This presentation was provided by Linda Jones of Western New England University, during the NISO event "Changes in Higher Education and The Information Marketplace." The virtual conference took place on June 17, 2020.

1. There is Hope:
A View From the Provost’s Office
Linda E. Jones, Ph.D.
Provost and V.P. for Academic Affairs
Western New England University
NISO Virtual Conference
Changes in Higher Education and the Information Marketplace
June 17, 2020

2. Who and what is Western New England University?
• 4 yr, Private not for profit
• Springfield, MA
• Tuition driven
• Award:
• Bachelors, Masters, Ph.D.
• Doctoral – professional
• Student size: 3780 (2751 UG)
• Student Faculty Ratio: 13:1
• Total faculty: 237 full time (109 PT)
• Carnegie Classification:
• Doctoral/Professional University
Tuition/Fees: $37,990 Total Cost: $55,389 (on
campus)
Discount Rate: 55.1% New England Ave: 58%
Endowment $67M

3. Undergraduate Gender DistributionUndergraduate Attendance Status
Other Defining Characteristics
Residential Campus
Primarily Male Student
Undergraduate Population
IPEDS Data, 2019

4. Undergraduate Distance Education Status Graduate Distance Ed Status
In person and in place educational model
(1919 - March 13, 2020)
Some on-line opportunities at
the undergraduate level
MBA and Ph.D. in Industrial
Engineering On-line
IPEDS, 2019

5. What Happened?
World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus
COVID-19 a Pandemic on March 3, 2020
• March of any academic year is one of the busiest on a campus
• March 10th Board of Trustees Meeting
• March 11th Decision to Return after Spring Break
• March 12th Deep realization …Decision Made…. After 5 hr meeting
• March 13th Campus Closed!
Entirely in person delivery to
an on-line delivery in two weeks

6. ©2020 by EAB. All Rights Reserved. eab.com6
A Lifetime of Management Challenges in a Single Month
What Will Higher Education Look Like on the Other Side?
A Crippling Blow to a Sector
Already on the Verge
Defying Our Typical Crisis
Management Playbooks
1.5M
1.7M
1.9M
2.1M
2.3M
2.5M
2.7M
2.9M
3.1M
3.3M
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
First-TimeEnrollments
Number of first-time enrollments, 1990-20251
Recovery before fall
Nearly 20% of prospective students delay college. HS
dropouts near 1.5M as remote instruction fails to engage
Partial recovery by fall
30% increase in HS dropout rate; one-third of would-be
students delay matriculation by a year or more
No recovery by fall
High school dropouts top 2M in the next year. 500k would-be
freshman delay their plans indefinitely due to the crisis
2
3
4
1
No clear endpoint
“We re no strangers to crisis—but typically those
lasting days or weeks, not months or beyond.”
Every corner of campus
overwhelmed
“Everyone has become a crisis manager,
overnight and without preparation.”
Simultaneous need to balance
response and recovery
“Usually in a crisis you can focus on the now
and put-off the after. We can t afford to do that
given the devastating financial impact.”
Projecting the Impact of Increased High School
Dropouts and Delayed College Plans
Could make or break us
are we ready?
“Disruption is now here. Unprecedented
problems require unprecedented solutions,
and higher ed is steeped in
incrementalism.”
EAB Global Inc.,
“Supporting WNEU…”

7. Responding to COVID – a Provost’s questions
• What do we require of faculty and students in an in person setting
that has been disrupted?
• Access to the Instructor - Engagement
• Resources
• What challenges are students and faculty facing?
• Availability of tools/technologies
• Evaluations of instructor effectiveness
• Use and access to laboratories
• Are we meeting student needs outside of their virtual classroom?
• Support services – mental health counseling,
academic advising , disability services, financial aid
• Are the faculty supported?
• Do they know how to use on-line technologies

8. Spectrum of Considerations and Decisions to be made…..
• Health and Well-being Decisions
• Protocols for safety on Campus
• Faculty and Staff work from home..if possible
• Strategic and Organizational Decisions
• CARES Act – use of Federal Relief Dollars
• Immediate cost cutting
• Undergraduate Recruitment
• Virtual Student Open Houses
• Student Success
• Concerns for Disadvantages Students,
• Re-enroll current students,
• ensure course completion rates
• Academic Affairs
• Management of Academic Affairs
• Predictions:
• Decrease in First Year enrollment by 20%
• Fall 2020 - Total 650
• Decrease in Returning students by 100 -150
• Faculty Needs
• Laptops, Document Camera, Headsets
• Education –
• Zoom
• On-Line Course Management (Kodiak)
• Lecture Capture (Echo 360)
• Student Needs
• Computers
• Internet Access
In managing the crisis there are literally hundreds of decisions and actions to prioritize
Not sure where we will end up.

