Association for Continuing Higher Education, Inc.

Call for proposals

2010-01-15T08:39:00.000-06:00

2010 ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting
Hotel Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
October 20-23, 2010.

Continuing Education - Reflecting Upon and Responding to the National Agenda

To download the Call for Proposals Form, visit http://www.acheinc.org/ache2010/call_for_proposals.pdf.

You can view additional information about the conference at the 2010 ACHE Conference and Meeting http://www.acheinc.org/annual_conference.html.

The deadline for the Call for Proposals is Monday, February 1, 2010.

Please email your proposal to:

Dr. Jeffery Alejandro
Coordinator, Continuing Professional Education
Division of Continuing Studies
East Carolina University
301F Self-Help Center
Greenville, NC 27858
Phone (252) 328-9197
Fax (252) 328-9342
Email alejandroj@ecu.edu
Web http://www.cpe.ecu.edu/

Call for nominations

2010-01-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Colleagues,

The ACHE Nominations Committee is currently accepting nominations for:

• Directors-at-Large (two openings) and

• Vice President.

The Association will present its slate of candidates in the March Five Minutes with ACHE. In order to submit a nomination, an online form is available at: http://tinyurl.com/ache-2010-nominations

Individuals may self-nominate or be nominated by a colleague. Once nominations are received, the chair of the Nominations Committee, Rick Osborn, will contact nominees with requests for additional information.

Please direct any inquiries to the Nominations Committee Chair:

Rick Osborn
Immediate Past President, ACHE
Dean, School of Continuing Studies & Academic Outreach
East Tennessee State University
OSBORNR@mail.etsu.edu
(423) 439-8300
(423) 773-3452 (cell)

ALL NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MARCH 1, 2010.

Participation as a Director-at-Large or as Vice President constitutes a significant opportunity to serve ACHE and continuing higher education. Nominees for Vice President must have served at least two years as a Director-at-Large. For a description of the roles and responsibilities of ACHE Officers, please consult the ACHE Guide for Officers and Board Members. (http://tinyurl.com/acheguide-officers-board)

We hope that you will consider nominating a colleague this year!

Call for Proposals

2009-12-17T10:33:00.000-06:00

57th Annual Conference
Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE)
Fredericton, New Brunswick
June 1-4, 2010

For More Information

The 2010 CAUCE Conference Planning Committee invites proposals for concurrent sessions on creative continuing education that correspond with the following three conference tracks:

1. Creativity – catalyst for change
2. Models, strategies and methods to challenge the times
3. Embracing Diversity

Abstracts should be submitted in the proposed language of presentation (English or French). Simultaneous translation will not be available.

Abstracts will be evaluated on the following criteria:

o Relevance to the conference theme
o Learning outcomes for the audience
o Clarity of session objectives and organization of information
o Degree of originality of research or approach
o Presentation approach and level of participant engagement

Presenters will be advised of the status of their submissions by Monday, March 1, 2010. If your submission is accepted, you must provide a final paper (or other contribution to the conference proceedings) by May 3, 2010. Papers will be published in the conference proceedings and made available to the delegates.

The deadline for abstract submission is Friday, January 22, 2010

Fill out the Abstract Submission Form by clicking here.

Dean Level Sponsor, Boston Reed College

2009-12-14T08:26:00.000-06:00

Announces the winners of its drawing at 2009 ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting:

It was indeed our pleasure to be a Dean Level Sponsor at the 2009 ACHE Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month. Many conference attendees stopped by the Boston Reed table to learn more about partnering with Boston Reed and to enter our drawing for Napa Valley wine, made by Boston Reed's CEO, David Wignall.

This year's wine recipients are:

• Charles Hickox, Eastern Kentucky University, KY

• Mary Alice Burkhart, Austin Peay State University, TN

• Antoinette Coleman, Bowie State University, MD

• Richard Cheney, Central Connecticut State University, CT

• Linda Crosset, Indiana State University, IN

• Francine Fink, Becker College, MA

• Charlee Lanis - East Central University, OK

• Dr. Louann Waldner - College of Sequoias, CA

More tips on updating your vita

2009-12-04T13:38:00.000-06:00

Several DOs and DON'Ts in Vita Preparation

DO make your vita a clear and concise summary of your professional qualifications. Like any good writing, every word should count.

