The ProEd team recently hosted an interesting webinar about various ways our solutions help career colleges stay compliant with the wide range of laws and regulations they must follow.  I found the webinar to be informative not only because it discussed important Blackboard capabilities, but also because it served as an overview of the trends in for-profit regulation and policy that currently impact our schools.

Below is a list of some of the regulations we covered during our webinar, along with a discussion of the ways Blackboard can help professional colleges and universities comply with these rules:

The Clery Act:  Under the Clery Act, career colleges must provide emergency notifications to students when there is an immediate threat to their health or safety. With Blackboard Connect, schools can send mass messages to students and staff via text, email, recorded voice messages, and even social media quickly and reliably. Blackboard Connect has been so useful to universities that entire communities are now using this technology to notify residents of an emergency! At the same time, institutions can use the same system to communicate with students regarding course deadlines and changes, as well as policy updates.

Check Fraud: As we have discussed in a recent post, there are regulations in place to address debit cards and other banking mechanisms used to disburse Federal Student Aid (read more here).  Blackboard Pay helps professional colleges and universities avoid violations of these rules by eliminating many fees to student aid accounts, including credit exposure and overdraft fees.

Not long ago, I wrote a post about BlackboardPay, a card-based solution that can enhance the efficiency and ease of financial services at professional and career colleges in a way that represents students’ interests. You may have also heard, however, that there has been controversy surrounding another card-based solution in the news lately.  Below is a brief explanation that should help dispel misconceptions about this situation as well as provide insight into what an institution should look for when searching for a financial aid disbursement partner.

Financial Aid Disbursement Solutions

Currently, several companies’ financial aid disbursement solutions are built upon a model of charging fees on students’ bank cards and checking accounts designated to receive financial aid credit balances or refunds. This model has generated much controversy in recent months, as this approach, in addition to putting institutions at risk for not meeting federal disbursement regulations, is not designed to maximize the educational benefit of students’ financial aid. For a student on a tight budget, excessive fees add up and can significantly impact their higher education experience. Below, we offer 3 principles to keep in mind when selecting a partner to distribute financial aid:

1. Standards that Institutions should Seek in Financial Aid Disbursement Solutions “Traditional” fee-based banking models were never designed with the unique needs of students in mind, especially those receiving financial aid, and should be significantly modified.

I recently had the opportunity to hear a presentation by Diane Auer Jones, the former Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education, on the importance of accountability in higher education.  This presentation was incredibly eye-opening to me on many levels, and has encouraged me to more deeply consider how assessment can improve the student experience at professional colleges and universities.

A Single Definition

A primary goal of Jones’ presentation was to advocate for a “single definition” in education through a rethinking of accountability and student success across institution types.  Early in the presentation, Jones argued that while a distinction is often made between so-called traditional schools and career or vocational institutions, in reality program offerings at these institutions are increasingly similar to one another.  For example, proprietary schools are offering an increasing number of degree programs, including advanced degree programs while at the same time, the majority of graduates from traditional, comprehensive universities are earning degrees in vocational fields like nursing, education and business.

In addition, when outcomes are assessed for all students, and not just the shrinking minority of traditional, “first-time-full-time” students, we see a similar convergence in outcomes among demographically-matched students regardless of where they attend college (including at a number of selective institutions).   As highlighted by the report, Time is the Enemy¸ when part-time students are included in the statistics, public institutions that boast of graduation rates as high as 60 percent among their first-time-full-time students show far more sobering results.   While the relative proportion of traditional versus non-traditional students might determine the overall graduation rate at a given institution, these averages may in no way represent the likely outcome for an individual student.

One of the most striking quotes that came out of this year’s Professional Colleges and Universities Summit came from Frank Mulgrew, the President of the Online Education Institute at Post University.  During his presentation on the next generation of online learning environments, Mulgrew stated that “the lecture does not work” at professional colleges and universities.

Though we often take lectures for granted, it’s important to remember how commonplace they are in higher ed, to recognize the implications of Mulgrew’s bold statement.  If lectures “do not work,” then every day, thousands of professors in lecture halls across the country are ineffectively educating their students.  With that in mind, how did Mulgrew come to this thought-provoking conclusion?

He began by explaining the difference between passive and active learning.  Face-to-face lectures are considered passive because the learner simply sits and listens to the instructor without actively participating in the learning and teaching process. Mulgrew went on to argue that the part of our brain used to receive information in lectures – and to retrieve that information later – is weaker than the part of our brain that participates in more active learning.  Examples of active learning include group discussions or experienced-based learning that allows students to take ownership of their education and actively participate in the classroom.

I have to agree with Mulgrew that active forms of learning are incredibly beneficial to students – especially those at professional and career colleges. Since these learners often pursue programs that are geared towards a specific career path, it is critical that they learn practical skills and information that they can quickly transfer to the workplace.  In other words, simply listening to a lecture about a technical skill would probably be less effective than a more hands-on learning experience.

But even still, is the lecture really as ineffective as Mulgrew discussed in his presentation?

What do you think? Is the face-to-face lecture “dead” at professional colleges and universities? If so, what teaching methods and technologies will replace them in the future? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Though Blackboard is most often recognized as a provider of classroom learning solutions, did you know that we also offer educational institutions the tools they need for financial services? Through solutions such as BlackboardPay, career colleges and universities can streamline services from financial aid to payroll – all of which help to improve the student experience on and off campus.

Especially for institutions where a significant portion of students rely upon financial aid, BlackboardPay can effectively simplify the process of distributing ANY funds on a secure, user-friendly platform.  At professional universities, where adult learners oftentimes balance multiple financial commitments and working life, streamlining these processes ensures that students can easily manage their critical financial information on campus.

BlackboardPay gives your students and staff immediate access to their funds without having to wait for paper checks. When compared to other financial aid distribution products, BlackboardPay protects students by eliminating overdraft exposure, PIN debit fees, and even fees for checks that are lost, stolen, or damaged.  Additionally, this service eliminates many overdraft and check cashing fees, and makes it easier than ever for students and staff to access their funds at over 43,000 ATMs worldwide.