This article aims to reexamine conclusions drawn by recent analyses of the literature on concept mapping as an educational tool by considering the wider literature on curriculum development. This is with the aim of enhancing the application of concept mapping to higher education. As part of an iterative review process, issues raised by previous…

This quantitative study, which involved development of a Value Creation Survey, examined the perceived value of leadership development programs (LDPs) provided by continuing higher education for administrators in colleges and universities. Participants were administrators at Association for Continuing Higher Education (ACHE) member institutions.…

The Self-Paced Online Tutorial (SPOT) represents the best kind of innovation because it uses digital technologies wisely and because it is based on well-established theory, research, and practice. Extended education plays a pivotal role in the attainment of the California State University's (CSU) vision of providing a high-quality,…

In this article, the authors report that, as the importance of competency-based learning (CBL) in higher education discourse surges, it not only further validates prior learning assessment (PLA), but it demonstrates PLA's essential nature as an important framework for assessing learning that has been acquired outside of traditional academia.…

The historically distinct fields of adult and higher education are converging in a dramatic demographic shift from undergraduate classrooms occupied primarily by traditional-age college students to ever-increasing numbers of adults within baccalaureate programs. This study found that while higher education faculty acknowledged that adult students…

As the number of online degree programs continues to grow among higher education institutions in the United States, engaging online adult learners to online degree programs is getting more difficult than before. Therefore, this study, situated in a land grant university, investigated the motivational factors that contribute to adult learners'…

This qualitative case study examined the experiences of instructional designers and professors during the online course development process. The purpose of this study was to determine if their experiences had an effect on the process itself. Data analysis revealed five emergent themes: communication, commitment to quality online courses,…

There are many types of student portfolios used within academia: the prior learning portfolio, credentialing portfolio, developmental portfolio, capstone portfolio, individual course portfolio, and the comprehensive education portfolio. The comprehensive education portfolio (CEP), as used by the authors, is a student portfolio, developed over…

While a range of research has been done on hybrid learning and online discussions, few studies have examined the voice of students in regard to their perceptions of these types of learning experiences. This article presents current research findings gathered from part-time graduate students enrolled in a hybrid course. The students' perceptions…

The heart of prior learning assessment (PLA) is the quality and validity of the academic evaluation process itself. Institutions providing PLA opportunities are faced with issues of accountability from all constituents: students, faculty, state systems, and accrediting agencies. Increasingly, institutions are more and more accepting of different…

An internal assessment was conducted utilizing a sociotechnical systems approach and cultural lens as a means of exploring the dynamics of a blended doctoral program. Blended learning environments were conceived of as sociotechnical systems, and blended programs were defined as programs that utilize multimodal means for the mediation of…

Adjunct faculty make up a large contingent of faculty teaching in today's colleges and universities. In fact, the use of adjunct faculty allows these institutions to fulfill their educational missions. Much is written in the popular press and in periodicals dedicated to higher education about adjunct faculty. While some of this is accurate, a…

As institutions seek to promote student engagement, the National Survey of Student Engagement has become a measure commonly used to document how institutions are meeting educational goals, but there is some question as to its applicability for certain undergraduate populations. 2010 survey results were analyzed for 125 adult and 69 traditional-age…

After so many years of invisibility, adult students in higher education have finally begun to come into their own. As a newly discovered marketing niche, adults are seen by budget-driven college administrators as important financial plums. As vocal advocates for their own needs, they have made the issue of access a legitimate consideration in the…

Education practices focused on adult learners, such as prior learning assessment (PLA), are becoming more established in the United States. Initially, PLA was developed to provide greater access to higher education for World War II veterans and later for adult learners more generally as a way to balance the concentrated efforts most colleges and…