A nationally known expert on higher education challenged Northern Arizona University to rethink established procedures to achieve the state\u2019s and nation\u2019s goals for an educated populace.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusiness as usual has to be changed or we can give up on the American Dream of higher education,\u201d said Dennis Jones, president of the\u00a0National Center for Higher Education Management Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking before nearly 200 people on Monday at the High Country Conference Center, Jones explained that changing business as usual means increasing the number of degrees while maintaining\u2014or lowering\u2014costs and keeping quality the same or better. \u201cYou have to be more productive, because you can\u2019t shift the financial burden onto the backs of students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The state, the federal government and the students themselves have rising expectation of universities, yet the current financial situation will not be getting better soon, and competition for students will continue to increase. But Northern Arizona University still can thrive, he said.<\/p>\n Jones offered several suggestions for taking the initial steps, some of which NAU already has embarked upon.<\/p>\n He suggested that higher education offer \u201cno-frills\u201d institutions. \u201cYour ventures in Prescott Valley and Yuma are closer to responding to this than anything else in the state,\u201d he said. Jones also suggested that NAU ensure collaboration more so with community colleges than with its sister universities.<\/p>\n Reengineer support and administrative functions that would keep student needs and university goals in mind. \u201cWe need to create a cost-effective size and keep students in the system,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time we may want to spend as much time \u2018recruiting\u2019 our current freshman class as we do recruiting high school students in Phoenix.\u201d<\/p>\n Support and administrative functions cannot be changed without a reengineered curriculum. \u201cToo many choices are the enemy of student success,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to create a clear path to a degree, and advising has to be part of the curriculum.\u201d\u00a0 At the same time he suggested minimizing \u201cdrops\u201d to improve rates of course completion.<\/p>\n Reducing course options leads to accelerated learning and \u201cclears a path to the end point.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones said he believes that requiring students to earn 120 units for a bachelor\u2019s is a suitable goal, but questions the route students are allowed to take to get there. \u201cI think 120 units is fine, but how many do they take to earn 120? 140? More?\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0webcast<\/a><\/span>\u00a0of the event will be available in the near future.\u00a0View photos from the event\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"