My experience at the annual University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Annual Conference, held March 27-29, 2019 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle in Seattle, WA.
Tuesday, March 26
I’ve arrived for #UPCEA2019 – looking forward to a great conference, but first: a little exploring. Any suggestions for this Seattle newbie are greatly appreciated. pic.twitter.com/qtk6pqEgDW
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 26, 2019
First, a little sightseeing at Pike Place Market the evening before the conference…
Wednesday, March 27
Newcomer’s Welcome
So earlier I attended the Online Administration Network Council Meeting, where I may have unknowingly been appointed future UPCEA President… need to check the bylaws. Now at the Newcomer’s Welcome. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
900 attendees are at this conference for the first time. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Opening General Session
Next is the Opening General Session: “Who is Us: The Future of American Identity” #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Here we go! #upcea2019 pic.twitter.com/1X0X14yGAl
— Krissy Jones (@KrissyJones03) March 27, 2019
Receiving a welcome from members of the Muckleshoot nation. What a beautiful start to #UPCEA2019 @UPCEA pic.twitter.com/33Xu57A3X8
— Sandi Pershing (@spqptp) March 27, 2019
UPCEA CEO Robert Hansen sharing news of a new policy statement #UPCEA2019 pic.twitter.com/wAQTSYAyiZ
— Burton Bargerstock (@bbargerstock) March 27, 2019
UPCEA has joined forces with @OLCToday @wcet_info and @QMProgram to author federal policy briefs addressing changes needed to modernize higher ed regulations. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Eric Liu opens UPCEA’s Annual Conference; the credo that great ideas can come from anywhere needs to be nurtured! #UPCEA2019 pic.twitter.com/CeVh8FUAIl
— Ryan Anderson (@ryanleighanders) March 27, 2019
.@ericpliu, now giving the main keynote, says we should hold onto the creed that says good ideas can come from anyone, not just those who are wealthy or in positions of power. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
.@ericpliu on giving back: "There is no opportunity that does not come with an equal or greater obligation.” #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
.@ericpliu says everyone in higher ed is a teacher of democracy whether we realize it or not, the question is how well we’re teaching it. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Better arguments. Productive disagreement. Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. #WordsOfWisdom #UPCEA2019 https://t.co/AcyOSPPAeQ
— Carolyn Young (@c2young) March 27, 2019
It's time to bust the opportunity monopolies in our nation and make paths for everyone to have their voice heard. #upcea2019
— Jess Waldschmidt (@jesswaldschmidt) March 27, 2019
Concurrent Session
Next session: "Creating a Seamless Student Experience: Humanizing the Online Orientation, Removing Barriers, and Embracing Innovation and Technologies” #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
The University of Alabama changed their online orientation the emphasize the inclusion of distance students. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
As part of their orientation, Alabama has their new students interact with each other to help build community and asks them what their priorities are. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Alabama then has their new students join a Student Services channel on @SlackHQ – this allows them to ask questions. They’ve found that students often answer each other’s questions this way. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Throughout each step in the orientation (self-reflection, goal setting, etc.), Alabama directs their new students back to their @SlackHQ channels. They’ve found this helps with community-building. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Wichita State U. has created OneStop, a 24/7/365 multimodal portal where they can get personalized answers related to admissions, registration, advising, financial aid, IT, and more. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
The Bama Ready orientation is voluntary, but 71% of new 2017 and 2018 students accessed it. 45% used the @SlackHQ channels. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Comparing pre- and post-orientation surveys, students clearly felt more connected to the University of Alabama community and also felt they were better prepared to start working on their courses. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
When asked if using @SlackHQ in Alabama’s orientation has translated into using it in courses, that has not necessarily been the case. However, there seems to be interest among the students for this and they are leading the charge to change. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 27, 2019
Thursday, March 28
Concurrent Session
First up at #UPCEA2019 today: “Practical Strategies for Motivating and Retaining Post-Traditional Online Learners”
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Characteristics of a post-traditional learner: wage earner, combines work and learning, pursues credentials that employers want, may need developmental education, and seeks career/academic advising. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
The Engaged Instruction Framework: engagement is active and immersed. High engagement is meaningful/memorable/personal, transformative, and motivational. Low engagement is detached and passive, described as busywork, isolating, and surface-level learning. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Yes, memorable! Makes me think of @mwesch and https://t.co/CgFvj8LJ3P #UPCEA2019 pic.twitter.com/BerOQgjaOd
— Todd Conaway (@Todd_Conaway) March 28, 2019
Audience member raises an interesting question: students are wanting to complete online courses faster (e.g. half or one-third semesters). How do you engage and build community in a shorter course? #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Strategy #1: design transparent assignments. Provide a clear statement of purpose, a structured description of task, and criteria for success (examples, rubrics). #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Strategy: connect the learning. Connect each module, identify areas where the class has a good understanding or areas of confusion. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Students said the instructor is more important in online courses (vs. face-to-face) because their presence is needed to foster a learning culture. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Strategy: encouragement is the best way to motivate. A lot of students come in with an imposter syndrome. They need to hear that they belong in their program and that they have the ability to succeed. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Concurrent Session
Next session: “Going the Distance: Providing Meaningful Support for Faculty at Every Level” #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvkRrfjHsDV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Representatives from U. Alabama and Harvard presenting. Harvard offers 900+ online courses per year, 10-13K students per semester, 400+ faculty with a Teaching and Learning Team of 24 members. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Harvard offers Live Instructor Training twice a year: it’s in-person and streamed online. Both Harvard and Alabama have an asynchronous, cohort-based training program. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Harvard and Alabama assign a dedicated support person to each faculty member. Alabama’s team consists of Instructional Designers and media specialists. Harvard’s team has producers, web conference specialists, learning designers, and instructional technologists. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
For experienced faculty (defined as having taught at least one online course at their institution), Alabama and Harvard offer full course redesigns: designers evaluate and restructure courses, and help to change formats. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Alabama saves face-to-face workshops for experienced faculty. These provide a more in-depth experience and further explore tools and topics relevant to online teaching. There are opportunities to earn digital credentials. 15-20 participants, always a wait list. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Experienced instructors at Harvard sign up for quick consultations to brainstorm solutions. It allows for flexibility, and instructors can sign up for as many or as few sessions as they’d like. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Alabama has online elective modules for experienced faculty. They provide a la carte digital credentials. They also fund conference travel grants where faculty are required to share what they’ve learned. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
For innovators, Harvard and Alabama have large-scale targeted projects with custom solutions. Partnerships include things like flipped classrooms, illustration/animation, simulations, and HTML5 Objects. Faculty receive a designation: Innovation Scholar/Mentor/Catalyst. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Alabama provides a competitive award for research in an online course (Faculty Research Fellows, 5 per year). Faculty can also develop and run workshops. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Excellent session on providing faculty support for online course design by Harvard University and University of Alabama. #UPCEA2019 pic.twitter.com/VoYiie5nnK
— Christine Cicio (@ChristineMCicio) March 28, 2019
What does scaling your Online team mean – does it mean hiring more Instructional Designers or changing the makeup of the team by hiring more staff in a variety of roles? There’s no right or wrong answer. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Online Administration Network Awards Lunch
The Strategic Innovation in Online Education award was presented to Arizona Online.
Honored to accept the UPCEA Award for Strategic Innovation in Online Education today on behalf of @UAOnline #UPCEA2019 pic.twitter.com/LNcYh9y5GL
— Vincent Del Casino (@VDelCasino) March 28, 2019
4 major obstacles had to be overcome to launch Arizona Online in-house. Our favorite was changing spring break 🌴 for the entire university to support 7.5 week classes. Thanks for the innovation award, #UPCEA2019! Watch 🎥 to learn more. pic.twitter.com/6tKzaT9pFf
— Arizona Online (@UAOnline) March 28, 2019
Concurrent Session
After attending the Online Administration Network Awards Lunch, my next session is “Building the Plane While We Fly It: Forging Partnerships and Delivering Results in Online Programs” #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
U. Michigan has just under 10 fully online programs, with several others in development. Their office, the Office of Academic Innovation, is part of the Provost’s Office. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
U. Illinois has 51 fully-online programs. They have a centralized Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL). #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
U. Michigan online is funded by the academic units – they apply to use Office of Academic Innovation resources. Academic units are not required to work with them to develop an online program. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
U. Michigan is working on an Online and Hybrid Program “Playbook”, which is a cheat sheet for academic units on everything involved with developing a program (e.g. state authorization, insurance, external partners, etc.) #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
U. Illinois has developed a DIY quality control and compliance (e.g. accessibility, copyright, etc.) model to provide checks before a course in launched. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 28, 2019
Friday, March 29
Concurrent Session
After attending the Mid-Atlantic Region Update, today’s first session is “Are You Ready for Change? Anticipating, Implementing, and Envisioning Innovative Organizational Structures for Online Program Development” #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
A packed session on the final day of #UPCEA2019 hearing from #distancelearning experts @UW @OregonState and @UMich! pic.twitter.com/L2Cm8CRpYD
— Allan Guenther (@AllanGuenther) March 29, 2019
When developing an online program, U. Michigan has developed a chart to determine the responsibilities of the academic unit and university offices before, during, and after launch. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Oregon State Ecampus has been reorganized five times over the past two years. When session attendees were asked who also has been reorganized over the past year, most hands were raised. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Oregon State Ecampus is funding academic advisors in colleges specifically for online students. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Oregon State Ecampus is creating specialized teams led by Assistant Directors for instructional design, media, and training. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Every time a new dean or university leadership member is hired, Oregon State Ecampus does a “101” presentation for them so they can understand how online learning works at the university. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
U. Washington (along with other institutions that have made similar comments at this conference) is considering accepting alternate credentials (e.g. digital credentials, micro-Masters, etc.). #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
U. Washington has a 5-year plan to reorganize their online unit as a “Learning Design Studio”. Includes instructional design, media, specialized revisions/updates team, project management, OPM. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Audience polled about who has the staff in place to move data from LMS to other critical university systems. No one raised their hand. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Closing General Session
Final conference session: “The Future of Work” by @rwmichelle #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
#UPCEA2019 Closing Session: The Future of Work presented by @rwmichelle. “Cultivating our uniquely human skills may be the best way to prepare for an uncertain future.” pic.twitter.com/NR9dl49rtg
— Branka Halilovic (@brankahalilovic) March 29, 2019
By 2020, 42% of all college students will be at least 25 years of age. “Getting a better job” is the vital reason for pursuing a degree. About 83M Americans have a high school degree do not have at least an Associate’s degree. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
We are preparing learners for jobs that do not exist. Many of the top 10 jobs on LinkedIn didn’t exist 10 years ago (e.g. iOS dev, Android dev, UX/UI designer, etc.) #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Humans who will live to be 150 years old have already been born. 🤯 #upcea2019
— Jess Waldschmidt (@jesswaldschmidt) March 29, 2019
Liberal arts graduates are more mobile compared to their peers – they’re able to change jobs/fields much more easily. They have problem-solving skills that are needed in marketing, HR, finance, and other fields. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
Web development skills (e.g. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.) are being required more in non-technical fields, such as journalism. #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
#UPCEA2020 will be in Boston (Go Sox!). Thanks for a great conference! #UPCEA2019
— Marc Drumm (@marcdrumm) March 29, 2019
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