The document summarizes a discussion about the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for successful online leadership positions in higher education. It identifies common roles for these leaders, including vision/leadership, entrepreneurship, fiscal management, and instructional design. Barriers discussed include resistance to change from institutions and a lack of integration for online/continuing education leaders. Advice from colleagues includes gaining experience at different institutions, self-promotion, publishing, and networking to advance careers.

2. A Firefighter, a Juggler, and a Diplomat Walk into a Bar:
Identifying Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes
for Successful Online Leadership
Greg Ketcham
Twitter: Greg_Ketcham

3. Introduction/Goals
Using a sampling of online learning leadership job
postings, personal observation and commentary
from colleagues, we’ll discuss KSA for these positions
and strategize together how to align ourselves for
these opportunities.

4. Why are we interested?
Emerging trends and patterns
• COLO/CLO
• CHLOE reports
• CORAL collaborative inquiry
Personal/professional advancement goals
Upward mobility to avoid job burnout
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-01-27-the-emerging-story-of-burnout-in-educational-design

5. Convener’s Bio
Assistant Dean, Division of Extended Learning
• early career: television production
and information technology
• 15 years progressive responsibility
• MS. Instructional Design
• pursuing PhD. Learning Science,
U. Buffalo

6. Contributing Voices

7. Whitney Kilgore
Chief Academic Officer, iDesign
• early career: K-12 instructor
• Transitioned to instructional technology specialist
• Recruited into SunGuard HE
• Former Vice President, Academic Services,
Academic Partnerships
• MS, C&I, TAMU Corpus Christi
• Ph.D, Learning Technologies, U. of North Texas

8. Clark Shah-Nelson
Assistant Dean, Instructional Design and Technology
• Early career: K-12 instructor, German & Social Studies
• Moved into tele-lecturing (TV)
• Actor/musician
• Transitioned to higher ed faculty development after
completing MS.
• Positions held at SUNY Delhi, Johns Hopkins, and
currently with U Maryland School of Social Work
• MA, Instructional Technology, UC Denver
• Pursuing Doctorate in Business Management (DBA),
U Maryland Global Campus

9. Christine Shakespeare
Assistant Vice President of Continuing
and Professional Education, Pace University
• Early career: legislative liaison and development
• Adjunct experience at CUNY and NYU
• Higher ed consultant, Ford Foundation
• Former Dean of Academic Affairs, Sunbridge College
• Former VP Program Strategy 2U
• Currently seeking/exploring senior administrative
leadership roles
M.Ed., Educational Consulting, U. San Diego
• Ph.D, Higher Ed Administration, NYU

10. Methodology
• Convenience sample of job postings from
higheredjobs and chronicle vitae, collected over 6
months
• Selection bias acknowledged-results focused on
personal career path goals
• Potential for non-representative sampling due to
sample size

11. Distribution by Sector
College Classification Count
public research university 10
private research university 5
community college 3
public four year college 2
private four year college 2
private Jesuit university 1
private medical university 1

12. Job Titles
Title (Simplified) Count
Vice President/Asst Vice President 4
Vice Provost/Associate Provost 4
Dean 2
Associate Dean/Asst Dean 2
Executive Director/Director 12

13. Reporting Structure
Adminstrative Level Count
President 2
(CAO)Provost/SVP/VC/Academic Affairs 9
Assoc/Vice President/Provost/Chancellor 8
Dean 5

14. Title/Reporting Structure Mesh
• No clear correlation between job title and
reporting structure!
• Extreme variability

15. Degree requirements
• Masters: 83%
• Doctoral: 16%
* one unspecified

16. Job roles and duties
• Vision and Leadership
• Entrepeneurship
• Fiscal Management
• Enrollment Management
• Communications
• Operations
• Student Success
• Instructional Technology
• Personnel
• Assessment/Evaluation
• Marketing
• Instructional Design
• Adult Learning
• College Culture

17. Unpacking: vision/leadership
Vision and Leadership:
• develops an overarching vision
• strategic planning skills to effect change in a multi-cultural
environment
• goal setting
• develops plans for continuous improvement of the
colleges’ and campuses’ digital learning initiatives
• deep familiarity with the competitive landscape of online
education

18. Unpacking: entrepeneurship
Entrepeneurship
•develops collaborative projects with business, external
agencies, and/ or educational institutions locally, nationally,
and internationally
•Initiates grant applications and proposals; develops
strategies to aggressively pursue funding
•Serve as initial consult for articulation agreements

