SUMMER EDITION

The conference opened with a First Timers Meeting to help those new to ANTSHE network with the veteran ANTSHE members.  This was followed by a Welcome Reception sponsored by Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society. 

Key note speaker for the conference was Roz Parry an experienced national consultant and trainer.  She specializes in conducting training programs in teambuilding, leadership, communication skills, customer service and more!  Roz focused on "Finding The Balance To Reach New Heights". 

Twelve different programs were offered to attendees, ranging from Personal Change, Graduate School Is Possible, to Career Portfolio Development.  New to this years conference was the "Hot Topic Round Table Discussions", this is where members were given the opportunity to suggest future topics for next years conference as well as focusing on current issues facing nontraditional students in their regional areas.

The board is working hard to improve our exposure nationally. Gabe DeGabriele will be manning a booth in June at the National Conference on the Adult Learner in Orlando Florida.   In other board action the 2004 conference will be held in the Fort Worth/Dallas area.  

When working adults attend a college or university, they do so to meet specific learning needs. These needs are based on well thought out personal and professional goals. Adult learners want to acquire specific competencies, they learn best in an environment that blends vertical and horizontal learning, they want the pace of learning to be fast and efficient, they expect the package’s contents to be faithful to its label, and they generally prefer to learn from instructors who have current professional experience in the subjects they teach. Since the working adult’s ability to seek a degree or certificate is constrained by an already full personal and professional calendar, they have specific needs for learning environments and support services. They need the education process to be efficient with respect to time-on-task and learning outcomes. Among other things, this means that they prefer options for blended learning (part online, part face-to-face), they want to manage schedules and other college business on the web and have books delivered to their door, they prefer classes in the evenings and/or weekends, and they want their programs to be aligned with the needs of their employers and the market of their chosen occupation.

InterEd, Inc. provides colleges and universities with the intelligence and guidance they need to respond successfully to the adult-centered market. In a given year, InterEd's senior analysts interview 3,000 senior decisions-makers affecting the education decisions of more than 10 million working adults. Our knowledge-base contains more than 2.5 million program assessments from working adults in degree, certificate and corporate-focused programs. We provide assessments of program feasibility. We conduct competitive analyses to test the service features needed by adult students. We replace the "build it and they will come" approach to program development with locally derived, goal-specific intelligence about the emerging and fastest growing program opportunities to meet the needs of adult students. We place this intelligence in the context of our national perspective. Having been instrumental in the success of some of the Nation’s largest and most successful adult-centered programs, InterEd has earned a reputation as a trusted provider of intelligence driving innovation, growth, profitability, partnerships and quality in adult-centered, corporate and professional higher education.  Contact InterEd at: www.intered.com

Monthly Payment Plan Benefits Nontraditional Students

"If it weren’t for the monthly payment plan my college offers, I wouldn’t be able to afford to attend. This plan has made it possible for me to attend college and given me the promise of a better job."

An adult learner enrolling in college.

Adult learners in colleges and universities across the country, while a growing group on the postsecondary campus, still face many barriers. Among those barriers is the challenge to find the finances needed for daily living and education without incurring high debt and sacrificing a reasonable life style.

Many institutions are recognizing the value of providing multiple payment options to their students, traditional and non-traditional alike. These payment options often include a variety of possibilities including monthly cash payments made through third party tuition management companies such as FACTS Tuition Management.

"The FACTS program has helped our college foster a better relationship with our students," notes Tony De Gaetano, Vice President of Burlington County College in New Jersey. "The dependability of the collections through FACTS lets us offer more flexible payment plans, even for summer sessions. Our students love the options to pay."

"We’re finding many colleges are recognizing the value of offering monthly payment plans," says Warren Arleth, Senior Vice President for the FACTS postsecondary services. "Our program offers two great benefits for the student and the institution. The students have the opportunity to enroll and meet their obligation through convenient monthly payments. The institutions are able to offer a payment plan without the expense and work of administering one themselves."

"With the introduction of a plan to spread out tuition payments over an entire semester, the college made higher education more affordable," said Tracy Harris, Dean of Enrollment Services at a community college in Maryland. "Students have been able to enroll in more courses and accelerate graduation. Our college had an 11 percent increase in credit hours taken and a 6.3 percent increase in enrollment over last year’s fall semester, to 12,300 students. It has worked. It has been tremendous."

Adult students, who are by nature more goal-oriented than traditional students, are using the FACTS program. A monthly payment program only increases their motivation to do what they have to do to be successful. Colleges using the FACTS monthly program discovered that it helped capture students earlier than it used to in the enrollment management process.

If you’re a non-traditional student, ask your college or university if they provide the FACTS payment plans. If you’re an administrator, find out how you can offer this program to your students at www.factsmgt.com.

Randall Bretz, PhD

Senior Vice President

FACTS Management Company

[email protected]

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