National Center for Postsecondary Improvement

Past NCPI Washington Policy Seminars 1999-present

VIRTUAL U: THE UTILITY OF UNIVERSITY SIMULATIONS FOR POLICY, PLANNING, AND MANAGEMENT

Wednesday, January 24, 2001

William Massy
Stanford University

Few members of the higher education community grasp the entire picture of how a university works as a system. While aware of their own activities and those of the units with which they interact, the sheer complexity of the modern university limits the ability of a campus' individual parts for example, its departments, administrators, and faculty to comprehend the whole. Even those with overall institutional responsibility may find that a systemic understanding eludes them.

In this seminar, NCPI researcher William Massy discussed the utility of Virtual U, a new university simulation tool designed by Massy and Enlight Software, Ltd. (Hong Kong) that allows users to explore the primary elements of a university system and understand how they function together. Virtual U players assume the role of a university president by setting, monitoring, and modifying a variety of institutional parameters and policies. They are challenged to make decisions to help improve their institutions of higher education, using techniques such as creative resource allocation, minority enrollment policies, and tenure parameters.

Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Virtual U was developed for use by university administrators, faculty, graduate students, policymakers, and other users who would benefit from simulated practice in managing a university. Building on NCPI research and other work, Virtual U models the attitudes and behaviors of the academic community in five major areas of higher education management: resource allocation and finance; academic operations; enrollment management; physical plant activities; and performance indicators. The developers hope the model will stimulate and provide a framework for further research on the university as a system. During his presentation, Professor Massy demonstrated the game, described its simulation engine, and suggested how it can be used to aid institutional management, education, and training.

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IS STANDARDS-BASED REFORM WORKING? AND FOR WHOM?

Wednesday, June 7, 2000

John Bishop
Cornell University

Standards-based reform is rapidly spreading throughout American education-and at all levels of the system. States are developing content standards for core academic subjects at each grade, administering tests assessing that content, publishing the school-by-school results, and trying to motivate students, teachers, administrators to improve student achievement. High schools are encouraging students to work harder by offering courses for college credit or rigorous courses with end-of-course exams that lead to an honors diploma, as well as increasing the number of courses required to graduate and making graduation contingent on passing state Minimum Competency Exams. Teachers and administrators are being pushed to set higher standards by rewarding schools that improve student achievement and threatening to reconstitute low-achieving schools that do not show improvement.

In this seminar, Professor John Bishop presented results of his studies on the impact of standard-based reform strategies. In most cases, these strategies are having the expected effects. NAEP test scores are higher in states that reward successful schools and sanction failing schools. Most of the effects of the minimum competency exams are larger for students with low eighth grade GPAs. They are less likely to drop out, learn more, and are more likely to attend college-but they are less likely to graduate from high school. The most significant and surprising finding is the big increase in wages and earnings for students who attend high schools with minimum competency exams.

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MEDIATING ACCESS AND EXCELLENCE: A SYSTEM DESIGN PERSPECTIVE ON REMEDIAL EDUCATION AND CUNY

Friday, May 19, 2000

Patricia Gumport
National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI), Stanford University

A recent amendment to the City University of New York's master plan eliminated remedial education at the system's four-year colleges. The controversy surrounding the proposal and its approval heightened current beliefs that access and excellence represent competing, even contradictory, demands. The policy itself can be seen as part of a historical trend toward creating a more distinct system of public education within CUNY, one whose effects has been to increase the stratification of students among institutions within the system. In such an environment, it is possible to reconcile the perceived inconsistency between egalitarian and meritocratic interest within a system of public higher education.

In this seminar, Patricia Gumport conceptualized a common ground for designing a CUNY system-and many other public systems of postsecondary education-where access and excellence can be structured as co-existing rather than competing goals. Based in part on her research on organizational restructuring, she provided an alternative perspective on the remedial education controversy at CUNY, one that considers the debate in theoretical and historical context. Gumport examined the extent to which CUNY policies increased system stratification, reviewed the literature in the area of system planning and design in public higher education, and discussed the remediation controversy in light of the ongoing political conflict. She then suggested possible future scenarios for mediating access and excellence in a way that more effectively supports student opportunity.

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FOR-PROFITS VS. COMMUNITY COLLEGES: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON EDUCATIONAL COMPETITION

Thursday, April 13, 2000

Thomas Bailey and Greg Kienzl
Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University

Over the last 15 years, the number of for-profit postsecondary institutions in the United States has nearly doubled-and evidence clearly suggests that their growth will only increase in the coming years. While some high-profile higher education institutions, such as the University of Pheonix and Devry Technical Institutes, have attracted the attention of policymakers and educators, little is known about the nature of competition these schools create within particular sectors of higher education. For example, they may prove to have a substantial effect on community colleges, which face increasing pressures in an era of declining public expenditures on higher education.