DO try to obtain copies of several vitae from individuals who are at your stage of professional development or slightly ahead. One of the best ways to construct a vita is by seeing how others have done it.

DO take the time to create an elegant and inviting format, and be sure to laser print the final product on high quality paper. Style matters, and your vita should appear professional, uncluttered, and friendly to the eye.

DO be sure to check the vita carefully for mistakes and typographical errors. Without exception, it must be absolutely error-free.

DO have your faculty adviser, colleagues, family, and friends look over your vita before you send it out. They will undoubtedly spot weaknesses you have overlooked and may be able to suggest ways of overcoming them.

DON'T give the appearance of padding your vita by including such things as extra-wide margins, high school accomplishments, or excessive detail about your research and teaching experience (e.g., details associated with running an experiment, such as "I contacted participants, scheduled them for sessions...").

DON'T list irrelevant personal information such as height, weight, health, or military status. Listing your age, marital status, or the number of children you have is optional (unfortunately, such information can invite discrimination, particularly against female applicants), and excessive details should be avoided (e.g., names and ages of children). Listing hobbies and outside interests is also optional and should only be done if you feel it will enhance your image as a well-rounded professional.

DON'T list categories that have only item (with one exception: a section entitled "Publication" is acceptable for listing a single publication).

DON'T use category subheadings that are more ambitious than their content (e.g., "Articles, Publications, and Grant Proposals" followed by only one grant proposal). Later in your career, you can add some of these sections (for example, "Professional Activities" might include editorships, memberships in academic or grant-reviewing committees, consulting work, and so on).

Attention: ACHE Great Lakes Region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Central Ontario )

2009-12-04T10:14:00.001-06:00

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the ACHE Great Lakes Regional Conference in collaboration with the Illinois Council of Continuing Higher Education.

February 10 – 12, 2010 in Chicago

Please click here for details and be sure to register soon. It’s sure to be a great conference.

Listen up those in the Northeast Metropolitan Region (New Jersey, New York metro area, Europe, Africa, Middle East)

2009-12-03T12:10:00.000-06:00

Listen up those in the Northeast Metropolitan Region (New Jersey, New York metro area, Europe, Africa, Middle East). Please go here now: http://acheinc.org/region/NEmetro/index.html. New bylaws have been posted. Please go read and vote on them!

K-State Hosts Higher Education Dialogue

2009-10-28T16:46:00.001-05:00

Kansas State University’s Division of Continuing Education hosted the Kansas dialogue workshop “Difficult Dialogues, Rewarding Solutions” on September 14th in Manhattan, Kansas, sponsored by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC). The session was facilitated by Chris Rasmussen, MHEC Vice President for Research and Policy Analysis. The dialogue from the meeting will lead to the development of strategies for Kansas to address the difficult issues of expanding higher education while keeping it affordable to students, families, and state governments.

Caption: Sue Maes, Dean of the Division of Continuing Education, Kansas State University, Kurt Schulz, President of Kansas State University, and Lana Oleen, MHEC Commissioner, lead discussions at the gathering held at K-State.

Howard University closes

2009-10-27T13:24:00.003-05:00

its continuing education unit.

Peggy Berry informed ACHE today that "Howard University has decided to discontinue its continuing education program (Howard University Continuing Education, HUCE) effective October 31, 2009. " Institutions sometimes think they can just absorb all that continuing education does within other units, but those units typically exist to serve only the traditional campus students. The adults, the nontraditional students, the distant students--they either get served poorly or they migrate to other colleges and universities.

Adult Education Research Grant Opportuity

2009-10-27T06:47:00.001-05:00

SU Library's Special Collections Research Center invites applicants for adult education research grants

The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at Syracuse University Library invites applicants to its Alexander N. Charters Adult Education Research Grants-in-Aid Program, now in its third year. As much as $5,000 of grants-in-aid will be awarded in 2010 to researchers in the history and practice of adult education who wish to use the collections in SCRC's Charters Library. The actual amount of each award will depend upon the scope of the research outlined in the applicant's proposal.

The Charters Library of Resources for the Educators of Adults (http://scrc.syr.edu/charterslibrary ) is the world's most comprehensive collection of English-language materials in the field of adult and continuing education. Among the resources available to researchers are: more than 55 discrete manuscript collections, 2,100 books, 50 professional journals, 220 newsletters, 400 sound recordings, 100 video-recordings, 10,000 photographs and some 2,800 master's theses and dissertations in the field. Online finding aids to the manuscript collections are available on SCRC's website at http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/ead/subj_list_from_db.htm#adult_ed .

With more than 145,000 printed works and 2,000 manuscript and archival collections, SCRC is home to some of SU's most valued treasures, including early printed editions of Gutenberg, Galileo, and Sir Isaac Newton, as well as the library of 19th-century German historian Leopold Von Ranke. Holdings are particularly strong in the 20th century; they include the personal papers and manuscripts of such luminaries as artist Grace Hartigan, inspirational preacher Norman Vincent Peale, author Joyce Carol Oates, photojournalist Margaret Bourke White, and industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague, as well as the records of organizations such as avant-garde publisher Grove Press. SCRC regularly hosts exhibitions, lectures, and classes and offers fellowships and internships in library instruction and conservation.

The application deadline is December 1, 2009, and winners will be announced by January 15, 2010. To apply, submit a letter of intent outlining the proposed research topic, including the term of stay, proposed budget, a current résumé, and the name, with contact information, of one professional reference to:

Mary Beth Hinton
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Library
222 Waverly Ave.
Syracuse, N.Y. 13244-2010
Phone: 315-443-9763

ACHE and the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame partnering at ACHE 2009 in Philly

2009-09-29T10:21:00.001-05:00

ACHE is pleased to announce that we are hosting the 2009 International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, to be held at 6:00 p.m. on November 17, 2009 at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

All ACHE conference attendees are welcome to join this ceremony.

There is no extra cost to attend, so come and be inspired!

For more information, visit http://acheinc.org/ache2009/Hall_of_fame.html or contact Mitzi McCraw at mitzi@ou.edu.

CEANY 46th Annual Conference happening soon!

2009-09-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

The Continuing Education Association of New York is hosting its 46th Annual Conference at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, NY October 7-9. For those ACHE members in the Northeast, Northeast Metro and New England regions, this will be a great opportunity to share ideas about continuing education at your local level.

About the Gideon Putnam Resort

Renowned 2300-acre resort hotel in the Saratoga Spa State Park, is located 30 miles from Albany. Gideon Putnam boasts a full-service spa and fitness center, and many dining and entertainment options in nearby downtown Saratoga Springs.

Visit the CEANY conference website at http://www.ceany.org/conference2009 for more information!

The Lumina Foundation's

2009-09-22T14:47:00.001-05:00

latest issue of Focus is out. Titled "No More Kid Stuff," it highlights adult students and features some of their compelling stories.

You can download the issue at http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/focus_archive/Focus_Fall_2009.pdf">http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/focus_archive/Focus_Fall_2009

Share your thoughts on proposed changes to the ACHE Constitution and Bylaws

2009-09-08T13:22:00.004-05:00

During the Annual Business Meeting at ACHE Philadelphia, the ACHE membership will cast their vote on a slate of proposed changes to the ACHE Constitution and Bylaws. Most notable amongst the proposed changes are some substantive changes to ACHE's membership categories.

Please visit the following links to see our current Constitution and Bylaws and the text of the changes you will be voting on in November.

Current Constitution and Bylaws

Complete text of the proposed changes

Current membership categories

Proposed membership categories

ACHE is a member-driven organization; your input is critical to the success of this process, so please comment below!

Vets frustrated as colleges ignore experience

2009-08-21T07:51:00.003-05:00

I feel confident most ACHE institutions work well with credit for military learning and experience.

Vets frustrated as colleges ignore experience

Shared via AddThis

ACHE New England announces scholarships to attend national conference

2009-08-12T15:49:00.004-05:00

ACHE New England is pleased to announce an opportunity to apply for a $500 scholarship to attend the 2009 ACHE national conference in Philadelphia in November 2009.

"We hope that the scholarship will help members who have never attended a national conference or whose institutions are unable to send them. We especially encourage new members to apply," said New England Chair Ellen Griffin.

Apply today!

Winners of three $500 scholarships at the ACHE New England regional conference in Bedford, NH on September 25, 2009.

ACHE past president announces revised edition of ground-breaking book

2009-08-12T10:52:00.010-05:00

Dr. Louis Phillips, a long-time member of ACHE and president in 1980-81, recently contacted us to let us know that his groundbreaking book, The Continuing Education Guide: The CEU and Other Professional Development Criteria is now availabe in a revised edition. First published in 1994, "the book has been used extensively by thousands of CEU providers, including many colleges and universities," said Dr. Phillips.

The Continuing Education Guide: The CEU and Other Professional Development Criteria
ISBN # 9780615294513
$29.95

To order, please contact Dr. Phillips at louphil@bellsouth.net or by writing to:

Louis Phillips, Ed.D.
2858 Ashton Hill Dr.
Dacula, GA 30019

The Continuing Education Guide: The CEU and Other Professional Development Criteria is the first book ever written which explores in-depth how to interpret and use the continuing education unit (CEU) or other criteria used for professional development programs.

This revised second edition is an important reference source for beginning and experienced administrators and instructors. This guide addresses the CEU criteria, specific criteria used by over 20 different professions, and many aspects of the ANSI/IACET 2007-1 Standard.

Expanded chapters on needs assessments, learning outcomes, instructional strategies, assessment and evaluations explain how to improve program quality. Sample planning forms, needs assessment instruments, guides for writing learning outcomes, ways to select instructional strategies, assessment and evaluation forms are included.

Numerous tips are provided for instructors on how to use needs assessment data to tailor their presentations, how to engage and read audiences, how to address different learning styles and reluctant learners, and how to use instructional strategies as assessment techniques.

A Place to Take Kids at the ACHE Conference in Philadelphia

2009-08-10T08:54:00.002-05:00

The Please Touch Museum in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia
http://www.pleasetouchmuseum.org/

If you are traveling to ACHE with children, the Please Touch Museum located in Fairmont Park is an excellent indoor activity that both kids and adults will love. The museum is located in a stunning historic building and inside, the designers have created a story and play-land that provides hours of fun. Check out the website and take a look at the exhibits. A note from someone whose been there…the website does not do the museum justice.

Sarah

Sarah Bradford
Director, Summer School Programs
ETSU School of Continuing Studies
Email: bradfors@etsu.edu

The 2008 G.I. Bill

2009-08-07T12:53:00.003-05:00

Should start impacting continuing education operations this fall. From usnews.com:

New Benefits Help Veterans Go to College

The family plan. Under the new GI Bill passed by Congress in 2008, another generation of war veterans—and their families—will begin receiving expanded educational assistance this year. The benefits are considerable—more than some Defense Department officials, who were concerned about the possibility of U.S. troops leaving the military to take advantage of the bill, had backed. The federal government will cover tuition and fees for vets at any public university. If they choose private universities, the government will cover the equivalent of the cost of the state's most expensive public university. The law also gives a $1,000 stipend for books and a fairly hefty monthly grant for room and board, equal to the military's housing allowance. Perhaps most striking, troops can transfer these benefits to their spouses and children, a measure that had been proposed by World War II widows—and promptly rejected by Congress.

About 100,000 student vets and their families are expected to take part in the program this school year. They will be further aided because some 575 private universities have joined what's known as the Yellow Ribbon program, in which the institutions have agreed to offer grants that will cover the difference between their own pricier tuition and that of state schools. To encourage schools to sign up, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will pick up half of the cost of the program.

But despite these benefits, some hurdles to student veterans remain. The cost of attending even the priciest public universities in some states is so low that vets will qualify for little federal reimbursement if they choose to attend the far more expensive private schools.

And the recession has reduced the endowments and income of some colleges to such an extent that they now are not able to make up the difference in grants or take part in programs like Yellow Ribbon.

The legislation also has some puzzling loopholes. Thousands of National Guard members who have served on active duty for years, for example, will not be eligible because they were called to service under Title 32, a measure that governs response to domestic emergencies or homeland-security missions. Congressional officials attribute such oversights to hurried negotiations in the run-up to last year's vote on the bill, and defense officials say that they plan to offer a legislative fix in the 2011 budget.

ACHE New England announces Fall Forum

2009-08-07T11:47:00.002-05:00

The Association for Continuing Higher Education-New England and Hesser College present:

Helping Adults Learn: Skillful Teaching in Today’s College Classroom

Featuring internationally acclaimed scholar in adult education
Stephen Brookfield

Friday, September 25, 2009
SERESC Conference Center
29 Commerce Drive
Bedford, NH 03110

Get registered today!

Metropolitan College in New Orleans Closes Its Doors

2009-08-06T13:46:00.003-05:00

UNO cutting its night school
by John Pope, The Times-Picayune
Saturday August 01, 2009, 9:20 PM

The image is part of the American dream: the shift worker who puts in a full day on the job and then heads to night classes to earn a college degree and build a better life.

To accommodate these students -- people who are older than the typical collegians and have jobs, mortgages and families -- colleges not only offer evening classes but also have set up departments to make things easier for them.

Among four-year colleges, major departments offering night classes have existed at Tulane and Loyola universities and the University of New Orleans.

But last month, in implementing steep budget cuts, the University of New Orleans announced the closing of Metropolitan College, which has housed these classes and UNO's international programs.

Formed in 1980, Metropolitan College had enrolled 952 students just before Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005. Enrollment was 643 in the spring of 2006, according to UNO figures, and 703 last fall. Its budget for the 2008-09 academic year was $4.7 million.

Chancellor Tim Ryan insists that act was a matter of administrative streamlining to save money by eliminating duplication. Besides, he said, the courses still exist, but the administrative aspects have been transferred to academic departments, with, for instance, the history department handling courses for traditional and nontraditional students.

But others in the field of continuing education worry that such a move, similar to changes made to Loyola University's City College as part of post-Hurricane Katrina restructuring, eliminates the support structure that these students need.

Because these students can face difficulties such as caring for sick children, dealing with job-related stress and stretching a paycheck -- difficulties that don't confront most traditional college students -- they need a school structure that understands their situation and caters to their needs, said Richard Marksbury, dean of Tulane's School of Continuing Studies.

"They're going to school to better themselves, so you have to learn to work with them, " he said. "One shoe size doesn't fit all."

Different priorities

Rick Osborn agrees. He is the president of the Association for Continuing Higher Education, a national organization.

"What tends to happen is that institutions tend to think they can decentralize and let various academic departments deal with nontraditional students, " said Osborn, who will become East Tennessee State University's dean of continuing studies this month.

"Those students get neglected, " he said, "because faculty and departments are focused on 18-year-olds."

This is an attitude Harriet Royce, 44, has confronted frequently. A receptionist at a downtown law firm, she is working on an undergraduate degree at UNO and studying to become a paralegal.

"Professors who teach day students and get stuck with a night class sometimes say, 'You better get your priorities straight, ' " she said.

"I don't know what to say, " Royce said. "My priorities are straight, but I have to pay my bills. Their lives are on the campus. They don't realize what it's like to juggle classes and a job and get a paper done. Sometimes, it's very disheartening to hear that."

Royce had been able to take classes at Metropolitan College's downtown office, but next semester she will have to hurry after work to attend classes at the Lakefront campus or UNO's Jefferson Parish site.

'Lost in the shuffle'

She also will lose access to the staff members in the downtown office who kept longer hours to accommodate nontraditional students who needed the computer or might arrive late because their bosses wanted to talk to them after their shifts ended.

Because those people spent their careers working with nontraditional students, they "understood that your situation was different from that of a 24-year-old student who was working at Starbucks, " she said.

They are vital in these programs, Marksbury said, because they can help nontraditional students adjust to college life -- no small chore, he said, because many of these students are the first in their families to go to college.

Without such easily accessible, empathetic personnel, "I'm afraid they're going to lose a lot of the older students, " Royce said of UNO. "A lot of people like me are lost in the shuffle."
Ryan doesn't think the situation will be so dire.

While acknowledging that nontraditional students have "special needs, " he said, "we have those same kinds of students on our regular campus -- adult students coming at night. We're used to dealing with that."

To try to accommodate them, Ryan said counselors accustomed to dealing with these students and their situations will be at all of UNO's sites in the New Orleans area.

"We're trying to accommodate them better, " he said, "and we think bringing them into the mainstream will do that."

One-stop shop

This system can work, as long as there is a center that is tailored to deal with nontraditional students, said Melissa Landry, admissions counselor for Loyola's Evening Division.

The Evening Division had been the name given to this part of Loyola before 1970, when City College was created. After the post-storm restructuring, colleges took over academic responsibilities, and the Evening Division became what Landry called "a one-stop shop" for nontraditional students that also offers four degree programs.

"It's an art form over here to do as much as we can when the student is on campus, allowing them to handle parking and tuition and financial aid all in one place, " she said. "We have tried to get with various offices on campus to try to streamline things to get students extended hours so when they get off at 5 o'clock, they don't have to worry about an office's shutting its doors."

Even though City College doesn't exist anymore under that name, "we never stopped serving those students, " Landry said.
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2009/08/uno_cutting_its_night_school.html

The ACHE Website is listed

2009-08-05T08:11:00.001-05:00

in 100 Excellent Continuing Ed Sites for Teachers.

(http://www.onlineeducation.net/2009/08/04/100-excellent-continuing-ed-sites-for-teachers/)

Reserve your room

2009-08-05T08:05:00.003-05:00

I hear that the Sheraton Society Hill has run out of king sized beds.

I assume that's a sign that it's filling up, so if you haven't made your reservations--you better hurry!

Those who fall through the cracks

2009-07-28T11:52:00.008-05:00

A very interesting letter arrived in the ACHE mail box yesterday. And I don't mean our e-mail inbox. It was a hand written letter from a prison inmate in Michigan asking how he might go about finding a degree program and student financial aid so he could complete a Bachelor's Degree while behind bars.

I spent some time last night doing what he would not be able to. I got on the internet and started researching his question. I also sent a query to the Michigan Department of Corrections asking if inmates there have access to computers (not the internet; inmates are never allowed internet access). The reason for my question is this: increasingly, distance learning programs are almost exclusively offered online. Some offer courses through CD-ROM. But very few offer correspondence courses in the old way: paper-based via surface mail. And those colleges and universities that do offer correspondence courses are even more rarely offering full degree programs.

The response I received from the Michigan Department of Corrections was brief: Prisoners do not have computer access.

As to the issue of student financial aid, I discovered that while inmates are eligible to submit FAFSAs, they are not eligible to recieve Pell Grants. I would be curious to know, then, what other student aid might be available.

I will be gathering what information I can find out for this young man and mailing it back to him soon. Hopefully I will find out something that will help him move forward with the education he seeks.

For the troops...

2009-07-27T15:55:00.005-05:00

Many continuing higher educators find themselves serving the men and women who serve our country - the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines of the Armed Forces of the United States. Since this is the case, many of you, our ACHE membership, will be traveling to Atlanta, Georgia this week for the 2009 DoD Worldwide Education Symposium.

"Once every three years this exciting event brings together all the major players in voluntary education.

The 2009 theme "Educating America's Patriots" focuses on the mission of providing voluntary education opportunities that measure up to the high quality and value that Service members expect and deserve."

If you're participating in this event, please drop us a line and share your experience!

ACHE South Conference Theme Announcement

2009-07-24T09:06:00.003-05:00

The ACHE South Conference planning committee announces the theme for the 2010 Conference: "Blast Off with ACHE South: Exploring New Frontiers in Continuing Education." Conference tracks will include:

Launching Lives: Transforming Students
Mission Possible: Transforming Institutions and Ourselves
One Small Step...One Giant Leap: Transforming Programs
Defying Gravity: Transforming Services and Policies

When at ACHE in Philadelphia

2009-07-23T13:53:00.004-05:00

Walk where Ben Franklin walked. The home of the ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting this year is steeped in history. And that's not a reference to the Boston Tea Party. Take the opportunity to learn more about Ben Franklin during your free time in Philadelphia.

Franklin In Philadelphia http://tinyurl.com/kjwm8w

Benjamin Franklin's presence is everywhere in Philadelphia. Here's a look at some of the many places visited by, founded by, inspired by or named for the city's most famous citizen. More information about many of the following historic sites and cultural attractions is available at www.gophila.com/culturefiles.

Philadelphia Landmarks in Franklin's Life:

Independence Hall - A signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the framers of the Constitution, Franklin spent many, many days here. Chestnut Street between 5th & 6th Streets, (215) 965-2305, www.nps.gov/inde

Franklin Court - Franklin Court, the site of Franklin's home and the printing office of his grandson, also includes an underground museum focused on Franklin's many accomplishments. Because he was postmaster general of the new nation, there is a U.S. Post Office as well. 314-322 Market Street, (215) 965-2305, www.nps.gov/inde

Christ Church - Franklin worshipped here on occasion and even had his children baptized in this historic church. He also supervised the lottery that financed the Church's tower and steeple. 2nd & Market Streets, (215) 922-1695, http://www.christchurchphila.org/

Christ Church Burial Ground - Here lie Ben and his wife, Deborah, along with a number of other historic figures. Visitors often toss pennies on Franklin's grave for good luck. Arch Street between 4th & 5th Streets, (215) 922-1695, http://www.christchurchphila.org/

Bartram's Garden - On one of John and William Bartram's many explorations to gather plant specimens, several of which were supported by Franklin, the father-and-son botanist team discovered seeds of a tree that they later propagated and named the Franklinia alatamaha tree in honor of their friend. 54th Street & Lindbergh Boulevard, (215) 729-5281, http://www.bartramsgarden.org/

Stenton - Franklin often visited the 1730 Georgian home of James Logan, his friend and secretary to Pennsylvania founder, William Penn. 460 1 N. 18th Street, (215) 329-7312, http://www.stenton.org/

Free Quaker Meeting House - Franklin supported an individual's right to worship as he or she wished. The Free Quaker Meeting House was one of several places of worship that were made possible through Franklin's financial support. 5th & Arch Streets, (215) 965-2305

Masonic Temple - Like a number of the nation's founding fathers, Franklin was an active member of the Freemasons. 1 N. Broad Street, (215) 988-1900, http://www.pagrandlodge.org/

Carpenters' Hall - The site of the First Continental Congress was once the home of Franklin's Library Company and the American Philosophical Society, two organizations founded by Franklin. 320 Chestnut Street, (215) 925-0167, www.ushistory.org/carpentershall

Sunrise, Surveys, And Sessions at ACHE South

2009-07-23T12:17:00.004-05:00

ACHE South planning committee is working away on conference details. While we wish you were here watching the sunrise with us, we are thinking of you while were working/playing in the sun. Expect a survey from ACHE South leadership some time in the coming year. We're also looking to learn more about the kinds of concurrent sessions/presentations you would like to see more of in the program.

ACHE South Planning Meeting

2009-07-23T07:03:00.004-05:00

The ACHE South planning committee is meeting this week in Cocoa Beach, Florida. If you are looking for a great beach destination April 2010, the ACHE South Conference will be an ideal spot. The hotel is located just one block from "I Dream of Jeannie" Lane, so if you are hunting for Jeannie or Major Nelson this is the place to be. There is a trolley system (cost $1.25/ride) that will help tote you to destinations like the Brevard Zoo, Port Canaveral, the Kennedy Space Center, or the Astronauts Hall of Fame. And if you'd prefer just laying by the beach, the hotel is right on the water and has a tiki bar by the pool. The conference itself will offer (as usual) a program full of networking, best practices, and keynoters. Theme soon to follow.

California cuts

2009-07-22T07:54:00.003-05:00

into the muscle of its colleges and universities. The cuts to higher education in California over the past two years exceed the entire higher education budgets of some states. Or so I've been told. True or not, the cuts are devastating. Continuing Education at California universities is often self-supporting, so they might be spared some initial carving. But if they make any money, you can be sure the university will take whatever it can, leaving less for innovation, planning, benchmarking, new initiatives.

Editorial: Short-term cuts, long-term worry for California colleges‎

The budget that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders have wrangled over will cut $2 billion for community colleges and four-year universities on top of cuts last year. If this were a two-year problem, the institutions could still emerge relatively unscathed. But the long-term outlook is equally bleak. And the economy alone isn't to blame; it's a matter of priorities. In 1980, 17 percent of the state budget went to higher education. By 2007, that had fallen to 10 percent — the same as prisons and parole.

Members want to know

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Here at the ACHE home office, we periodically get requests from members to put out a question to the membership. As you know, continuing education units at many universities are small operations, and having access to a greater pool of knowledge -- i.e. the membership of ACHE -- is an invaluable resource.

We recently received the following question. Any feedback you could provide would be most appreciated.

Does your college/university require identification for admission to credit programs? If so, what types of ID do you require, i.e. driver's license, state ID, etc. How do you handle identification requirements for online admission?
Rosario Guastella

Update From the Aslanian Group

2009-07-20T14:29:00.002-05:00

Carol has been a good friend to ACHE, and she has news to share:

Dear Friends: Carol and I have some good news. We are merging with Education Dynamics as of today and look forward to keeping in touch with all of you at our new offices across the river in New Jersey. We will have more information in the days ahead, but I have inserted below a message that is going out tomorrow to a wide array of clients and friends. To read the press release posted on the Education Dynamics site about the merger click here: http://www.educationdynamics.com/media/pr/aslanian-merger/

All the best.

Scott & Carol

Why Continuing Education

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Exists.

The following is an email from Jo, Chair of Cross-Disciplinary Studies and ACHE member (of course):

Jerdon is meeting with a friend of mine who called me last week and told me that she wanted to come back to school, after 20 years. My friend told me that she came to ETSU five years ago, and just gave up. She had lots of questions, and no one at admissions could/would answer them. When she called me, she just said, “Please help me and tell me who to talk to. I have to talk to a real person who understands that I have been to five different schools and I am not stupid. I can’t spend a week taking off work and trying to get the admissions office to talk to me.”
I asked Jerdan to talk to her.

They are meeting now. Jerdan is working her magic. She is truly an angel to the adult student.

Half off tuition

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on weekends? Maybe we'll have Happy Hour with classes two for one from 5:00 to 7:00.

We had a recent conference call with Pellissippi State where they reported a projected 40% enrollment increase for fall. Which is amazing. Then I saw this notice where they are expanding their weekend program, and I was a little surprised that they were discounting their tuition on the weekends. I didn't know we could do that. This would be a great help for adults needing to return to school...

Pellissippi State Community College students will now be able to take weekend classes this fall at half the normal tuition cost.
The Weekend Scholars program is an alternative for students who are unable to attend classes during the week or take classes online, according Anthony Wise, vice president of the Learning Division for Pellissippi State.
The program include classes from the English, mathematics and history disciplines as well as classes in video production technology and music appreciation. Science labs, video-based courses and public speaking classes are already offered on Friday evenings and Saturdays.
Weekend classes are held at the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road.
For more information, call 865-694-400.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jul/15/dean-completes-leadership-academy/

Reserve your room today for the 2009 ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting

2009-07-16T11:50:00.002-05:00

Our room reservation site for the ACHE 2009 Annual Conference and Meeting is now available thanks to the great staff at the Sheraton Society Hill.

Register for the 2009 ACHE Annual Conference and Meeting

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ACHE will hold its 2009 Annual Conference and Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Sheraton Society Hill. Visit our website to get registered today!

The ACHE Home Office welcomes you to our community blog

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The Association for Continuing Higher Education, Inc. (ACHE) is an institution-based organization of colleges, universities, and individuals dedicated to the promotion of lifelong learning and excellence in continuing higher education. Our member are continuing educators worldwide or those whose main interest is adult continuing higher education: deans, professors, students, and other industry professionals.

Our blog will be utilized to seek input from the membership of ACHE on what is happening around the Association. Please check back often and see how what's happening in the world of continuing higher education.

Ynez Walske
ACHE Executive Secretary and Home Office Manager