Discussion Questions on the Institutions of Higher Education
Discussion Questions on the Institutions of Higher Education
Nowadays, the emerging “for profit” institutions become a popular alternative to the traditional “non for profit” higher educational institutions. The for-profit-sector, as Lloyd Armstrong claims, “has not made the mistake of equating program quality either with the level of prior educational attainment of entering students, or the fraction of applicants who are rejected” (Armstrong, 2010). Thereby this strategy and a greater innovativeness of the institutions result in a great interest to them among the working adults and the members of minority groups.
Considering their students as the clients, for profit organization drive a student-oriented approach and create a better brand of the quality and relevance of programs than non-for-profit ones, thereby questioning the methods of traditional education and challenges its relevance. Therefore in order to keep up with the modern tendencies non-for-profit institutions might need to pay a greater attention to the needs of their student in relation to the job-market trends and update their curriculum accordingly, as well as to consider the innovative approaches in learning that emerge nowadays.
Definition of “Quality”
Both educators and the students remain skeptical about the quality of education in for-profit institution and particularly its value and recognition in the further labor market. The quality of education in such institutions is measured primarily by the students themselves: “satisfaction data allow for transparency for the student-consumer to evaluate an institution’s quality” (Bidwell, 2014). Thereby in the “new breeds” of education quality stands for the student satisfaction.
“New Breeds” of the Institutions of Higher Education
Rowley and Sherman enumerate the following new breeds: corporate, competency-based, company, virtual, virtual indexes, self-directed teams, alternative, and emerging (Rowley et.al, 2004). A particular attention here needs to be draw to the virtual forms of higher education, which has rapidly grown fir the last decade. Online education has currently become an absolute trend among the students, making learning more accessible for a greater number of them. Meanwhile, competency-based institutions have also greatly developed as their approach has been appreciated by the learners as it met their needs in enhancing specific areas of their skills and knowledge.
References
Armstrong, L. (2010). Has For-profit Higher Education Missed Its Big Opening Into The
Mainstream? Changing Higher Education: Major Changes Occurring in the World are
Redefining the Metrics of Excellence for Higher Education.. Retrieved from
http://www.changinghighereducation.com/2010/08/has-for-profit-higher-education-missed-its-big-opening-into-the-mainstream.html
Bidwell, A. (2014, February 3). For-Profit Colleges May Be Better at Meeting Some Student
Needs, Report Says. US News. Retrieved from
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/02/10/for-profit-colleges-may-be-better-at-meeting-some-student-needs-report-says
Edens, D. (2012). White Paper: The Value of Student Satisfaction Assessment at For-Profit
Higher Education Institutions. Coralville, IA: Novel-Levitz, Inc.
Rowley J.D., Sherman, H (2004). Academic Planning: The Heart and Soul of the Academic
Strategic Plan. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
