In this three-part article series, senior academic advisor Wayne Clugston provides insights on historical traditions and experiential knowledge needed to make academic innovation relevant both to past and future purposes.

1. education ManageMent consultant answers the Question: what’s
the Big Deal About Christian Higher Education? PART 1
In this three-part article series, senior academic advisor Wayne Clugston provides insights on
historical traditions and experiential knowledge needed to make academic innovation relevant both to
past and future purposes.
Wayne Clugston is a higher education management consultant and a pioneer in developing and delivering curriculum designed for
adult learners. After 18 years of administrative responsibilities on traditional Christian college campuses, including leadership as an
academic dean, he formed an educational services company that developed an “Organizational Management” degree-completion
curriculum and successfully licensed it to more than 60 accredited colleges and universities located in 23 different states. Many of these
clients were faith-based institutions that were poised to address working adults’ educational needs: ready to embrace change.
An entrepreneur, Clugston is co-founder of Bridgepoint Education, Inc., now a public company which owns two regionally accredited
universities serving more than 75,000 students, many completing undergraduate and graduate degree programs online.

2. Question: How do you integrate an institution’s cosmology of faith into textbooks and courses?
Clugston:“In most instructional situations in the Christian university, you accomplish it best by creating an open environment
intentionally designed to stimulate incisive discussion and personal discovery within the framework and tenets of the Christian faith.
Henri Nouwen's observation is worth considering:
"Teaching, from the point of view of a Christian spirituality, means the commitment to provide the fearless space where
questions can be responded to, not by prefabricated answers, but by an articulate encouragement to enter into them seriously
and personally."”
Question:How can a Christian college or university make sure that its online adjunct faculty represent the institution in the same
manner as a full-time faculty member might for the traditional campus student experience?
Clugston:“Using the same hiring criteria for full-time, on-campus faculty and for adjuncts is the soundest approach: it creates
continuity in institutional purpose and collegiality in relationships—factors which support a governance structure that effectively
includes representation by both full-time and adjunct faculty,” says higher education management consultant, Wayne Clugston.
Clugston: “The most effective presidents are individuals who have passionate vision, tenacious focus, and wisdom to creatively blend
strengths of their colleagues, insights from providential perspectives, and constituent participation to build an interdependent
community.”
Question: You have worked with hundreds of Christian college and
university presidents, provosts, and faculty. Tell me the attributes that
you have seen in a president that you admire.
Clugston:“I was most influenced by Christian professors who were
scholarly co-journeyers, models of Christian grace who facilitated
intellectual inquiry and the pursuit of truth—women and men who didn’t
tolerate easy answers.”
Question: Tell me the attributes of the best Christian professor in your
memory?
In his role as senior academic advisor and education management consultant, he provides insights on historical traditions and
experiential knowledge needed to make academic innovation relevant both to past and future purposes. Clugston earned a BA degree
in English from Roberts Wesleyan College and an EdD in Educational Leadership from Seattle University.

3. To read more of higher education management consultant Wayne Clugston’s thoughts, stay tuned for the second installment of this
three-part article series, coming next week.
Stay Tuned for Part 2
Clugston:“It’s all about community building and creating meaningful relationships—things that many Christian universities do well.
In the online environment particularly, supportive one-on-one communication with students is essential. These personal contacts by
student services advisors need to be strategically and frequently made in the days and weeks immediately following enrollment.
Online instructors should be specifically trained to be “encouragers” who are always attentive to opportunities to respond holistically
to student needs.”
Question: We hear so much about retention or persistence. We hear that Christian colleges and universities have a higher graduation
rate than other regionally accredited institutions. What tips can you give the leadership of a Christian college or university with respect
to improving its overall graduation rate?
Contact Significant Systems
To learn more about our education management consulting firm Significant Systems, check out our website. If you have any interest
in pursuing our new model of education for your institution, Contact Us.
Remember, our goal is simple:
 Provide Broader Access
 Lower Tuition and Fees
 Leave your Institution with Less Debt and More Graduates
 Facilitate Education with a Purpose
Looking forward to our possible conversation!
Dr. Michael K. Clifford
Chairman
760.801.5021(My personal cell)
mkc@mclifford.com