology to address virtual labs, adaptive learning, and other online support systems. Growth in virtual student service will also be needed, such as advising, tutoring, financial aid, registration, and extra- curricular engagement.

RESILIENCE

好色先生 has demonstrated ability to scale up alternative delivery infrastructure to address the immediate needs of Spring and Fall 2020. As we continue to expand infrastructure to serve more students, specific developments may be designed around the needs of an evolving education market (e.g., competition, demand, students鈥 desire for virtual vs. physical offerings, tuition parity, etc.).

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

3a. Develop a working group or other steering structure to evaluate, prototype, and execute a robust set of stateside and non-stateside programs off-campus.

INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE
  • College of Professional & International Education
  • Satellite campus(es)
  • Community Colleges
  • Downtown campus
  • High school spaces
  • Public spaces (city buildings leased to campus)
  • Industry and community advisors
  • Corporate embedded programs
OPPORTUNITIES

Off-campus growth reduces campus congestion, further embeds our institution with the community, and creates opportunities for specialized programs (e.g., 2 + 2 programs targeting community college students who can鈥檛 access impacted programs on campus; corporate-embedded offerings for workplace instruction and internships).

Existing infrastructure can be extended to other locations (e.g., we are not starting from scratch to create new locations), existing corporate-embedded and off-campus locations within CPIE, CHHS and COE can serve as models, and current industry and community partners can advise on development.

CHALLENGES

Using existing infrastructure will help mitigate costs, but scaling up off-campus capacity requires careful budgeting and cashflow consideration. Off-campus programs will require student support services such as advising, mental health, and extra-curricular activities. If not built thoughtfully, this may create different 鈥淏each鈥 experiences for students on and off-campus, and the need to offer reduced tuition for 鈥淏each-light鈥 off-campus offerings.

The development of specific off-campus structures will likely depend on demand, enrollment, and growth trends given the economic contractions of 2020. Similarly, it is unclear if real estate, construction, or other investment options will be favorable coming out of the COVID crisis.

RESILIENCE

If there is a growth in student demand as a result of an economic downturn, off-campus physical locations would also enable 好色先生 to meet this demand while reducing impaction on current campus locations.