Recent Work, Studies, and Presentations.

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The Hidden College, a nationwide study of noncredit classes and programs authored by Richard A. Voorhees and John H. Milam. Data were collected directly from institutions. A total of 1,262 schools supplied data for a 60 percent nationwide response rate. This work was funded by the Lumina Foundation through the University of Virginia's project on nontraditional learners and coordinated by HigherEd.Org. (PDF)

Education Master Plan for Skyline College, San Bruno, California, completed in May 2006. Voorhees Group LLC facilitated the development of this plan for Skyline College preliminary to a Facilities Master Plan and to accommodate changing demographics in the College's service area. Report, appendices, and PowerPoints used for internal and external strategy sessions are available on the Skyline College Institutional Research and Planning web page.

Evaluation of Graduate Certificate Programs in Institutional Research. This project examined the nationwide effort funded by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Association for Institutional Research to increase the number of graduate students and in-career professionals with formal training in institutional research. This project is currently operating at Florida State University, Indiana University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Missouri System.

Quality and American Community Colleges presentation by Rick Voorhees made for the Victorian Office of Higher Education and the Australian University Quality Agency (AUQA). This seminar focused on the challenges confronting American community colleges as they seek to demonstrate quality to multiple constituents. A brief overview of their history precedes discussion of trends in curricula, financing, and student transitions that impact a quality agenda (PDF).

Feasibility study for Hudson Valley Community College to consider locating programs and services at the Saratoga Energy + Technology Park in Malta, New York. Funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), this study examines demographic trends and compares existing HVCC curricula to the needs of emerging high technology employers, especially those in the clean energy field. Completed August 2005

Education Master Plan for Broward Community College, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, completed in January 2005. Voorhees Group LLC facilitated the development of this plan for BCC as the college is undergoing fundamental changes in its service area demographics. Report, appendices, and PowerPoints used in internal and external strategy sessions are available on the BCC Master Plan webpage.

Financing American Systems and Institutions of Higher Education. Presentation made to the first international conference on higher education and institutional research, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, October 2004.  Status of Student Information at Tribal Colleges and Universities. Audience handouts are a key part of this presentation, providing examples for the materials presented in the PowerPoint. (PDF's)

How to Publish for American Journals. Presentation to faculty and students at both to students at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Peoples Republic of China, Wuhan, October 2004, and to students at National Tsing Hua University, Hinschu, Taiwan, in October 2003. This presentation was updated from a previous workshop by Trudy Bers and Rick Voorhees. It provides useful advice about how to identify audiences, employ correct grammar, and contains a section entitled, "Things Your Mentor Never Told You." (PDF)

Preparation for Graduate Study. Presentation to faculty and students at both to students at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Peoples Republic of China, Wuhan, October 2004, and to students at National Tsing Hua University, Hinschu, Taiwan, in October 2003 [with Walt Wager]. Offers many suggestions and action steps about how international students can maximize their chances for higher education opportunities in the United States. More than 350 students attended this session in Taiwan (PDF)

Education Master Plan for Central Arizona College (CAC), Coolidge, Arizona, May 2004. Voorhees Group LLC, facilitated a comprehensive plan for CAC as the college begins its first steps to prepare for a five-fold increase in population predicted for the next 20 years.

Documenting Capital Construction Outcomes at Tribal Colleges and Universities. Voorhees Group LLC helped the American Indian College Fund to determine the efficacy of construction at tribal colleges and universities brought about by the Lilly, Packard, and Bush Foundations. Not surprisingly, student leaders indicated that new facilities were critical to their decisions to attend TCUs. June 2004. Full report available from the American Indian College Fund

Status of Student Information at Tribal Colleges and Universities. TCUs are increasingly important to higher education as the primary point of access for American Indians. This study reports available data about students attending TCU's. These data have previously been unavailable in any one place and point to many emerging trends in these critical institutions. October 2003. (PDF)

Globalization of Higher Education. Presentation to faculty and students at National Tsing Hua University, Hinschu, Taiwan, October 2003. This presentation identifies the challenges facing American higher education and what technology and free trade mean to the prospects for global higher education. Contains interesting new information from several non-traditional sources. (PDF)

Linking Competencies and Curricula . Presentation to students at National Tsing Hua University, Hinschu, Taiwan, October 2003. This presentation explains how faculty and institutional leaders can use competencies, as units of learning to transform and create academic programs. It demonstrates DACUM and bookmarking techniques for ensuring that competencies are accurate and reflect professional judgment. (PowerPoint)

