News Releases
New Web site launches that compares degree programs and outcomes of adult serving colleges and universities
Transparency by Design, a consortium of adult higher education providers, developed the site that for the first time provides detailed, program-specific information for prospective adult students
MINNEAPOLIS, August 4, 2009 - A new Web site called College Choices for Adults (www.collegechoicesforadults.org) will for the first time enable prospective adult college students to compare degree programs and learning outcomes at colleges and universities that focus on serving adult students. Visitors will be able to compare and contrast learning outcomes for specific degree programs, reports of student satisfaction/engagement, feedback from program graduates as well as institutional information and student demographics. A focus on degree programs allows greater specificity on expected learning outcomes and the assessment systems used to evaluate and verify learning actually occurred. The Web site is part of the Transparency by Design initiative, a coalition of regionally accredited, adult-serving higher educational institutions committed to providing detailed information and results on the expected educational outcomes of the programs they offer, the success of students in achieving those outcomes, and the accomplishments of program graduates. Capella University (www.capella.edu), an accredited*, fully online university that has built its reputation by providing quality education for working adults, has helped lead the groundbreaking initiative to provide prospective adult students with the data they need to make informed choices about which programs will best meet their educational and career goals.
Capella has also launched its own Web site, Capella Learning & Career Outcomes (www.capellaresults.com), which provides much more comprehensive, in-depth data and results of the online university's programs, particularly learning outcomes. It also describes the ways Capella measures learning and its commitment to using this data for continuous quality improvement.
The Transparency by Design initiative has been spearheaded by Dr. Michael Offerman, Capella's vice chairman of external university initiatives. Kim Pearce, Capella's director of assessment and institutional research, has lead the initiative's working group, which developed the template that participating institutions use to track and report results. The participating institutions range from community colleges to universities such as Capella, where 82 percent of students are enrolled in doctoral or master's degree programs. All serve a predominantly adult population; the average age of Capella students, for example, is 39. Across the board, the colleges and universities that are participating in Transparency by Design rank higher than national benchmarks for student satisfaction and outcomes. The initial launch of the College Choices for Adults Web site is just a first step, and efforts are already underway to add more functionality and comparability.
Both the College Choices for Adults and Capella's Learning & Career Outcomes Web sites are progressive in their inclusion of program-level information and both expected and actual learning outcomes. For example, someone looking for information on specializations in project management would learn that Capella's MS, MBA, and BS project management curriculum are designed around Project Management Institute (PMI®) standards.
Consumers will be able to learn how well Capella students demonstrated their proficiency at achieving the learning outcomes that matter for career success, as documented by expert faculty members. That approach contrasts with other initiatives that are intended for high school students and their parents, whereas College Choices for Adults and Capella's Learning & Career Outcomes Web sites are focused on working adult students.
"We've taken a very rigorous and quality-focused, but also consumer-driven, approach to the information we gather," added Pearce. "Adult students tend to be very practical in their choices. They want to know the outcomes a program is designed to produce, and more important, the success rates of students in achieving those outcomes. The methodology and reporting we developed helps provide that information, and facilitates students' comparisons of different academic programs.
"At Capella, we improved our direct assessment systems for our capstone courses, which allow students nearing graduation the opportunity to demonstrate and integrate everything they have learned at Capella. We've been very pleased with the results," continued Pearce. "Our faculty document the extent to which students demonstrate the professionally relevant competencies and outcomes associated with their specific programs. In the future, we want to provide Capella students with reports that verify their professional competence. They will be able to share these with hiring managers, employers, licensure boards, and others to demonstrate precisely what they learned and what they can do as a result of successfully completing a course or an entire degree program."
"There is significant consumer information available for almost every type of purchase you make — except, ironically, in the field of education," said Offerman. "The College Choices for Adults and Capella's Learning & Career Outcomes Web sites will provide unprecedented information and help adult learners to become knowledgeable consumers in the higher education marketplace. In doing so, we are supporting two important national goals: 1) increasing higher education attainment levels; and 2) increasing the transparency of information available about the educational outcomes of higher education institutions.
"This is a very important initiative, especially for the large group of students who are erroneously referred to as ‘non-traditional' students," added Offerman. "In fact, research has shown that only about 15 percent of higher education students still fit the traditional definition of young adults age 18 to 22 who live on campus and go to school full time," said Offerman, who authors the blog, The Other 85 Percent: Working Adults and The New World of Higher Education. "The College Choices for Adults and Capella's Learning & Career Outcomes Web sites will help provide these students with the data they need to make informed decisions about one of their most significant lifetime decisions — where to pursue their higher education goals."
About Capella University
Capella University (www.capella.edu) is an accredited*, fully online university that has built its reputation by providing quality education for working adults. More than 80 percent of Capella students are currently enrolled in master's, specialist, or doctoral degree programs in business, information technology, education, human services, nursing, psychology, public administration, public health, and public safety. Capella also offers bachelor's degree programs in business, information technology, public administration, and public safety. Within those areas, Capella currently offers 122 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 15 certificate programs. More than 29,200 learners were enrolled as of June 30, 2009, from all 50 states and 55 other countries. Capella is committed to providing high-caliber academic excellence and pursuing balanced business growth. Founded in 1993, Capella University is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capella Education Company (NASDAQ: CPLA), headquartered in Minneapolis. For more information, please visit http://www.capella.edu or call 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552).
* Capella University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), www.ncahlc.org.
Capella University, 225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55402, 1-888-CAPELLA (227-3552), www.capella.edu.
Learn more about earning an online degree at Capella University:
