SWOT Report for National University Christina Scott ARP 813 Dr. S nita Coo!

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%o n&e& in 1'#1 in (a )olla* California as a local private* non$profit niversity* National University +NU, has &evelope& over the past forty$t-o years into the secon& lar"est private niversity in the state of California an& the t-elfth lar"est in the Unite& States. National University is no- the fla"ship instit tion of the National University Syste.* -hich -as esta/lishe& in 0111 an& is c rrently hea&e& /y Chancellor* Dr. )erry (ee. The operations of National University are " i&e& /y the &ecisions fro. the 01 person 2oar& of Tr stees* -hich are enacte& /y the University Presi&ent* Dr. 3ichael C nnin"ha. +see NU or"ani4ational chart in Appen&i5 A,. National University offers n&er"ra& ate an& "ra& ate co rses an& &e"ree pro"ra.s in the schools of 2 siness an& 3ana"e.ent6 7& cation6 7n"ineerin"* Technolo"y* an& 3e&ia6 8ealth an& 8 .an Services6 an& Professional St &ies* as -ell as the Colle"e of (etters an& Sciences +CO(S, an& c rrently serves 03*111 f ll$ti.e st &ents at locations thro "ho t California* %lori&a* 9eor"ia* Neva&a* Te5as* an& :ir"inia an& thro "h its e5tensive online co rse offerin"s an& &e"ree pro"ra.s. With #1 online &e"ree an& cre&ential pro"ra.s an& ;*<11 online classes &elivere& yearly* online e& cation is a !ey part of the strate"ic an& operational plans of National University. The National University .ission states that NU is =&e&icate& to .a!in" lifelon" learnin" opport nities accessi/le* challen"in"* an& relevant to a &iverse st &ent pop lation. >ts ai. is to facilitate e& cational access an& aca&e.ic e5cellence thro "h e5ceptional .ana"e.ent of University operations an& reso rces6 innovative &elivery syste.s an& st &ent services6 an& relevant pro"ra.s that are learner centere&* s ccess$oriente&* an& responsive to technolo"y= +=O r University=* National University -e/site,. >n s pport of this .ission state.ent* National

University possesses the core val es of? 1, @ ality* 0, access* 3, relevance* ;, accelerate& pace* an& A, val e. These core val es " i&e NUBs philosophy of /ein" a learner$centere& instit tion

an& s pport the nee&s of non$tra&itional st &entsCa& lt learners -hich is NUBs pri.ary st &ent pop lation. The follo-in" SWOT analysis provi&es an overvie- of the c rrent stren"ths an& -ea!nesses of National University* as -ell as the areas of f t re opport nities an& potential threats to the niversity. The !ey iss e a&&resse& in this report is the opport nity to enhance the fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra. for online fac lty* -hich can /e &one /y re@ irin" ann al trainin" on /est practices.
National University SWOT Analysis
Strengths 2nd largest non-profit, private university in California and 12th largest in U.S. Highly diverse student population with a focus on adult learners, access, and affordability Strong focus on local military community with course offerings on bases and the recently established Center of E cellence for !eteran Student Success, which is funded through a grant fro" the U.S. #epart"ent of Education$s %und for the &"prove"ent of 'ostsecondary Education (%&'SE). Highly developed online program with over *+ degrees offered fully online. Offer uni ue and ne! degree programs such as ,.-. in .o"eland Security and E"ergency /anage"ent, and an /.-. in %orensic Sciences, and a #octorate in 0ursing 'ractice, which are relevant in today$s society and 1ob "ar2ets. Weaknesses "ack of A#A compliance for online courses (sociology depart"ent at least) regarding access of video "aterials posted. "ack of annual re uired training for online faculty on best practices and online teaching strategies and faculty develop"ent. Not an HS$