Institutional Research: What is it? Who Needs it? And, why?. Presentation to the public universities in South Dakota, September 2003. This work explains the increasing importance of institutional research and why it should be much more than preparing routine reports. Examples of "actionable" data are presented as well as links to outstanding IR websites. (PDF)

What's Up with Tribal Colleges and Universities and IPEDS? Presentation to the annual Tribal Universities and Colleges' Financial Aid and Registrars' Conference in Polson, Montana, August 2003). Reporting dates for 2003-2004 and advice about the Integrated Postsecondary Data System says about TCU's is found here. (PDF)

Management Study of the Community College of Denver. Voorhees Group was asked to perform a management audit of the institutional research, human services, institutional advancement, and administrative functions of the Community College of Denver, August 2003. Findings here include horizontal communication, cross-training, and professional development strategies. (PowerPoint)

Characteristics of Tribal College and University Faculty. A first paper based on national survey of current TCU faculty, August 2003. This paper highlights employment patterns, aspirations, and demographic characteristics of American Indian and non-Indian faculty members at TCU's. (PDF)

An Evaluation of the Information Infrastructure, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Nebraska. Voorhees Group was asked to study the ways in which management information flows at MCC and to make recommendations about the institution's use of information, especially as related to plans for future accountability initiatives, August 2003.

Data Systems to Enhance Teacher Quality. Richard A. Voorhees and Gary Barnes with Robert Rothman. National study intended for states to manage data systems to study teacher mobility and retention of quality teachers completed in June, 2003. This study was supported by the Ford Foundation and published by the State Higher Education Executive Officers and is intended as a "think piece" for state leaders who are faced with managing complex systems, including data systems, to ensure teacher quality as envisioned by the No Child Left Behind Act. [With Gary Barnes and Robert Rothman] (PDF)

Feeding Networks: Institutional Research and Uncertainty This was the opening keynote presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research in May 2003. This work identifies the issues facing American higher education from a management point of view and offers suggestions for institutional researchers to meet those challenges. (PDF)

New Work: Connecting American Higher Education to the Global Economy A presentation to a select audience attending the first joint symposium sponsored by the Association for Institutional Research and the European Association for Institutional Research, June 2003. It provides a brief history of American higher education's involvement in workforce preparation and identifies the challenges that higher education faces in the global marketplace. (PDF)

Adult Learners and State Policy This study, sponsored by the Council for Advancement of Experiential Learning (CAEL) was prepared by Richard A. Voorhees and Paul E. Lingenfelter of SHEEO. Intended as a "think piece" for state leaders, it reviews the participation of adults in postsecondary education and outlines strategies for states to increase adult participation, especially to increase the quality of their workforce. (PDF)

Statewide Enrollment Projections for New Freshmen in Virginia. Unlike usual statewide enrollment forecasts, the model developed for Virginia was built from county-level data linking demographic and economic factors together with historical participation rates. This allows state officials in Virginia to build scenarios based on tuition and financial aid policy, May 2003.

Data and Accountability Systems in Student Success: Statewide P-16 Systems. This chapter in a national study argues that postsecondary success can become widespread only if the entire educational system--from early childhood through elementary school, high school, and college--is geared toward preparing and enabling students to become well-educated learners and workers. H. L'Orange and R. A. Voorhees. (PDF)

Integration of Emily Griffith Opportunity School and Community College of Denver, a feasibility study on behalf of two institutions pursuing further collaboration. Includes program merger, enrollment projections, and financial cost modeling, January 2003.

Information Sources for Answering Key Financing and Financial Aid Policy Questions: Current Practice and Future Possibilities. In "Policies in Sync: Appropriations, Tuition, and Financial Aid for Higher Education," a national study that addresses, among other topics, institutional capacity to provide quality postsecondary education to the state’s citizens as well as the capacity of the state’s citizens to contribute to the cost of successful participation in postsecondary education. Boulder, CO: Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education by P.E. Lingenfelter, H.P. L'Orange, C.Rasmussen, & R.A. Voorhees. (PDF)

Challenges and Opportunities in Managing Data and Information for Internal and External Audiences Presentation to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, December 2002. (PowerPoint Web Show)

Evaluating Distance Education (PowerPoint, Presented to various audiences)

Institutional Accreditation and Expectations for Competencies (HTML Document, by Dawn Terkla, from "Measuring What Matters: Competency-Based Learning Models in Higher Education)