The American Council on Education (ACE), the nation’s leading higher education association and InsideTrack, an organization dedicated to improving outcomes in higher education, today announced that they have formed a research collaboration to study the strategic decision making of colleges and universities involved in massive open online courses (MOOCs). The project is designed to support institutional leaders considering the development of MOOCs in conducting a strategic evaluation of their options by arming them with insights gathered from current MOOC-delivering institutions.
“MOOCs have done much to capture our attention and curiosity and have fostered a great deal of positive discussion and debate,” said Cathy Sandeen, vice president of education attainment and innovation at ACE. “ACE and InsideTrack are pleased to be able to contribute to the conversation from an evidence-based perspective.”
ACE is involved in a number of efforts to help the higher education community understand more about MOOCs and the ways in which they are being integrated within traditional institutions. InsideTrack regularly advises institutional leaders on ways to improve student access and success.
“To MOOC or not to MOOC is a question many institutional leaders are asking right now,” said Dave Jarrat, Vice President of Marketing at InsideTrack. “Our goal is to support them in making more informed decisions by arming them with insights gathered from peers who have already travelled the MOOC road.”
The joint study will involve phone conversations and surveys of senior administrators and faculty members responsible for deploying MOOCs at their respective institutions. A preliminary report is scheduled for release in September, 2013.
About ACE
Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation’s higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.
About InsideTrack
InsideTrack works with colleges and universities to improve student and institutional success. Our one-on-one student coaching, process expertise, analytics and technology have been proven to increase graduation rates by an average of 15 percent and enhance the student experience. Since 2001, we’ve partnered with a broad range of universities to drive continuous improvement, including Penn State University, University of Dayton, Arizona State University, and Columbia University. For additional information, please visit: www.insidetrack.com.