INTRODUCTIONIn an article Karen Kucher (2013) makes the following statements, Amid the debate about college costs and the value of a university degree, in May 2013, 7.4% of high school graduates were unemployed, while just 3.8% of university graduates were without a job, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov). That trend - of almost double the unemployment rate for high school grads compared with college grads - has largely held steady even amid the U.S. recession. Those with no high school degree were the worst off, with an unemployment rate of 11.1%.The Education Report (2013) examines the value of college in both financial and nonfmancial terms. The goal to call attention to ways in which both individuals and society as a whole benefit from increased levels of education. The authors continue education isn't a guaranteed ticket to higher and they state in most cases it does pay to attend college, and to make conclusions about the value of education are much more complicated than they seem.Alore than a decade of research about business school graduates, alumni, and the employers that hire them conducted by the Graduate Alanagement Admission Council® (GAIAO2013) reveals two truths that have stood the test of time: (1) graduates remain highly employable, and (2) graduates consistently credit their degrees for offering valuable opportunities for career advancement, professional development, and personal satisfaction. The GALAC (2013) also provides Five Reasons to Get a Graduate Degree as follow:1. graduate business degree can boost your career.2. graduate business education rates high in value.3. graduate business degree will help you land a job.4. graduate business degree financially rewarding.5. Demand for talent strong.Several studies have questioned this payoff. Dilbert creator Scott Adams (2011) in a Wall Street Journal article stated, Business education should exist in universities, but more attention must be paid to the value the education delivers.A 2011 Pew Research Center article asked is College worth it? Alost respondents said, Americans were not getting good value' for the money they spent on a college education. And yet those who graduated from college estimated they were earning greater than $20,000 more a year than they would without a degree, a figure that lines up with the census results (Pew Research Center, 2011).According to Byrne (2013) Business school a waste of time and money. If you want to blow $100K, go to Vegas. That's what one Class of 2008 AJOBA alumnus from New York University's Stem School of told Forbes when surveyed for the magazine's latest return-on-investment ranking of the best business schools.Besides the slower payback periods, the magazine noted that five-year gains attributed to the AJOBA also have fallen over the past decade. The average 5year gain for grads at the top 25 schools was $118,000 a decade ago, but only $68,000 this year. Five-year out salaries averaged $159,000 this year, but that represents an annual gain of only 1.8% since 2003, which was slower than the rate of inflation, the magazine noted (Badenhausen, 2013).With the rising costs of higher education, the burden of student loans and a less-certain job market has left many wondering: Are too many young people going to college? In his article, Weber (2012) states, A college education was once regarded as a first-class ticket to a better life.A few well known educators have debated whether a lot of students would be better off spending their time and money somewhere else. Comments included:College graduates make vastly more than those with high-school diplomas. True. But that comparing apples and oranges. College graduates, on average, are smarter and more disciplined and dependable than high-school graduates-so much of the reported earnings differential has little to do with college learning (Wadhwa and Vedder, 2012). …
This research analyzes and reviews undergraduate marketing courses and programs currently offered at National University (NU). We assess the results for the last three years of student achievement and satisfaction, and make recommendations for improvement. A review of achievement outcomes from student and faculty evaluations, interviews, outbound exam results, enrollment, assessment data, SWOT analysis and the administration’s set goals were considered in a strategic context. The primary goal of this study was to improve undergraduate marketing education programs, to assist NU design more relevant academic programs and courses in the field of marketing that are attractive to NU’s specific target market, to enhance existing programs, and to eliminate unnecessary courses. The study compared competitive marketing education programs, courses, specializations, and/or certificates offered both in the US and abroad. We analyzed the development of new programs, SWOT analysis, market needs, faculty development, content and course offerings, format offered, accreditations, differentiation factors, target market and promotional strategies. The two key outcomes are: 1) Consider which changes will improve student outcomes for undergraduate marketing courses at National University for the next 3-5 years, and 2) Discover what are best practices for undergraduate marketing programs at universities in the US and globally.
When a recent accreditation review report and an assessment consultant report both identified issues with assessment and shared governance, the three faculty governing bodies of National University met with the Provost and President to brainstorm and discuss a shared governance action plan to address these issues. As a result of this meeting, the Faculty Senate, Graduate Council, Undergraduate Council, and the Council of Chairs (not a governing body) representatives made a presentation to the Provost and President to improve the academic assessment process at the University by implementing a shared governance plan that would revitalize the faculty and move both the faculty and the administration toward a culture of academic assessment and excellence. The President concurred with the shared governance assessment plan approach proposed by the faculty governing bodies and approved implementation of the plan. This paper explores relevant research on this subject and provides a chronology of the events that comprised the efforts to improve shared governance between the faculty and the administration at National University in order to achieve academic assessment and learning excellence.
