探花楼 Spotlight interviews are published twice weekly before major professional development meetings. They feature our conversations with industry experts, highlighting key issues and promoting their sessions and workshops at the upcoming conference.
Below you'll find brief summaries of four recent Q-and-As with a link to the full interview.
探花楼 talks with researchers studying student experiences of active combat veterans
Zachary Hayes, Rodney Parks, and Reta W. Pikowsky will be presenting their research on the unique experiences of veterans as they reintegrate back into a traditional university setting after serving in an active combat zone.
They highlight three basic themes: the challenges of reintegration into traditional institutions; issues pertaining to normalization; and cultural expectations once these students return.
Read the full interview .
探花楼 talks with Technology Conference Director Mark McConahay on MOOCs
鈥淚 think of the MOOC as 鈥榦ut of the bag.鈥 The idea of having this opportunity for academic enrichment available through ubiquitous means that almost anyone on earth can get a hold of is here to stay,鈥 says Technology Conference Director Mark McConahay.
McConahay and his co-presenter Tom Black offer insight on 鈥渕assive online open courses,鈥 one of the hottest and most controversial disruptive forces in higher education today. They explore the possible implications of MOOCs for business models, assessment, and identity management in a brave new world of higher education experimentation.
Read the full interview .
探花楼 talks with Allison Jones about PARCC and new college-readiness standards
Allison Jones thinks it鈥檚 likely that some predictions about new college-readiness standards are going to catch the admissions and records communities off guard.
鈥淎dmissions and records administrators involved in planning to schedule sufficient numbers of classes to meet the increasing demand may be surprised at the increase in the number of students who require remediation," he says.
Jones, Vice President for Postsecondary Collaboration at Achieve, is leading the higher education engagement strategy for the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC).
Read the full interview .
探花楼 talks with Kristi Wold-McCormick and Ed Lee about trends and challenges in GPA and credit calculations
Real-world decisions about GPA calculations, SAP, and other crediting and transcript policies don鈥檛 happen in a vacuum. These decisions are made in a context that requires registrars to be in step with other institutions, responsible to the larger higher education community, and respectful of individual students鈥 experience.
That鈥檚 why Kristi Wold-McCormick, registrar at North Dakota State University, and Ed Lee, associate registrar at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, are leading their panel 鈥淭rends and Challenges in GPA and Credit Calculations鈥 in an open discussion format鈥攖o allow professionals to get a sense of their colleagues' consensus on a variety of issues impacting the profession.
Read the full interview .
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