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Nov 09, 2010

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John Hall

10 Major Innovations That Key For-Profit Institutions Are Employing Right Now

In our last article, we highlighted how for-profit institutions are reinventing themselves in light of proposed Gainful Employment regulations and significant public scrutiny.  Some for-profits have taken a wait and see approach. The majority, however, are taking bold steps to maintain their relevance and enrollment growth in this changing environment. Many of these initiatives are focused on increasing student engagement while enhancing learner satisfaction and maximizing best outcomes.

Here are 10 initiatives that both large and small institutions are executing to reinvent and strengthen their offerings. While many of these concepts are not new ideas, schools are utilizing them in innovative ways as they adapt to new realities.

1) Next Generation LMS

For-profit schools are leading the charge to develop intelligent learning management systems (LMS) that determine the most effective learning style to present curriculum to individual students in order to maximize their success. These systems can employ a learning modality that best supports each unique learner on a per lesson or per course basis. Such adaptive learning technologies individualize learning and focus on subject mastery versus simply presentation. Additionally, these technologies have been shown to increase non-traditional student course completion by up to 42%, making them extremely attractive for institutions focused on improving outcomes.

2) Persistence & Motivational Assessments

For-profits are beginning to rely on simple online, non-academic assessments that measure a prospective student’s ability to persist as well as their motivational level.  Besides providing key information about a student’s chances for success, these tools are most helpful in helping retention/reenrollment counselors, academic advisors, and instructors to develop individualized counseling and follow-up strategies that best serve a student’s needs. By way of example, if an assessment suggests that a student has limited self-confidence as it relates to their ability to be successful, the student’s retention counselor and academic advisor can check-in with the student more often while faculty can provide extra instructional support and motivation.

3) Reenrollment Counseling & Coaching

Many schools are beginning to realize that enrollment counseling is essential throughout the entire student lifecycle to drive persistence, not just during the recruitment process. During the enrollment process, a student is introduced to a dedicated Reenrollment Counselor who becomes a student’s on-going coach and key point-of-contact. This counselor is responsible for developing a relationship with their students, understanding each student’s unique situations/objectives, and providing motivation to each learner. By checking in with their students at least once a term and personally engaging students more frequently who have failed to login to class, order books, register for a new term, complete their financial aid paperwork, or linking students with school services, such counseling efforts can significantly improve persistence by removing the most common obstacles that routinely cause students to stop-out.

4) Testing Labs

A few for-profits are following the path of high-tech companies that have set-up elaborate testing laboratories to test and improve products. For-profit institutions are testing the effectiveness of everything from new marketing pitches to curriculum and instructional delivery approaches in experimental environments. These labs are relatively new but are beginning to help their for-profit operators improve efficiency and effectiveness.

5) Student Concierge Hotlines

Some schools with non-traditional populations have maintained 24/7 “Student Concierge hotlines for years, however, many more for-profits are beginning to implement these student help desks. Most of these lines can assist students with basic questions regarding registration, financial aid, technical support, and student services. The most innovative hotlines can help students with Microsoft Office questions, providing referrals for day care or community services, and even providing students with connections to real-time tutoring support day or night.  More importantly, these hotlines can provide students with a friendly voice, encouragement, and a connection to an institution even on the weekends or late at night when non-traditional students are typically focused on their studies and may need the most support.

6) Career Placement Coaching

A number of for-profits have provided their students with career placement services with mixed success. Now, some for-profits are expanding these placement services to include career coaching that begins immediately upon matriculation. Schools are finding that this coaching not only better positions students to find a job after graduation but also consistently reminds the student why they are in the school in the first place, thereby, theoretically improving retention.

7) Mobile Learning

Just as the computer has been key to the growth of online learning over the past 15 years, many schools are betting that smartphones, iPods, and iPads will take on new prominence in delivering education to students. While smartphones and other mobile devices cannot yet be exclusively used to complete most online programs, many schools are adapting certain types of content so students can learn on the go with their mobile devices. Making content available in this fashion can increase the amount of time students spend engaged in their coursework.

8  All You Can Learn Pricing

Following the not-for-profit Western Governors University model, a few for-profits are considering flat-rate pricing in which students can take as many classes as they can for one flat amount during a term. While the jury is still out on whether this type of model is scalable, some institutions see this tuition arrangement as adding value and encouraging increased student engagement.  On the other hand, such arrangements can encourage students to bite off more than they can chew which can detrimentally impact student success and persistence.

9) Practical Learning

Some schools are expanding partnerships with industry, non-profit, and governmental organizations to provide integrated practical learning experiences embedded within their content. More than case studies, these partnerships provide participating schools with customized real-life content that is designed to augment traditional curriculum and expand student engagement as well as mastery of key concepts. One innovative program has even established a unique partnership with a nationwide organization that allows students to participate in an actual hands-on practical learning experience – even on evenings and weekends when they are most likely to have free time. Since doing so, this school has experienced significant increases in student satisfaction and retention.

10) “Smart” Early Alert Systems

We have all heard about the value of early alert systems as it relates to improving retention and overall outcomes. For programs with early alert processes, they are typically limited to detecting students who have failed to login to a course for a pre-determined period of time or are receiving poor grades in a specific course. By the time such information is followed up on, it is often too late to perform a successful intervention.  A few schools are looking at ways to make their early warning systems more dynamic and proactive.  One school we work with relies on a system that constantly scans for 31 unique warning indicators that may suggest a student might be in jeopardy, providing key information to all stakeholders in a learner’s success – students, retention counselors, academic advisors, and faculty members.

John Hall
Greenwood & Hall
jhall@greenwoodhall.com