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. HigHer education ManageMent consultant answers tHe Question:
wHat’s tHe Big deal aBout cHristian HigHer education? Part 2
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.
Welcome to the second installment of this three-part article series in which we speak to higher education management
consultant, Wayne Clugston on a variety of issues surrounding Christian higher education in the 21st Century. Let’s
continue…
Question: Technology is driving the placement
of all academic materials, student records,
and management of faculty into the Internet
"Cloud." Do you have any thoughts regarding
"anytime anywhere" accessibility to all of
these areas?
Clugston: “Increasingly, we are encountering
university leaders who recognize this
paradigm shift. Mobility and immediate
access to data continue to spiral as personal
values in contemporary culture. It's important
for university leaders to respond, to create
technological access to learning opportunities
that are not time and place bound. Such steps
diminish the distinctions between on-campus (internal) and external learning opportunities,” says education management
consultant, Clugston.
“In the near future, cloud-based learning support services will be the preferred
model--providing single-location access to all data relevant to a learning program,
resources for collaboration, capabilities for digital portfolio development, and
opportunities for immediate learning engagement.”

2. Question: How much does a college degree contribute to a student's life-long well being?
Clugston: “The lifetime earning differential between those who have a bachelor's degree and those who don't is widely
known, and significant. At the same time, the developmental contribution of the bachelor's degree experience is rarely fully
measurable on graduation day. But, the broad knowledge perspective, critical thinking abilities, and communication skills
gained in a bachelor's degree program become strong influencers over time. They constitute an informing vision that enables
individuals to change, to grow, and to continue to learn on a life-long basis.”
Question: We talk about Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 interactivity in online courses and
textbooks. What advantage is there for an institution to invest in a Level 3 interactivity?
Clugston: “Technologically driven interactivity needs to be carefully designed in the online classroom at every level. Level 1
and Level 2 technologies tend to be effective in identifying concepts and in reinforcing memory and knowledge. Level 3
interactions are more comprehensive--designed to stimulate and measure higher level cognitive and affective behavior.
“Questions such as the following should be considered by higher education management
consultants to ensure optimal use of technological widgets at every level:
 How does the interactivity contribute to learning?
 Can its effectiveness be measured?
 Does the interactivity allow exploration of theories or concepts that are central to the course?
 Does manipulation of the technology stimulate creative or critical thinking related to course outcomes?”
Question: What have been some of the objections you have heard from traditional faculty when
you as an education management consultant have been involved in helping an institution launch
online degrees?
Clugston:“Individuals who recognize that the post-traditional learning environment is a reality tend to have concerns, rather
than objections. However, their primary concern is usually not about being displaced; it's about being unprepared to move
into an online instructional modality. Common issues relate to:
(1) Developing course materials in a non-semester format, and
(2) Adopting facilitative methodology to replace their familiar lecture-based
methodology, as a means of motivating and supporting student inquiry.
“When faculty members with classroom teaching experience are orientated to the
principles of learner-centered inquiry and shown how students' data-driven, step-
by-step progress in relation to course learning outcomes can be monitored and
measured, their openness to the online instructional environment usually changes
in positive ways.”

3. Question: What tips would you as a higher education
management consultant give leadership regarding
ongoing management of online faculty whether full
time or adjunct?
Clugston:“A mentoring model has many advantages. All of us who
teach at a university level reflect characteristics of professors we've
known in our undergraduate and undergraduate classroom
experiences. In the same way, an experienced, effective online
mentor and higher education management consultant can be an
inspiration to a colleague who is teaching online for the first time.
Online methodologies are still in their infancy. It is important,
therefore, to arrange Faculty Forums where successes and failures
are discussed and online pedagogy is fine-tuned in a collaborative
community of professional practitioners.
Stay Tuned for Part 3
To read more of higher education management consultant Wayne Clugston’s thoughts, stay tuned for the final installment
of this three-part article series, coming next week.
Contact Significant Systems
To learn more about our education management consulting firmSignificant 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