In this seminar, Thomas Bailey and Greg Kienzl reported on their research about the nature of competition between for-profit institutions of higher education and community colleges. Their study is based on an analysis of national institutional and student-level data, as well as case studies of community colleges in four states. Based on their findings, Bailey and Kienzl addressed how two-year colleges and policymakers might respond to the growth of the for-profit educational enterprise.

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EDUCATIONAL QUALITY WORK: PURSUING EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

Friday, February 11, 2000

William F. Massy
Stanford University and the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group, Inc.

Andrea Wilger
Stanford University

Educational methodologies and student needs have changed dramatically in recent years, yet few institutions or faculty have made restructuring educational processes a major priority. At the same time, the real cost of education continues to rise, while efforts lag to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of on-campus instruction. Political figures and the media also complain about educational quality, but few in higher education have transcended the conventional wisdom to ask hard questions about quality assurance and improvement.

In this seminar, William Massy and Andrea Wilger will introduce a new way to pursue excellence in education. "Educational quality work" refers to the activities of faculty, academic leaders, and oversight bodies intended to improve curricula, teaching and learning processes, and performance given available resources. Quality work supports the delivery of quality education, but in different ways at different levels of the system. At the departmental level, it helps faculty apply principles such as Baldrige and ISO 9000 for teaching and learning. At the institutional, state oversight, and regional accreditation levels, it allows effective accountability without micromanagement. Massy and Wilger will discuss results obtained from their field research and from the actual application of quality work principles in real situations.

Read the handout that accompanied this presentation.

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INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL: MEASURING IT LIKE IT MATTERS

Thursday, January 13, 2000

Lauri Bassi
Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Analysis

Mark VanBuren
American Society for Training and Development

Many researchers have investigated the question: Does the "quality" of the college that a student attends affect his or her subsequent earnings? Past studies have found that graduates of colleges with higher average SAT scores or higher tuitions earn more later in life. However, it may be that‹due to their inherent ability‹students who attend elite institutions have a higher earnings capacity, regardless of where they go to school. Indeed, the very attributes that lead college admissions committees to select certain applicants may also lead to additional rewards in the labor market.

In this seminar, Stacy Berg Dale presents her work with Alan Krueger that attempts to overcome this selection bias problem. Using the newly collected College and Beyond database, they formed groups of students who were both accepted and rejected by a similar set of institutions. By comparing earnings within these groups of students, they estimate the return to attending a more selective or a more expensive institution. In addition, they test whether the return to school quality varies by race and socioeconomic status.

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AIMING HIGHER: TOWARD A NEW COURSE FOR REMEDIATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Monday, December 6, 1999

Henry Levin
Columbia University

In the raging debate over remediation, one fact is clear: it has become widespread among the nationõs higher education institutions. Nearly 30 percent of all first-year college students enroll in some type of remedial program, and more than three-quarters of all colleges and universities‹and virtually all public institutions‹offer at least one remedial course. The high cost and limited success of current remediation approaches have raised serious questions about both open and selective admission policies and the efficacy of existing remediation courses. While campuses and policymakers debate the utility and expense of these programs, too little is known about the content and delivery of remedial education nationwide or about the features of successful programs for retooling the underprepared to engage in college-level work.

In this seminar, NCPI researcher Henry Levin will report on the results of his research investigating the potential of transforming remedial education from stigmatizing, catch-up programs to opportunities that significantly advance studentsõ academic capabilities. After providing an overview of patterns in remedial education and its causes, Professor Levin will compare traditional, drill-and-practice approaches with more innovative alternatives that seek to link skill-building with enriched, college-level content. His work exploring new models such as paired/linked courses, supplemental instruction, and learning communities‹as well as new evaluation designs to provide much-needed data on program outcomes‹can inform institutions and policymakers as they consider the design of interventions for the underprepared.

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EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION? TOWARD PROMOTING AND SUPPORTING STUDENT ASSESSMENT THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

Monday, November 1, 1999

Marvin Peterson
University of Michigan

After 15 years of state agencies, accrediting and professional associations, and institutions conducting student assessment initiatives, little is actually known about the institutional patterns of assessing student outcomes. Even less is known about how institutions have organized and implemented their efforts to promote student assessment on campus‹and whether such activity has made a difference in academic performance at an institution.

