A new report, Schools of Thought (on-line discussion also available), was published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Qatar Foundation in Doha, Qatar. The report provides background information about the influences on higher education over time and identifies the trends that are impacting the spread of higher education today. It concludes with five models it proposes should be considered by leaders in higher education; The Online University, The Cluster, The Experiential, The Liberal Arts College, and Partnership Models. While these are not new conceptualizations for higher education, the report is helpful in providing summative information as well as examples of the five alternatives.
One of the shortcomings of the report is the lack of attention to extracurricular and cocurricular learning. Even the example of "The Experiential Model" neglects to recognize the breadth and depth of learning available through what student affairs and development educators have offered for over 100 years. In response to the on-line discussion noted above, I replied, "Thank you to the panelists as well as the other contributors to 'New Schools of Thought' inquiry. One of the issues addressed by Dr. Dr. Campbell (President - Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, USA) was the power of the relationships among students and how critical it is to maintain the connections students make while enrolled. Reinforcing her point, much of the higher education outcomes research (primarily conducted in the U.S.A.) indicates that students' interaction with each other is as, if not more, important that what occurs through course-based instruction. Student voice in transforming education isn't only important because they have useful perspectives about what needs to change but also because student-to-student engagement is a source of learning itself. Educators should do all they can to enhance this readily available resource; controlling cost and improving quality in education can perhaps be achieved by looking more deeply into how to harness, enhance, and validate these various locations and processes of learning."
One of the shortcomings of the report is the lack of attention to extracurricular and cocurricular learning. Even the example of "The Experiential Model" neglects to recognize the breadth and depth of learning available through what student affairs and development educators have offered for over 100 years. In response to the on-line discussion noted above, I replied, "Thank you to the panelists as well as the other contributors to 'New Schools of Thought' inquiry. One of the issues addressed by Dr. Dr. Campbell (President - Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, USA) was the power of the relationships among students and how critical it is to maintain the connections students make while enrolled. Reinforcing her point, much of the higher education outcomes research (primarily conducted in the U.S.A.) indicates that students' interaction with each other is as, if not more, important that what occurs through course-based instruction. Student voice in transforming education isn't only important because they have useful perspectives about what needs to change but also because student-to-student engagement is a source of learning itself. Educators should do all they can to enhance this readily available resource; controlling cost and improving quality in education can perhaps be achieved by looking more deeply into how to harness, enhance, and validate these various locations and processes of learning."
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