This research analyzes and reviews undergraduate marketing courses and programs currently offered at National University (NU). We assess the results for the last three years of student achievement and satisfaction, and make recommendations for improvement. A review of achievement outcomes from student and faculty evaluations, interviews, outbound exam results, enrollment, assessment data, SWOT analysis and the administration’s set goals were considered in a strategic context. The primary goal of this study was to improve undergraduate marketing education programs, to assist NU design more relevant academic programs and courses in the field of marketing that are attractive to NU’s specific target market, to enhance existing programs, and to eliminate unnecessary courses. The study compared competitive marketing education programs, courses, specializations, and/or certificates offered both in the US and abroad. We analyzed the development of new programs, SWOT analysis, market needs, faculty development, content and course offerings, format offered, accreditations, differentiation factors, target market and promotional strategies. The two key outcomes are: 1) Consider which changes will improve student outcomes for undergraduate marketing courses at National University for the next 3-5 years, and 2) Discover what are best practices for undergraduate marketing programs at universities in the US and globally.
<p class="Default" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The challenges for education in the 21<sup><span style="position: relative; top: -4pt; mso-text-raise: 4.0pt;">st </span></sup>century are fundamentally the same as they were in each of the past centuries – holding on to what is of value while discovering and developing what adds value to both teaching and learning. While the future is difficult to predict, the seeds of the future can be seen in the behaviors of the present. Obviously technology will play an even greater role in future education no matter how much and how quickly technology changes. Of greater importance than technology is the thinking needed for knowing how to use technology for advancing education for both students and instructors. Identifying the shifts in behavior that people are experiencing today provides clues on the practices that will be common tomorrow. Basic changes in education include the following: (1) moving from an instructor-centered paradigm focused on teaching to a learner-centered model focused on learning; (2) shifting from an emphasis on textbooks as a preferred source of knowledge to the use of technology as the primary tool for acquiring information and ideas; (3) advancing from knowledge to know-how exemplified in the differences expected from the cognitive, behaviorist and constructivist approaches to learning; and (4) sharing responsibility for learning through increased interaction and continuous communication between and among all individuals engaged in becoming educated persons. Technology, though it may be the key tool for facilitating these changes, has its limitations as well as its advantages, as any instructor knows when comparing face-to-face classroom lecturing with virtual asynchronous online discussions. Today’s students are techno-savvy and may be considered the “Wi-Fi Generation.” In the School of Business at National University, the second largest not-for-profit university in California, a blended approach to learning has been adopted in the accelerated one-month format used for its online education program. This paper explores the effects of some new technological options which were recently provided to marketing students in order to make their online learning experience more exciting and meaningful. National University’s online classes are offered on the eCollege platform. Students interact with each other asynchronously through discussion boards and synchronously in weekly chat sessions. Chat sessions had been offered in a text-based format, but the School of Business has invested in iLinc software which provides Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) capability. In iLinc, students can see and hear each other as well as the instructor in real time. The system allows application sharing, group web-browsing, the display of PowerPoint</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">® </span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">slideshows, voting, and independent group work. Using this technology, the instructor acts as both a discussion moderator and a live lecturer. The traditional text-based chats are no longer used due to the high student acceptance and delight with the iLinc system. Outside of the virtual classroom, the marketing students were tasked to analyze and comment on the content of selected television shows. National University’s students are adult learners who grew up passively watching television from an early age. These assignments were designed to get them to think beyond the surface entertainment to the underlying marketing and business messages given in these shows. For example, a graduate advertising class was assigned to comment on the reality show, The Apprentice, while an undergraduate class critiqued the Super Bowl advertisements. In both classes the students were told to look at these programs critically and share their comments with the class. The use of these current mass media presentations, (which afforded live action cases that demonstrated the immediate consequences of managerial actions), was shown to be very powerful. </span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Overall, the students appear to thoroughly enjoy this addition of topical and “live” learning tools to their online learning experience. While not tested empirically as yet, these new classroom tools seem to increase student comprehension and retention of the course material. </span></span></p>
One-third of the population of US children is considered obese and two-thirds of the adult population falls into the same category. These figures have tripled over the last 30 years. This demonstrates that the existing strategies to combat obesity do not work and it is time to look for alternatives. The recommendation is to turn the problem into a solution - give children an activity they WANT TO DO, NOT HAVE TO DO. Today’s younger generation is “hard wired to technology”, so take advantage of this fact. Several entrepreneurs have developed new technologies that combine physical activity, technology, and learning that “appeal” to this Generation Z and they are demonstrating promising results. In this paper, we have included details of the childhood obesity epidemic, the problem, costs and consequences, and have provided a new successful avenue to pursue. Results to date are positive and encouraging. We have identified a new strategy which, in a limited time, has been embraced by children, incorporates new technology, and has the potential for huge benefits for those who choose.
Today's Wi Fi generation utilize the latest technology in their daily lives. Instructors at National University, the second largest non profit private institution of higher learning in California, are incorporating these new tools to modify their Online class formats to better accommodate these new skills in their distance education delivery modes. The University provides accelerated learning in a one-course per month format both Onsite and Online. Since there has been such a significant increase in Online classes over the past three years, and it is expected to grow even more over the over the next five years, Instructors cannot afford to maintain the status quo and not take advantage of these new options. It is at the discretion of the instructors which accessory they use and how comfortable and familiar they are with the technology. This paper explores the effects and summarizes students' comments of some of these new technological options which have been recently provided in order to make students' online learning experience more exciting and meaningful.
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