English Report for Respect writer

Alumni Access to Databases

Student Example

Virginia Management Consultants, Inc.

123 Goodgrades Road – Virginia Beach, VA 23456

http://www.vmc.com

09 September 2012

Mr. Robert Silberman, Chairman

Strayer Education, Inc.

2303 Dulles Station Boulevard

Herndon, VA 20171

Dear Mr. Silberman:

Here is the report that you requested on 26 March studying the feasibility of extending the alumni access to online databases. Other members of Virginia Management Consultants are in the process of researching and preparing the reports about the impact statement and your balance sheets.

This report shows that with little or no investment in Strayer University's Learning Resources Center (LRC), Strayer Education could increase its profits just by extending the already existing access policies to the alumni.

The extension of policy to Strayer University's Alumni increases satisfaction, advocacy, and recommendation. This recommendation to prospective students can generate not only higher impact, but also higher profits in the business model.

It is my pleasure in preparing this report for you, Mr. Silberman, and while working on it I have learned many interesting elements about the education business and about Strayer Education. Please call me directly at 123-1818 when I can be of further service.

Sincerely,

Student Example

Associate Consultant

Executive Summary

With little or no investment in Strayer University's Learning Resources Center (LRC), Strayer Education could increase its profits just by extending the already existing access policies to Strayer University alumni.

As with other educational institutions with similar roles for its LRC, Strayer University's LRC contains impressive services and collections of significant academic works and references. This service and significance becomes immediately clear once a student starts class and uses the LRC as outlined by Strayer University's stringent research and writing requirements for academic soundness and accreditation.

At present, the access policy for one of its most important members, the alumni, are restricted in such manner that they are required to use the on-site campus computers instead of being able to do so from an off-site location such as their home. According to surveys conducted on Strayer University alumni, current students, and prospective students, there is great demand for off-site access to the Learning Resources Center's (LRC) Online Databases.

Extending the access policy satisfies Strayer University's alumni. With increase in satisfaction there is increase in advocacy. With increase in advocacy there is increase in recommendation to prospective students. More prospective students translate to higher profits for Strayer Education, Inc.

Access to the LRC's Online Databases are accomplished through the use of an Internet website, namely the iCampus (http://icampus.strayer.edu/) website. It is administered by Strayer University. Currently, as policy dictates, an alumnus or alumna has to come to the nearest campus and logs onto the iCampus website to gain access to the rich resources of the LRC Online Databases. The iCampus website is an Internet website that can be reached from virtually anywhere in the world.

Strayer Education should extend the LRC access policy. Because whole new access policy does not have to be implemented from scratch, it should have little or no impact in cost. Minimal man-hours may be expended in rectifying the access list by Strayer University's Information Technology staff. It may literally be as little as five minutes to integrate the alumni list onto the main access list.

This relatively universal procedure of logging into a website should have the benefit of being able to do so in the comfort of the alumni's home or any other off-site, increasing convenience, satisfaction, advocacy, recommendation, and support.

Table of Contents

Title Page ........................................................................................................................................1

Letter of Transmittal .......................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................3

Introduction....................................................................................................................................5

The Problem.......................................................................................................................5

The Methods Used.............................................................................................................6

Findings...........................................................................................................................................6

Heart of the Question..........................................................................................................7

Policy..................................................................................................................................7

Analysis............................................................................................................................................7

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................9

References.....................................................................................................................................10

Introduction

The Learning Resources Center (LRC) is part of the Strayer University Library that offers electronic resources in order to complement its print materials ("Learning resources center," n.d.). It is accessed either through Strayer University's iCampus website or by its learning management system website called Blackboard. The LRC is essentially a digital library ("Redefining the library," 2012).

Some examples of electronic resources being offered through the LRC are APA Guidelines, Library Catalog, Databases, Online Tutorials, and Other Resources. But the most prominent example is Databases. Formally listed as Online Databases and Resources ("Databases | strayer," n.d.) it offers resources that reinforces academic research in a multitude of subject areas.

