University Business - October 2012 - (Page 18)

Behind the news Grading Trends Get Attention An infographic by OnlineColleges.net analyzes today’s students’ study habits, as well as grade inflation, to suggest that college grading may be getting easier. Whatever the case, grading methods have certainly changed over the years. James Wollack, director of University of Wisconsin-Madison testing and evaluation services and an expert in educational measurement, says grading used to be dominated by test scores: fail a final and you’d flunk the course. “Now exams are certainly a component, but there are other aspects as well, other types of assessments, and it may be that that sort of comprehensive framework better allows students to demonstrate what it is they know,” he says. “It could simply be pressures to keep people in classes depending on the program. There’s a whole gamut of possibilities.” The infographic (which can be viewed at www.universitybusiness. com/blog/inflation) points out that students spend 50 percent less time studying today than they did in the 1960s, that 73 percent of grades awarded at public colleges and 86 percent at private colleges are now As and Bs, and that students who studied less than five hours per week still manage a collective GPA of 3.16. One example of unconventional grading comes out of Florida State University, where Todd Bacile, marketing professor, introduced The Klout Challenge, a classroom project created for his undergraduate electronic marketing course. The challenge utilizes the web service Klout, which assigns a number between one and 100 to determine a person or organization’s social media influence. Bacile’s approach has gained mixed reviews from the media and the higher ed community. Wollack says it’s not unreasonable to assess students on their ability to use tools common in their chosen field. “All of us, no matter what our field is, need to be able to use the tools available to us intelligently and to our advantage, and if we can do that, that makes us more marketable and better employees and better at our jobs.” The bridging of grading and new technology has recently raised concern at Harvard as well, where officials are investigating allegations that more than 100 students may have shared answers for a take-home exam last semester. —Kristen Domonell U Polytech Renaissance: The Rise of the Polytechnic University As education leaders and policymakers debate how best to reengineer the university learning experience, we take pause to recognize the quiet renaissance occurring at institutions where the captains of engineering innovation are educated in the new global economy. What would Galileo think about Google Earth? Would Michelangelo’s art have different hues of the pallet which digital animation offers today? Imagine Shakespeare downloading his plays on his iPad. The tools may be different in this modernized world, but the need for rapid development of discovery research has become the new imperative of planet earth. Fast forward to 2012. Scientific innovation and workforce development are hot-button topics in the debate on how best to rejuvenate the U.S. economy. At some of the best polytechnic universities, professors are likely to be scholar practitioners in their field of choice. Founded in 1794, École Polytechnique in France arose with Napoleon’s blessing—gaining military status “for the fatherland, science and the glory.” Hubris aside, Napoleon’s declaration reminds us that academically rigorous polytechnic universities strengthen a nation’s security and, importantly, provide a practical vision for future economic prosperity. In the U.S., emergent polytechnic models abound—schools like California Polytechnic State University, University of Wisconsin18 | October 2012 Future Shock Stout, Florida Polytechnic University, Vermont Technical College, and State University of New York Institute of Technology. SUNY Institute of Technology emphasizes nanotech, biotech, and info-technologies. President Wolf Yeigh reflects on the success of SUNYIT alumni: “Teaching and the pursuit of new knowledge in technology-rich disciplines are our hallmarks. SUNYIT prepares professionals essential to the economic competitiveness of New York. Just as the 19th century’s Normal Schools became liberal arts colleges, technical institutes evolved into institutes of technology. SUNYIT’s unique history as a technical institute paved the way for its emergence as a polytechnic institution.” Hopefully, public higher education leaders and policymakers will promote the future growth and development of polytechnics, so that tomorrow’s graduates are equipped with the scientific skills and the technical knowledge required for success in the 21st century. —James Martin and James E. Samels, Future Shock columnists, are authors of The Sustainable University (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012). Martin is a professor of English at Mount Ida College (Mass.) and Samels is president and CEO of The Education Alliance. MOre Online @ www.universitybusiness.com universitybusiness.com http://www.OnlineColleges.net http://www.universitybusiness.com/blog/inflation http://www.universitybusiness.com/blog/inflation http://www.universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - October 2012

University Business - October 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Venue 365
Not Your Parents’ Campus Bookstore
CRM Grows Up
Where the Workers Are
The Payment Plan
Education Innovators
Money Matters
What's New
End Note

University Business - October 2012