AACRAO launched the on-demand learning course, History and Progress - 400 years of American Higher Education, focused on important events and milestones in the history of American higher education. This broad survey mini-course is free to AACRAO members and gives learners the knowledge needed to identify and describe fifty-four of the hundred and fifty significant events and people in American higher education as featured in the forthcoming book History of American Higher Education A to Z - A primer for Enrollment Managers, written by course instructor Kimberley Buster-Williams.
Background and Drive
We were fortunate to spend some time with Ms. Buster-Williams to talk about the course, her book, and the work that went into creating both. Kimberley is currently working on her doctoral coursework, resulting in the creation of both the book History of American Higher Education A to Z - A primer for Enrollment Managers and the on-demand learning course.
Ms. Williams is in the process of finishing her doctoral work and through this was required to retake an education history course she first took for her Education Specialists degree over ten years ago. While retaking the course Kimberley noticed that a lot of things had changed since she had last taken the course. She also noticed was that there weren't a lot of SEM-specific facts, nor history in the SEM literature she had worked with in the past. Drawing a connection between the two, Ms. Buster-Williams identified a gap in the available knowledge and set out to fill it.
The work for both the book and the AACRAO on-demand mini-course progressed for the past year with the support of Christopher Tremblay, SEM-EP Director, and Stanley Henderson, AACRAO Senior Consultant.
Audience
While the inspiration for both of these projects is rooted in strategic enrollment management, the material is appropriate for anyone interested in the history of American higher education. Ms. Buster-Williams noted that for a lot of folks who may not be required to take a course in the history of higher education, that this mini-course is a great "bite-sized" way to become familiar with some of the significant events and milestones.
If learners are interested in furthering their knowledge on the subject after taking the AACRAO on-demand course, the book from Ms. Buster-Williams is a great next step. In her book, Kimberley covers both the history of enrollment management in American higher education and also American higher education as a whole. Kimberley noted that the book is a primer and that it is intended for readers to be able to digest quickly.
Take the Course
Visit AACRAO's on-demand learning page to stay up-to-date on all of our learning opportunities. Join the list to be notified whenever we launch a new course. History and Progress - 400 years of American Higher Education is available now.