Responses
Denita Discussion:
The Board of Visitors is composed of 17-voting members appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving four years. The Rector and Visitors serve as the corporate board for the University of Virginia and are responsible for the university's long-term planning. They approve the policies and budget for the university and are entrusted with the preservation of the university's many traditions, including the Honor System (UV,2021). In 2010, Teresa A. Sullivan became the university's eighth president and its first female President. During her eight-year tenure (2010-2018), Sullivan produced a strategic plan for the Cornerstone Plan. The Cornerstone Plan will be implemented by shaping the University of Virginia as it enters the turn of the century (UV, 2021). Although her Cornerstone Plan did not indicate online learning services, the UV board of visitors and rector had a different vision to expand the university's global educational expansion by using technology.
Two members from the Board of Visitors, the rector, and vice-rector, sent emails amongst each other about articles about online education and open-course processes. Other board members participated in the thought theory of exploring these educational options (Hebel, 2012), examining how these courses of action can lead the university into a financial gain and link the university to gain more diverse student populations. With these ideas in mind to elevate the university into the current education movement, the Board of Visitors and President Sullivan were on different paths for the university's vision for the long-term. Eventually, the rector and vice-rector made the recommendation to have Sullivan resign from her position immediately. The indication of her resignation did not settle well with the staff and students at the university, which ultimately, several days later, regained her status and resumed her position as President (Hebel, Stripling, Wilson, 2012).
The Board of Visitors and President Sullivan had different visions for the long-term for the university. When seeking out a president for a university, the board must be very selective of whom they choose. The candidate of interest for the president position must possess the same mission, vision, and value that has already been established by the historical setting of the college, along with implementing their new perspective and incorporating the board's recommendations as well. In the case of the board vs. President Sullivan, there was a lack of communication. These two were on different paths that were not in alignment. The UV board members sought a candidate who was an innovator for change for future transformations, which would have propelled the university in the same lane as other institutions offering online learning options. Although the board and the President were on different paths, both sides unanimously came together to develop realistic, measurable roadmaps to help the university reach its full potential to improve the university community and student experience (Hebel, Stripling, Wilson, 2012).
Resources:
University of Virginia (2021). Board of Visitors
University of Virginia (2021). Teresa A. Sullivan (2010-2018)
https://www.virginia.edu/aboutuva/presidents/sullivan
Hebel, Sara (2012). UVa Board Members’ E-Mails Reflect Worry About Online Education
Hebel, S., Stripling, J., & Wilson, R. (2012). U. of Virginia Board Votes to Reinstate Sullivan
https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-virginia-board-votes-to-reinstate-sullivan/
Jaime Discussion:
As a member of the Board of Visitors, I know that online education is a huge market to reach and a potential way to help drive enrollment. Knowing this, I would approach the President of the College with some key takeaways and figures showing how online education has helped other institutions with similar Carnegie statistics. Approaching this as a positive to the school with contacts the president can confer with sets the stage for President Sullivan to take in the information, speak to other schools and her cabinet and really see if this is something UVA could handle at this point. While the president does serve at the pleasure of the board, it should be a position of a power trip being pulled to get the solution they are looking for. That is what appeared to have happened when Sullivan resigned and then ultimately was reinstated. Rector Helen Dragas in a meeting with President Sullivan and Vice Rector Kington (who ultimately resigned), told President Sullivan that they had the votes to get rid of her; it later came to light that this was a coup to get rid of her so that they could push their agendas that she did not back (Hebel, Stripling & Wilson, 2012). The email exchange which was later released showed the Rector and Vice Rector commenting on articles on online education from top research universities and showed conversations with other board of trustee members on the subject asking how UVA was going to initiate such an endeavor to help their university; the interest was there and it appeared pressure was on to make this change (Hebel, 2012). Presenting these articles and discussions and concerns to the President and having a talk about how it can benefit the university may have save the BOV and the president a lot of time. Instead the school was given bad publicity. This type of maneuver could only hurt enrollment and retention of their students and faculty and not help it; which was the goal of an online endeavor.
The key stakeholders for online education would come in the form of the faculty and staff and current and future students. Having a variety of ways that classes are offered can benefit students. There could easily be students that are not able to physically be on campus for classes due to jobs, family obligations or even disabilities that prevents them getting around. Having online modalities whether it be via classes through Blackboard or Brightspace or even in real time through Zoom gives students that option to choose what best fits them while still receiving a proper education. It also opens up the opportunity for faculty to work at institutions that may not be within their home town if they became a full distance learning professor (adjunct or not). This also gives institutions the opportunity to hire faculty they may never had been able to reach in the past due to location.
The biggest barrier I see is for disabled students. As of 2010, only twenty five percent of institutions surveyed assured that central offices remained in compliance with the ADA on their campus, so it can be assumed this remains the same for online programs (Kolowich, 2010). So, while some students with a disability may benefit from online learning, they may not receive equal opportunity for it if the institutions do not provide the proper tools and functions needed. I do know that during Covid, interpreters were still provided for Zoom classes for our hearing-impaired students, but I am unsure if that remains once classes start back in full swing. I have never seen such a charge on our interpreter bills and I scrutinize them as part of my job. Having equal access for all students no matter their status needs to be top priority. One cannot get fired from a position as long as their disability does not prevent them from performing their duties and certain measures need to be put in place for individuals, so why should it not be the same for students who want the opportunity to learn online as well?
References
Hebel S. (2012, June) UVa Board members e-mails reflect worry about online education. In Chronicle of
Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/uva-board-members-e-mails-reflect-worry-about-online-education/
Hebel, Stripling & Wilson (2012, June). U. of Virginia board votes to reinstate Sullivan. In Chronicle of
Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/u-of-virginia-board-votes-to-reinstate-sullivan/?cid2=gen_login_refresh&cid=gen_sign_in
Kolowich, S (2010, November). Internal barriers to online expansion. In Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved form
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/12/in