Jul 23rd 10 Posted by Brenda Harms in Adult Students, Featured Articles

Reinventing Your Adult Student Programs

I had the great fortune this week to talk at length with a professional who has spent nearly 30 years in higher education. This, in itself, is not that unusual; I actually meet a pretty significant number of people with this background. What I sit in awe of is that this gentleman, newly retired, was his institution’s reinvention expert, the person they looked to for decades to start something new and think outside the box—phrases I hear schools talk about all the time, but rarely accomplish.

In higher education, a person who thinks about what is possible more often than what won’t work astounds me. Most of the people I meet just can’t think that way. Last week I wrote about not fearing change, but what many adult student programs need actually goes beyond change, it is reinvention.

If your adult student program has been virtually the same for the last 10 years, you are beyond needing change, you need reinvention. I challenge you to sit at a table with your senior team and spend one hour talking about a new model for adult student education at your institution. There is one rule: nobody can mention the reason something can’t happen. No mentions of inadequate technology, broken processes, inflexible academic units, or budget restrictions. It sounds easy, almost fun, but it is actually more challenging than you may think. Take that idea to your senior administration and present it to them with a firm rationale for why this would create success and enrollment for the institution—you might be surprised by their reaction! Breaking down barriers to success at institutions is their job, it is what they are good at, and, furthermore, it is what they have the power to do. Present a good enough idea and you may get your President on the task of making change and forging the future of the institution through innovation. Wouldn’t that be a kick?

Photo by Martin LaBar