There are many alternative facts I choose to believe in my personal life; for instance, the salad I eat for dinner cancels out the cheesesteak I had for lunch; or the sale is so good I can’t afford not to buy a singing Margaritaville machine; or I’m completely up for going to a bar instead of sitting at home reading in my pajamas.
It seems that we all have these alternative facts we tell ourselves instead of the truth, and higher education is no different. No matter how many times research reports, educator testimonials, or student performance metrics reveal seemingly undeniable truths, antiquated practices or beliefs about how higher education should operate are still used frequently thanks to the citation of these alternative facts.
The editors at eCampous News quickly brainstormed what we believe are higher education’s alternative facts that exist today, but we’d love to hear your suggestions! Make sure you leave your comments in the section below.
Alternative Fact 1: The nontraditional student is not a concern for every institution.
Maybe for community colleges this is an issue, but for ivy league schools and traditional institutions, traditional students are the norm. Therefore, nothing needs to change in terms of student services or alternative learning pathways.
Real Fact: The nontraditional student is the norm, now.
According to recent national data, characteristics formerly associated with nontraditional students are the characteristics the majority of students have today. Blended learning, online learning, accelerated programs and nontraditional degree pathways should be options considered by any institution looking to better serve students today.
Alternative Fact 2: Having institutional data is enough.
Many institutions, especially R1 universities, have been collecting data for years now; and this data is primed and ready to be used for decision-making.
Real Fact: Just having data does not mean it will yield any improvements.
Colleges and universities are quickly coming to realize that even sophisticated analytics dashboards don’t truly help unless leadership knows the questions to ask of this data. Read more about this topic here.
(Next page: Education’s alternative facts 3-5)
Alternative Fact 3: Learning gets better with technology.
How many times have we heard from tech evangelists and vendors that technology is the solve-all to today’s pressing education challenges?
Real Fact: Learning gets better with personalized, innovative teaching practices.
True progress in education comes not from the latest gizmo, but from practices that think outside the box in terms of helping each individual student. If technology helps support those practices, great! If not, there’s no need to use it.
Alternative Fact 4: The more programs offered, the better, especially nationally
The best way to attract the most students and boost funding is by offering as many diversified services and degree programs as possible, for as many diverse student populations as possible, across the country.
Real Fact: Start small and diversify only if successful and if needed.
Institutions should only consider program diversification and alternative pathways on a national scale if A) These programs and pathways align with institutional missions, and B) they have vetted these alternatives and found success on a small scale—campus-wide or state-wide—that can be scaled up for effective results.
Alternative Fact 5: Every student wants to learn with devices.
With the abundance of cell phone and tablets used by students in their daily lives, it seems like they’d want to learn on them.
Real Fact: Not all students find learning via devices or digital resources to be the best option. For instance, even students living by Silicon Valley don’t all want to learn via an iPad: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/01/12/ipads-ignite-furor-schools/
- 25 education trends for 2018 - January 1, 2018
- IT #1: 6 essential technologies on the higher ed horizon - December 27, 2017
- #3: 3 big ways today’s college students are different from just a decade ago - December 27, 2017