Opportunities Adult learner enrollments predicted to continue to rise per 0CES pro1ections of a 3.2 "illion increase between 2++4-2+3* (0U Strategic 'lan) Online enrollments predicted to continue to rise 2++5 Chronicle of .igher Education study esti"ates by 2+2+ students will ta2e up to 4+6 of their courses entirely online (0U Strategic 'lan) %ecome HS$ &'pand degree offerings - e pand on undergrad and graduate degree progra"s and include "ore doctoral degrees &nhance online faculty development program

Threats (or)profit institutions - increasing share in the "ar2et, predicted to be 376 by 2+2+ (0U Strategic 'lan) $nternational institutions *OO+s (/assive 8pen 8nline Courses) - free online education *ilitary tuition assistance and ,-$- %ill policy changes eli"ination or reduction of "ilitary9veteran tuition assistance i"pact on a large part of 0U$s student population (:ild Card;) "oss of grant funding for the Center of E cellence for !eteran Student Success

The 011A NU Strate"ic Plan asserts that NU -ill /e a =lea&er in &eliverin" online e& cation= +NU Strate"ic Plan* 1;,. This lea&ership is f rther &efine& as provi&in" a .o&el of @ ality online e& cation an& teachin" e5cellence. While NU has atte.pte& vario s approaches to online fac lty trainin" over the past fe- years* they have yet to esta/lish fac lty &evelop.ent re@ ire.ents for contin e& trainin" or certification for online fac lty. C rrently* "eneral s pport an& initial fac lty technical trainin" on the eColle"e co rse .ana"e.ent syste. se& /y NU is provi&e& /y Spectr . Pacific (earnin"* an affiliate of the National University Syste.. The t-o instit tions -or! to"ether to provi&e the =%ac lty %o n&ations= trainin" on the technical s!ills nee&e& to se the eColle"e co rse .ana"e.ent syste. an& online teachin" /est practices +0110 National University Syste.s Ann al Report,. >n a&&ition to this initial online fac lty trainin"* NU has a %ac lty Center for 75cellence in Teachin" an& Technolo"y +%C7TT, -hich e.er"e& in 0110 as part of an initiative set forth in 0111 to esta/lish a stron"er foc s of online teachin" an& learnin" s pport -ithin the niversity itself. The %C7TT provi&es opport nities for online fac lty to participate in an online =fac lty co.. nity= -hich is &esi"ne& to /e a =one$stop= center for fac lty to share an& learn a/o t online teachin" technolo"ies an& /est practices. 8o-ever* there is no niversity re@ ire.ent for fac lty to participate in the co.. nity or any of the trainin" -e/inars or -or!shops* th s participation in the %C7TT is optional. Optional participation in trainin" res lts in inconsistency /et-een fac lty !no-le&"e an& practice of online teachin" an& learnin" across NU co rses* -hich lti.ately i.pacts st &ent s ccess. An intervention for this opport nity to enhance the fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra. at National University is to re@ ire ann al contin e& trainin" for online f ll$ti.e an& a&D nct fac lty. 2y re@ irin" ann al participation in /est practices trainin" an& a "reater representation of online

teachin" /est practices /y aca&e.ic &epart.ent lea&ership* NU can esta/lish the.selves as the .o&el of online learnin" they &esire to /e. >.ple.entin" this intervention -ill assist in achievin" the "oal of e5cellence in online teachin" an& serve to esta/lish NU as a lea&in" .o&el of e5cellence in online e& cation. This p rs it -ill ho-ever re@ ire the &evelop.ent of str ct re& /est practices trainin" sessions an& a&&itional fac lty trainers. Another i.portant part of this intervention strate"y is a "reater level of participation an& oversi"ht /y aca&e.ic &epart.ent lea&ership re"ar&in" fac lty -ho have participate& in the re@ ire& trainin" an& fac lty i.ple.entation of /est practices in their co rses. The /est practices of the niversity nee& to /e .o&ele& in all online co rses an& reinforce& /y the &epart.ental lea&ership. Re@ irin" ann al fac lty &evelop.ent for online fac lty -ill also res lt in fac lty an& &epart.ent lea&ership /ein" .ore a-are of an& involve& in e.er"in" technolo"ies -hich s pport the e& cational .o&el of =anyti.eCanyplace= learnin". Sta!ehol&ers -ho -ill /e incl &e& in the process of an enhance& online fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra. incl &e f ll$ti.e an& a&D nct online fac lty* &epart.ent lea&ership in char"e of staffin" online co rses* co rse c rric l . &esi"n* an& online st &ent iss es* an& lti.ately those st &ents en"a"e& in online learnin" at NU. >n re"ar& to internal &yna.ics* there nee&s to /e a "reater connection /et-een the %C7TT an& in&ivi& al &epart.ent lea&ership to reinforce an& s pport the trainin" opport nities for fac lty an& the e5pectations of teachin" e5cellence +s ch as fac lty$st &ent co.. nication an& " i&elines for provi&in" ti.ely fee&/ac!,. 8o-ever* this aspect .ay also /e an ninten&e& conse@ ence of a niversity -i&e e5pectation of ann al contin e& trainin" of online fac lty in that there -ill nee& to /e a "reater / y$in /y &epart.ents re"ar&in" the se of online teachin" theory an& practice. Within the Colle"e of (etters an& Sciences +CO(S,* there is no
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co.. nication fro. the CO(S lea&ership re"ar&in" contin e& online trainin" opport nities or &epart.ent e5pectations of practice. There are .any -ays to assess the s ccess of re@ ire& contin e& fac lty trainin" in /est practices for online teachin". The stan&ar& .eans of .eas re.ent for i.ple.entin" a neproce& re -o l& incl &e a st &y of online st &ent s ccess an& satisfaction rates thro "ho t the i.ple.entation process of re@ ire& fac lty trainin" as -ell as fac lty self$efficacy an& satisfaction s rveys re"ar&in" teachin" online -ith a&&itional trainin". A&&itionally* a .o&ifie& version of the E ality 3attersF r /ric co l& /e applie& to assess fac lty tili4ation of /est practices in their co rses. Since NU co rses are all /ase& off of a .aster class shell* not all of the points of assess.ent in the E ality 3attersF r /ric -o l& apply to in&ivi& al fac lty. 8o-ever* this r /ric co l& also /e se& as part of the a&D nct fac lty perfor.ance eval ation asi&e fro. only st &ent co rse eval ations an& .ean co rse 9PA. An a&&itional .eans of .eas rin" s ccess in this area of opport nity for NU is in re"ar& to national reco"nition of NU as a .o&el for online learnin". The 011A NU Strate"ic Plan also i&entifies /ein" cite& in a nationally reco"ni4e& p /lication as /ein" a .o&el of online learnin" as a niversity "oal. There are .any research p /lications on fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra.s for online teachin"* yet NU has contri/ te& no p /lications to this /o&y of literat re re"ar&in" their philosophy of online learnin"* st &ies of fac lty trainin" .o&els* or online st &ent s ccess at National University. Therefore* a final .eans of .eas re.ent -o l& incl &e a for.al case st &y of the NU fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra. for online fac lty that -as p /lishe& in a nationally reco"ni4e& p /lication. 2y incl &in" this intervention into National UniversityBs strate"ic an& operational plans the fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra. -ill /e e5pan&e& in a -ay that is critical to ens rin" contin e&
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@ ality online e& cation. An enhance& fac lty &evelop.ent pro"ra. -ill also .a!e NU .ore co.petitive a.on" their peers offerin" online e& cation co rses an& &e"ree pro"ra.s.

Appen&i5 A National University Or"ani4ational Chart

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References 1. National University 011A Strate"ic Plan 0. National University 0110 Ann al Report
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3. =O r University=* National University -e/site retrieve& at? http?CC---.n .e& CO rUniversityCTheUniversityCO r3ission.ht.l

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