19. Unpacking: fiscal/enrollment mgt
Fiscal management
• budget development and implementation
Enrollment management
• leads recruitment efforts
• evaluate and implement strategies to ensure growth of
programs
• coordinate with Admissions to manage enrollment
strategies

20. Unpacking: communication
Communication
• build and maintain collaborative relationships between academic and
administrative units on campus
• participates in mediating faculty and student issues, grievances and
appeals
• applies problem resolution strategies
• demonstrates civility and professional, customer-service oriented
behavior, worthy of emulation by other staff and students

21. Unpacking: operations
Operations
• university representative/liaison for external vendors and
organizations
• development and implementation of university-wide policy regarding
online course ownership, compensation, and other relevant details.
• address accessibility needs to meet compliance regulations related to
online instruction
• Assists faculty in compliance with copyright and other laws
concerning intellectual property.
• develops plans for continuous improvement
• coordinate class schedules

22. Unpacking: IT/ID
Instructional Technology
• ensure the effective operation of the technology components
• recommend technological improvements
• evaluate and communicate the technology needs and requirements
to support online programming
Instructional Design
• promote online teaching excellence
• ensure the consistency, quality and standardization of online and
hybrid learning
• delivers faculty development and training

23. Unpacking: student success
Student Success
• fosters a culture of student success and social mobility
• support student retention
• determine the source of learning deficits amongst the
online program's student's population and works to
create solutions

24. Unpacking: Assessment/Evaluation
Assessment/Evaluation
• ensures compliance of the instructional components of
distance education with state accrediting agencies
• facilitate all accreditation activities for online and distance
education, and elements of the university's
reaccreditation
• energize the assessment of current and new online
programs

25. Unpacking: college culture
College Culture
• Perform all duties and maintain all standards in
accordance with college policies, procedures and core
values
• Provides direction to distance education policies and
procedures that ensures quality online education and
meeting of accreditation standards
• Responsible for contributing to the college strategic plan

26. Required KSA
• Higher Ed experience (administrative)
• Previous teaching experience (online)
• experience in developing and delivering distance education programs
• Supervisory experience
• Communication skills –professional/executive
• Project management, data analysis and research
• Budget planning
• Proficiency with quality assurance rubrics (QM)
• Broad knowledge of learning delivery systems and experience with
learning management systems

27. Other thoughts, other voices
Selected thoughts from our colleagues
about moving to the next level…

28. Let’s talk about barriers
“When I talk to people in online, we’ve all been
struggling with the same things: resistance, a lack of
willingness to help go to the next level (whatever
that level is for an institution)”.
Changing our roles “might mean a greater
investment, or culturally they just don’t have the
appetite. “

29. Let’s talk about barriers
“In most of our cases we are not broadly integrated
into the institution. In a strategic plan (continuing
education) may be an afterthought, or it becomes a
function, and not an institutional commitment
where online and continuing ed is woven in.
I think we get typecast in our own institution as
we’re over there –we’re sidelined.”

30. Let’s talk about barriers
“Even though in some ways we (online/CE
professionals) are the most versatile leaders
because we understand how to get things done
within all the different (university) functions…
how many presidents can you get like that?”

31. It’s not you, it’s me…
“I know they’re looking for vision that is
complementary to the institution’s vision…
the ability to articulate a vision that people can get
excited about. But it can’t be too scary…it has to be
within the culture of the organization.”

32. It’s not you, it’s me…
“One of the things that would be a dream as a
leader, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to interview
our prospective new employer and ask them about
their strategy and vision? And to ask about the
college’s appetite for risk?”

33. It’s not you, it’s me…
“You may think (the institution is risk tolerant), but
ask them questions about how they tolerate failure.
They may think they’re risk tolerant, but the failure
piece could be a key giveaway.”

34. What’s your next move?
“If you want to advance in your career,
you may have to stop working for the people
you’re working for today.”

35. What’s your next move?
“Instead of trying to climb a ladder inside the ladder
itself, it’s taking the escalator and making your
moves – traversing across different institutions and
types. That kind of career path affords you some
breadth of understanding of the market as a whole.”

36. What can you do?
“To get to the next level is what I’m struggling with”
• Self-promotion
• Publishing
• Networking #squadgoalsnetwork
• Social media connections
• Experiment with new things outside the
workspace (MOOCS, etc.)

37. A new paradigm?
“Is there a need for a leadership program
to learn how to network
with the next level above us?
We need to be able to network up.”

38. finis
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Continue the conversation:
Greg_Ketcham
THANK YOU!