Multiple Generations

Terry Calaway noted that more “non-traditional” students are coming back to school. “We are seeing three or four generations studying together in the same classroom,” Calaway noted, and asked if his colleagues were seeing the same.

“We are seeing it to a certain extent,” said Cindy Miller. As a consequence, when Columbia does outreach, it does so in e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, and other more traditional means to get students the information they need while maintaining Columbia’s traditions and culture.

Tom Burke cited a case back when he was teaching history in Virginia in the 1970s. In one class, among all the 20 year-olds, was an 86 year-old woman. When the curriculum shifted to the Spanish American war, the woman fascinated her fellow students with personal reminisces about the same. Said Burke in the way of summary, “I think inter-generational classes can truly enhance the educational experience for all.”

In MBA courses, Al Hawkins is seeing a mix of seasoned managers with real-world experience and fresh-out-of-college MBAs, who bring an equally fresh perspective. “It’s a nice synergy,” he said.

“If you are past 25,” said Michael Droge, “you are the new norm; 18, and you are in the minority.”

1: Terry Calaway, president of Johnson County Community College, discusses the many changes taking place in today's classroom, | 2: Edwin Robinson, president of MidAmerica Nazarene University if Olathe, weighs in on the changes occuring within his university. | 3: Michael Droge, Park University's president, discusses the Parkville college's strategies for adapting to the changing nature of the student body.

The New Normal

Terry Calaway described a paradoxical campus environment, common now just about everywhere, marked by budget cuts, often severe, and enrollment growth, often impressive. He asked whether this scenario had become the “new normal.”

Sally Winship, JCCC’s vice president for Workforce, Community and Economic Development, “cited governance and local control” as perennial challenges in establishing priorities.

Brad Hodson, vice president of advancement at Pittsburg State University, addressed a fourth year of record enrollment at the same time as a decrease in state support. “We are trying to figure out how much we can raise tuition without pricing ourselves out of the market.”

“I think the new normal is going to involve heavy price competition, the likes of which we have never seen,” said Kevin Eichner. “Among institutions for students, the tuition bubble is about to burst.”

Gordon Mapley has been involved in higher ed since 1975, and very few times has he experienced ample resources. “We have had to be creative. We’ve had to look at priorities, weigh our options, try new ways to bring in revenue and make tough choices about where we spend our money,” he noted, adding, “Things are tough now, but they where tough 10-20 years ago, so I see it as more of the same.”

In explaining the rapid increase in administrative costs, Calaway cited increased accountability at the state and federal level. “Some is just bean-counting,” he noted, “but some of it has to do with the movement around quality and outcomes rather than inputs.”

Mapley spoke to the increased number of reports, more institutional research, and more assessment. “I look at the people I’ve had to hire over the years,” he said, “and it’s not on the academic side of the house. It has been on the financial and record-keeping side.”

One additional reason tuition has increased, at least for state universities, has been the relative decrease in state support. Said Gail Hackett, “I don’t think this is something we have to sit back and let happen.”