The United States has entered an era of significant political, social and economic change. As a result, many are reassessing business and personal goals and seeking new ways to thrive.
N.C. Central University Chancellor Charlie Nelms sought to outline what this means for the University and came up with a list of needs and strategies.
"The global landscape has changed," said Nelms, "and we have to change the way we do our business, and that's what we are doing."
On Aug. 16, Nelms discussed his vision in an address to faculty and staff titled "The New Normal in Higher Education."The New Normal, according to Nelms, is defined by:
• Demand for greater accountability regarding student learning, retention, and graduation;
• Shrinking state and federal funding;
• Increasing emphasis on private fundraising;
• Declining public confidence in higher education;
• Growing competition for students, especially from online providers; and
• Entering freshmen who lack academic readiness.
In response, Nelms asserted the University goals of increasing first-to-second year retention rates to 80 percent, ensuring that all University programs are accredited, and securing $7.5 million in private philanthropy money.
Support programs and workload requirements also will be evaluated in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness at all levels of the University, Nelms said.
In an interview with the Campus Echo, Nelms spoke at length about the importance of technology, and the ways in which NCCU is preparing to be competitive with online universities such as the University of Phoenix.
One way is to install smart classrooms. Web services have been under construction, and a slew of Wi-fi hotspots have been installed across campus.
A far cry from posting a syllabus to Blackboard, professors are now able to show YouTube or Vimeo videos, create course-specific blogs, and use Skype to bring guest lecturers to the classroom.
Nelms urges professors to practice with and master concepts that will bridge the technology gap, and to ask, "Are there apps out there, or can we create apps, that will somehow enable the student to be more actively engaged?"
NCCU is also exploring interactive media, to connect to a changing global environment.
"We can link to campuses all around the world. We can literally link with someone in India, Japan, in Africa," Nelms said, smiling broadly as he gestured toward far-off lands.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg. Just think of the social media, and the implications of that technology for the teaching industry."
Competition from online universities is a concern faced by many traditional universities. Nelms, though, is unfazed. He pointed out that NCCU itself is a major provider of online education. Further, he has a holistic view of the trajectory of education.
"Universities of the future will be more hybrid and will employ online, face-to-face, social media, and experiential learning, in order to produce a graduate," he said.
Despite these changes, Nelms says, "We are not going to abandon a set of values that have helped us to thrive over these 100 years."
In this sense, the new and old normal share a goal: "Communicating, collaborating, and responding to each other in a civil and collegial manner."
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