In this seminar, NCPI researcher Marvin Peterson will report on the results of a national institutional survey examining the approaches taken by colleges and universities toward student assessment, the influences of external agencies on these initiatives, the internal policies and practices used to promote them, and the uses and impacts of the resulting information. At a fundamental level, the survey's descriptive profile reveals what institutions are‹and are not‹doing. More importantly, it sheds light on the influence of external groups and internal institutional patterns on the actual use of student assessment information and how that application influences institutional performance. Peterson will discuss how this research can be used to develop organizational approaches to supporting student assessment, what implications it holds for state accrediting and institutional policy, and what directions it identifies for further inquiry.

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IS IT EDUCATION OR ABILITY? ESTIMATING THE PAYOFF TO COLLEGE QUALITY

Tuesday, June 22, 1999

Stacy Berg Dale
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

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BRIDGING THE GAP: RETHINKING UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS AND REMEDIATION POLICIES

Tuesday, May 18, 1999

Michael Kirst
Stanford University

While policymakers share the common goal of improving student performance, they at times work at cross- purposes, pressing forward without knowing how their decisions will affect institutional practice or studentsõ outcomes. Without better coordination of reform initiatives at different levels within the educational system, the mission of better preparing more students for postsecondary education could veer dangerously off course. Nowhere is the danger more evident than in the profound disjuncture between K-12 and postsecondary institutions‹indicated, in particular, by rising concern about the increasing number of students who fail university placement exams and must begin their college studies with "remedial courses." This mismatch is particularly troubling for minority and immigrant students, as well as those whose families are low on the socioeconomic ladder.

In this seminar, NCPI researcher Michael Kirst will report on his research examining the current array of policies that send vague and confusing signals to students and schools about what is needed for university admissions and college placement. Based on case studies in three states and a literature review, Kirst and his colleagues have generated recommendations on adjusting‹even overhauling‹the current melange of K-16 education policies. He will review these policies, which indicate how universities can collaborate with K-12 leaders and policymakers to improve policies for enhancing academic preparation, elevating education standards, and indicating for prospective college students what lies ahead.

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MAKING LEARNING MATTER: SHOPPING FOR COLLEGIATE RESULTS

Monday, April 26, 1999

Robert Zemsky and Susan Shamanr
Institute for Research on Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania

There is a general presumption that market forces thwart educational reform by making vocation more important than learning and prestige more sellable than quality. When markets matter, however, the range as well as the quality of products offered is often a function of the consumer's skill as a "knowing shopper." What would happen if higher education's student-consumers both knew better what they were shopping for and had more reliable information on how the graduates of the institutions they were considering fared after college?

A team of NCPI researchers led by Robert Zemsky and Susan Shaman have set out to answer this question. Two years ago, they reported on the first phase of this research, presenting a market taxonomy that made clear how the market‹rather than costs‹determined what tuition colleges and universities charge. Zemsky and Shaman return to present the results of a pilot testing of a "Collegiate Results" instrument that will make possible a genuine Consumer's Guide for higher education. Using data from random samples of 1992 graduates from 15 baccalaureate institutions drawn from across the postsecondary market, Zemsky and Shaman will describe these institutions from a "consumer's point of view," comparing different results‹both academic and economic‹of their undergraduate experiences. Their research raises important questions for institutions seeking to improve the quality of their undergraduate programs and hence their market-competitiveness. Would superior higher education products emerge if prospective students and their families had a better understanding of the likely consequences of attending one institution as opposed to another? Would faculty want to use those results to shape the educational reforms they embrace?

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EXPLORING THE OVERLAPS: ADULT LITERACY AND POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS

Friday, March 12, 1999

Stephen Reder
Portland State University

Although the high school diploma or its equivalent may once have provided reasonable access to secure, well-paying jobs, the current economic environment increasingly demands that youth and adults pursue postsecondary education. However, nearly one in four postsecondary students possesses literacy skills be- low the benchmark designated as a national education goal for adult literacy, and many do not have the read-ing, writing, and math skills needed to succeed in postsecondary programs. To address these needs, both adult basic education programs‹which assist in G.E.D. preparation‹and remedial or developmental education at the postsecondary level attempt to teach students the literacy skills that are necessary for academic success.

In this seminar, Professor Stephen Reder will present the results of his research examining the increasing overlap between the populations of literacy learners in the nationõs adult education and post-secondary systems. To date, there has been little coordination of the efforts of these two basic skills systems. The attendant fragmentation of resources and staff may be inefficient and may discourage adult literacy students without high school diplomas from engaging in the longer, more sustained educational paths that generate both the literacy skills and postsecondary credentials they need for economic advancement.

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