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K-State Today

March 7, 2019

Global Campus restructures to support enrollment growth, student and faculty support

Submitted by Grant Guggisberg

As the fourth campus of Kansas State University, Global Campus shares the responsibility for the university's enrollment growth. According to a 2018 Babson report, 31.6 percent of students take at least one online course and nearly 15 percent of students — more than 3 million — nationwide study completely online, with that number projected to grow to 4 million students by 2020. The need to continue to build online options at K-State is stronger than ever.

Global Campus has completed two external reviews by administrators of peer online and continuing education units to evaluate current structure and receive feedback on positioning for future growth. Both review teams noted necessary changes to ensure that K-State would continue to be a leader in the online arena. This, coupled with observations and recommendations made during the recent enrollment management reviews by Huron and a campuswide vision for enhanced program development and teaching innovation resources, has resulted in a reorganization within Global Campus.

We are unbundling several positions to allow greater focus in specialized areas, especially in program development, faculty support and development opportunities, and student recruitment and retention. In addition, processes are being reviewed with an eye toward efficiency and scalability. With this restructuring, Global Campus will be positioned to fully contribute to and support enrollment growth for the university.

Our updated Contact K-State Global Campus page features updated contact information for students, instructors and partners. A high-level graphic of the new structure and leadership can be found on our website. Services offered in the past will continue and staff are committed to a seamless transition.

Key components of the updated structure are outlined below.

Academic Incubation and Innovation

This unit will focus on academic incubation and innovation. The concept for this unit was developed out of a recommendation by the Huron group and in collaboration with Gary Pratt, chief information officer, and Lori Goetsch, dean of the libraries. This unit focuses on program development and maintenance, instructional design, innovation in teaching methods and course quality efforts. A collaborative space for development of innovative teaching strategies and delivery methods will be housed in 131 Global Campus. Program development funds will continue to be made available. A search continues for the associate dean for academic incubation and innovation and the unit is led by Dean Karen Pedersen in the interim.

Marketing and Recruitment

Working closely with university offices, the marketing and recruitment units develop and implement communication strategies targeted to potential online learners. The marketing unit is developing a stronger emphasis on digital marketing to reach today's learner while the dedicated recruitment center has expanded high-touch recruiting efforts through direct contact and follow-up with students who have indicated interest in K-State online programs.

Student Success and Advising

This unit continues its focus on providing resources and communication to aid in online student success. Advisors are trained in guiding online students and practice a proactive approach to retention. Proctored testing services for online courses offered through Global Campus are still available.

Community Outreach

Both Conference Management Services — formerly Conferences and Noncredit Programs — and UFM Community Learning Center will operate under the community outreach umbrella and will continue to develop and coordinate noncredit opportunities and conferences. Conference Management Services will continue to support the conference coordination needs of the university as well as some external organizations. UFM will also continue to work with the colleges of Agriculture, Human Ecology, and Arts and Sciences to coordinate recreational credit courses.

Centralized Support Units

Several units provide centralized services within Global Campus to support operations and the work of the campus. Strategy, Information Systems and Operations manages data and reporting as well as credit course strategy and management. Noncredit registration services have also moved to this unit to provide a central hub for participant registration. Financial and Administrative Operations continues to provide business support to Global Campus and handles the operational functions of the building and services. A centralized administrative support team assists each unit.

Student, faculty, staff and client support are the number one priority and we look forward to providing an enhanced experience for all constituents.

Questions can be directed to the Global Campus dean's office at 785-532-5644.