The Online Databases are extremely valuable and an indispensable tool for current students, faculty, and staff. According to the LRC ("Databases | strayer," n.d.) they contain:

· EBSCOhost – offers full text academic, business, and education journals

· eLibrary – reference for popular magazines and scholarly journals

· ProQuest Criminal Justince Periodicals – comprehensive collection of criminal justice journals from U.S. and overseas

· ProQuest National Newspapers Expanded – full text of prominent newspapers such as

· New York Times

· Wall Street Journal

· Washington Post

· Christian Science Monitor

· Chicago Tribune

· Los Angeles Times

· IGI Global Research Collection – reference books in information technology applied to many facets of industry

· Britannica Online – the world famous encyclopedia

· Congressional Quarterly Suite – referencing U.S. governmental events and policies

· Information Systems and Computing databases

· Legal databases

· Financial Information databases

· Statistical Information databases

It is this wealth of reference works and information that is in question for accessibility by Strayer University alumni.

Problem Statement

Current policies of Strayer University allow any of its alumni to gain access to the LRC databases and resources, but only by using their on-site campus computers. This policy seems irrational. With just a slight change in policy to allow database access by the alumni from any computer with an Internet connection, Strayer University can increase alumni satisfaction as well as display good business practice.

An extension to the already existing policy is needed. This resolves the necessity for any alumni to physically go to the campus. I would recommend an extension of the service already in place. By slightly modifying the database access policy to allow external or off-site access, Strayer University can satisfy its alumni with extension of service, be an incentive for current and future prospective students, and be portrayed as having good business sense for Strayer Education, Inc., which is a for-profit corporation.

Methods Used

The methods used to for research came from the LRC Online Databases itself. The ProQuest National Newspapers Expanded was used to get relevant information from the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and the Los Angeles Times. References that also came from the LRC Online Databases are Britannica Online and Mergent Online database, which is a financial information database. From Mergent Online database information regarding Strayer Education, Inc. were extracted ("Mergent online," 2012).

Strayer University and Strayer University Alumni websites were used for reference and extracting relevant information. Alumni charts and graphs were extracted from the Internet to emphasize the purpose and solution to our problem.

Findings

Currently, Strayer University's LRC can only be accessed by currently enrolled students, faculty, staff, and authorized alumni. Authorized alumni means that an alumnus must use the campus computers to access the LRC and its databases. All Strayer University alumni must and should have access to the LRC via the Internet from the convenience of their home or office.

Back in mid 1800s, Henry David Thoreau, an American writer known for Transcendentalism faced similar problems. According to Heitman (2012), Harvard University Library refused to let Thoreau borrow some books because the librarian and the university president felt that it would be too much of a risk to lend books to residents who lived in excess of ten miles of the campus.

But Thoreau argued that the coming of the railroad destroyed the scale of distances, whereby the books could travel farther with safety. He further argued that the library had weakened its mission by following its old rules.

Harvard University had given in to his arguments, and Thoreau was able to have convenient access to its "wealth of learning" (Heitman, 2012).

In such a manner, Strayer University needs to change its policy in regards to its alumni having access to its library – the Learning Resources Center – from home or office. Just as Thoreau was able to have convenient access to Harvard University Library, Strayer University should allow convenient access to its previous members – its alumni.

Heart of the Question

The heart of our question involves the LRC. The LRC, for all its intents and purposes, is what the Britannica Online encyclopedia calls a digital library. A digital library is "any collection of text, sounds, or images stored in a digital format" ("Redefining the library," 2012).

As stated earlier in the introductions, the LRC has an impressive list of databases that can be used to support research in a variety of subject areas. It includes academic and scholarly journals, criminal justice journals from all over the globe, informational technology references, and references containing U.S. governmental events and policies, legal, financial, and statistical databases.

