Uncovering General Learning: Presenting Findings of General Education within a Bottom-line Business World Marilee J. Bresciani, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Postsecondary Education and Co-Director of the Center for Educational Leadership, Innovation, and Policy San Diego State University 3590 Camino Del Rio North San Diego, California, U.S.A

Bresciani, M.J. Session Overview  Context of accountability – building bridges for comparability  Overview of a business lens on product development and quality  Application to general learning  Questions to stimulate further thought

Bresciani, M.J. Expectation  “If the constituents of higher education expect that we, in higher education, are providing education for the future economic growth and intellectual development of regions within the U.S.; what does this mean for how we design, deliver, and evaluate general learning?” - Alleged Higher Education Act draft

Bresciani, M.J. Framing Questions  How do those in the business world evaluate success and quality of their products of their companies?  How does that compare to the manner in which higher education evaluates success and quality?  Given our answers, how do we present success and quality in general education?

Bresciani, M.J. The Context for Business Planning  The purpose of the product is very clear  How the product fits in with the larger picture is also discussed

Bresciani, M.J. The Context, Cont.  Before the product is created, certain steps are taken market analysis  Is the product needed/desired?  Who are the consumers?  Is it a regional market or a broader market?  What price point can the consumers afford?

Bresciani, M.J. The Context, Cont. A development plan identifying the resources that will be needed and their costs is determined.  Who will be involved in development as well as production and how will they be involved?  Development and production costs are compared to potential revenue generated.  Determine what can be outsourced to save money without jeopardizing quality

Bresciani, M.J. The Context, Cont. Net revenue projections are stated with a timeframe Investors secured; partnerships formed Detailed plans made Create plan to determine quality of the product and compare quality of the product with competitors’ similar products

Bresciani, M.J. The Context, Cont. Devise marketing plan  Refer back to market analysis Create instruction booklets or guidelines Identify warranty, guarantees, and insurance recommended for purchase, if applicable

How does this context apply to how we design, deliver, and evaluate general learning? How could we explain quality of general learning in a business context?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider  Is our institution clear on the purpose of general education ? Skills Knowledge Dispositions A combination of the aforementioned Enhance the discipline

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  How widely shared is the purpose of general education?  How widely adopted is the commitment to practice that purpose across the institution?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  How does the purpose of general education fit into the larger focus of expected learning within the discipline?  The institution?  The region?  The world?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont. Do we want general learning to contribute to economic growth? Do we want general learning to contribute to intellectual development?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  Do we understand the purpose of general learning in the context of a market analysis? What kind of learning is needed?  Now and in the future What kind of learning is desired?  Now and in the future

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  Who are the consumers of the general learning? The students? Their employers? Their graduate schools? The faculty within the disciplines?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  Are your consumers local? Or international?  What price point can the consumer afford?  How can you make the learning more affordable?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  What is the plan to develop the general learning curriculum?  Who is involved in development?  With whom can we partner?  What are the intended end results?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  What resources are needed to design the curriculum and what is the cost?  What is needed to deliver the curriculum and what are the costs?  What is the cost to get the student to be able to receive and apply the curriculum?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  What could be out-sourced to make the learning more affordable without sacrificing quality?  Can quality be sacrificed to make learning more affordable? Or more accessible?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  What are the net learning gains projected and by when?  Who are the potential investors in general learning?  When can they expect to see a return on their investment?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont.  How will we determine the quality of the general learning?  Situational within subject  Transferable to discipline  Comparison Within subject across discipline within institution Within subject across institutions Within subject across discipline across institutions

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont. How will we compare that quality of learning with our competitors? How do we determine who the competitors are? How will we use consumer ratings in our comparison reporting?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont. How will we use experts’ ratings of our general learning in comparison reporting?  What internal and external influences on quality will we take into account? Do we stay within our regional market when comparing? Or is our market broader than our region?

Bresciani, M.J. Questions to Consider, Cont. What is the plan for marketing the general learning?  To whom are we marketing?  How and what will we market? Description of what general learning is What you have to do to participate What you will get from participating The overall benefits of having the learning

Some products are virtually worthless without their networks on which they run

Bresciani, M.J. Networks  What type of networks are needed to ensure the general learning keeps working? On-going facilitation of learning? On-going stimulation of learning? On-going support?

Bresciani, M.J. Product Warranty  How long is the learning guaranteed for?  Can they return for a full refund if their learning isn’t applicable? Or a “merchandise” certificate? Will there be varying return policies for various types of learning?

Bresciani, M.J. Returns, Cont. Or will the return policies be determined by institution and without regard to type of learning? What are the limitations on the return?  See “product disclaimers”

Bresciani, M.J. Upgrade Announcements  When are you warned that your learning will most likely be “out-dated” or in need of replacement?  Are you told how to get systematic upgrades of your learning?

Bresciani, M.J. Insurance  What kind of insurance policy does obtaining general learning require?

What set of instructions and guidelines should go along with the application of general learning?

Bresciani, M.J. Product Disclaimers Student inputs Student investment in learning Student learning challenges Faculty dis-engagement Transferability to a new discipline or region may be questionable

Bresciani, M.J. The Bottom Line  Provide clarity around purpose of and costs of delivering and evaluating general learning  Provide clarity about benefits of general learning  Allow consumers to determine the value of their net revenue/benefits generated

Bresciani, M.J. Tips from Good Practice Institutions  They clearly define their product through learning outcomes  They align the process for creating the product with the manner in which they evaluate the product  They advertise the variances in their processes  They advertise the “success” of their product

Bresciani, M.J. Tips, Cont.  They invite peer critiques, internal to their organization and external to their organization  They use testimonials  Some articulate expectations of “investments” to students and faculty  Some are mindful of their ”inputs”

Questions or Thoughts?

Bresciani, M.J. Citation for this Presentation  Bresciani, M.J. (Under Review). Uncovering General Learning: Presenting Findings of General Education within a Bottom-line Business World. About Campus. Washington D.C.: ACPA and Wiley Publications.

Bresciani, M.J. References, Cont.  Bresciani, M. J. (October 10, 2007). Accountability in higher education: Driven by business or social responsibility (Part I). Net Results: NASPA’s E-Zine for Student Affairs Professionals. m?id=1606  Bresciani, M. J. (October 24, 2007). Accountability in higher education: Driven by business or social responsibility (Part II). Net Results: NASPA’s E-Zine for Student Affairs Professionals. m?id=1609

Bresciani, M.J. References, Cont.  Bresciani, M. J. (Ed.). (2007). Good practice case studies for assessing student learning in general education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.  Higher Education Act Drafts and Amendments  Jaschik, S. (November 20, 2007). Another Call for Assessment. insidehighered.com