9. Decisions regarding Students and Faculty: - March – May 2020
• Spring break extended 2 wks
• Change business practices
• Closing of Exercise facilities
• Change campus mail delivery
• Revised domestic travel
• Attendance and work requirements
• Counseling services
• Testing and Health Services Guidelines
• HR and at risk employees
• Library Services – access
• Student emergency loans – computers
• Procards on hold
• On-line academic support – writing/math centers/tutors
• Students remaining on campus
• Dining Services and hours
• Spring Gradings – CR/NC
• Room Board and Meal Plan Refunds
• Furlough policy
• COVID – 19 Testing at Health Services
• School of Law Grading Policy
• 11 week Graduate Grading Policy
• Changing of tenure and promotion tiemlines
• Change of faculty evaluations for Spring 2020
• Commencement canceled
• College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Grading Policy
• Incomplete Grades
• Fall 2020 Opening Decision
• Modification of Fall 2020 Course capacities and elimination
low enrollment courses
Engage governance structure in decision making

10. ©2020 by EAB. All Rights Reserved. eab.com
19Historical Data Surfaces Consolidation Opportunities
Example from Agricultural Sciences Department at a Large Public University
22 24
34 35
40
32
2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Tenured On Track Not Tenured
Headcount of Teaching Instructors
Fall Terms
3.6
3.5
3.0
3.4
2.0
1.0
2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Median Sections Taught
Fall Terms, Tenured Only
• The number of non-tenured instructors has increased from 22 to 32 in past five years, while
Tenured/Tenure-track have remained stable.
• Over that same period, Tenured faculty course loads have drop from 3.6 to 1 section taught in
the fall term, likely driving the increased reliance on non-tenured instructors.
• Recommended Action: Balance course loads across full-time faculty to reduce adjunct spend.
Opportunity to remedy curricular inefficiencies
Data Informed Decision Making
• Reduce the number of contingency
Faculty
• Implemented annual program review
Metrics
EAB Global Inc, 2020

11. What we know now……Fall Enrollment
Undergraduate Enrollment target: 800
Deposited 6/1/2020: 793
Students want to return to Campus
Planning to have students return to Campus –
August 2020…. Working on the how to do this….
Will the 2020 admits show up when we open?
Hoping our models hold
Discount rate will shift up….slightly

12. What we have learned….Students
61% of Students - Learned
significantly less in the remote
environment
71% of Faculty surveyed taught as
well or better than they did in person
We have a disconnect
Faculty Development is clearly
needed to address the remote
environment

13. • FACULTY TECHNOLOGY TRAINING
• FACULTY-LED WORKSHOPS ON THE PRACTICE OF
TEACHING
INSTRUCTOR PRESENCE
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS/BUILDING A SENSE OF
COMMUNITY AMONG STUDENTS
MULTIPLE MODALITIES OF INSTRUCTION
FERPA, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, TITLE IX
ASSESSMENT, FEEDBACK, & GRADING STANDARDS IN AN ONLINE
ENVIRONMENT
HYBRID CLASS DESIGN
SYLLABUS DESIGN FOR ONLINE COURSES

14. Student access to technology does exist
It just isn’t as large a problem as originally thought
3% Limited Access to Hardware 7% Limited Access to the Internet

15. Mean of the Ability of Students
to Review
Presentations/Lectures
Multiple times
F(Each of the Colleges
5 (Stongly Agree)
Student Survey Regarding On-line Learning
5
4
In all disciplines, students valued reviewing materials multiple times

16. What does the future look like?
• Personalized Learning -- Individualized Learning
• Technology has the advantage of presenting material in multiple formats
• Video, text, notes, drawings, audio
• Power of reviewing materials multiple times
• Learning is Paced giving the student time to advance when they are ready
• Increased Access to Learning - Flexibility
• Zoom meeting attendance way up….
• Virtual Office Hours
• Chat function gives voice to students
• Workshops and Conferences at a distance

17. Thoughts from the faculty -
• Relationships with Students is critical in this
environment
• Faculty realized the need for flexability by
relaxing deadlines and focused on learning
objectives
• COVID has led to a deeper compassion for
students and their circumstances….
Deadlines relaxed to provide additional time…
• Consistency and Clarity are needed
• Communications
• Structure of the learning environment
• Zoom will stick because it lends itself to the
sharing of information and discussion….goes
way beyond an email note
• All planned classroom activity is now viewed
with the question…
Will this work on-line?
• Student’s value for the in-person
connections/learning has grown

18. COVID is a massive disruption that opened the door
to personalized learning.
We are redesigning our pedagogy (with tools and
technology in place) to now allow students the
opportunity to learn at a pace that makes sense for
the student –
The hope is that we we are in the midst of designing
and building a new foundation on which to grow … a
more humane educational experience in which all
students have the opportunity to gain confidence
and foster their broad curiosity
LE Jones, 2020