Policy

According to Strayer University's Student Handbook, students are welcomed and encouraged to use the LRC through the use of the Internet. It further states that the LRC section is available from any computer connected to the Internet which provides access to the databases, the online library catalog, electronic books (eBooks), and other useful research areas of the iCampus website. But access to the Learning Resources Center (LRC) via the Strayer University's website, computers, and the use of University's network is only currently eligible to currently enrolled students, faculty, staff, and authorized alumni ("Student handbook," 2011).

Authorized alumni means that they must use the on-site campus computers, according to Sonja M. Nielsen, the Regional Librarian in North Carolina.

We at Virginia Management Consultants heartily recommend that Strayer University's policy be adapted to reflect the incidence with Harvard University and Henry David Thoreau. It should be for the convenience and improvement of Strayer University's alumni.

The main reason to allow extended access by Strayer University alumni would be because of the wealth of information the database provides. Convenient access to the wealth of information and learning – from home or from office would foster personal and professional growth and reflect positively on Strayer University.

Analysis

The importance of alumni donation cannot be emphasized enough. According to Golden (2007), high alumni-giving rates improve the school's status in the annual college survey given by the U.S. News & World Report.

With almost half of Strayer University's alumni in the Finance and Marketing sector (Figure 1), they can be a valuable source of financial basis and foundation.

Figure 1

In addition, Strayer University alumni are spread throughout the world (Figure 2), which would make it convenient for them to be able to access the wealth of information that the Learning Resources Center's (LRC) Online Databases can provide. This would boost their morale and credibility for their alma mater.

Figure 2

There is a darker side of Strayer Education, Inc. that must be addressed. A senate report published in late July of 2012 criticizes for-profit colleges citing shareholder interests before students. The report titled "For Profit Higher Education: The Failure to Safeguard the Federal Investment and Ensure Student Success," contains approximately eight hundred pages in a two-year study. It revealed, among other things, that for-profit colleges are virtually a sales process (de Vise, 2012).

Our recommendation to give better access to the Learning Resources Center (LRC) by the Strayer University's alumni will help counter this negative report. This change in policy will reflect in a better light for for-profit colleges such as Strayer Education, Inc.

Conclusion

Current policies of Strayer University allow any of its alumni to gain access to the LRC databases and resources, but only by using their on-site campus computers. This policy seems irrational. With just a slight change in their policy to allow database access by the alumni from any computer with an Internet connection, Strayer University can increase alumni satisfaction as well as display good business practice.

Recommended changes to existing policy can provide greater satisfaction for Strayer University alumni. Greater satisfaction equates to greater proponent of Strayer University. Greater proponent equates to greater number of prospective students. Greater prospective students translate to higher profit margin for Strayer Education, Inc.

References

Databases | strayer university | only the driven. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://icampus.strayer.edu/lrc/databases

de Vise, D. (2012, Jul 30). For-profit colleges criticized in report. The Washington Post, pp. 4-

A.4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1030045535?accountid=30530

Golden, D. (2007, Mar 02). Math lessons: To boost donor numbers, colleges adopt new tricks;

sinking alumni stats, zeal for rankings spur rate inflation. Wall Street Journal, pp. 1-A.1.

Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/399009993?accountid=30530

Heitman, D. (2012, Jul 04). If thoreau were to move to walden today, would he bring the

internet? maybe. The Christian Science Monitor, pp. n/a. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1023264167?accountid=30530

Learning resources center | strayer university | only the driven. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://icampus.strayer.edu/lrc/home

Mergent online - company detail: Strayer education, inc.. (2012, August 26). Retrieved from

http://www.mergentonline.com.libdatab.strayer.edu/companydetail.php?compnumber=89

429&pagetype=synopsis

Redefining the Library in the Digital Age: Year In Review 2007. (2012). In Britannica Book of

the Year, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com.libdatab.strayer.edu/

EBchecked/topic/1369994/Redefining-the-Library-in-the-Digital-Age

Student handbook. (2011, November). Retrieved from https://icampus.strayer.edu/publications/

student-handbook