SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL. Derek A. Smith. Walden University

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL. Derek A. Smith. Walden University"

Kathleen Glenn
10 years ago
Views:

1 [SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL] 1 Running head: [SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL] SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL Derek A. Smith Walden University Author Note This paper was prepared for Business Strategy and Innovation for Competitive Advantage (DDBA ) Week 2 Assignment 1 taught by Dr. Steve Roussas.

Smith Walden University Author Note This paper was prepared for Business Strategy

2 [SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL] 2 Excelsior College (Excelsior), which operates in the very competitive online education industry, was founded as Regents College in 1971 by the New York State Board of Regents. From 1971 until 1998, Regents College operated as a program of the Board of Regents, under the authority of The University of the State of New York. In April 1998, Regents College became a private, nonprofit, independent institution and changed its name to Excelsior College (Excelsior College, 2014). Excelsior has been rated #14 among the top 20 online Bachelor of Information Technology Degree Programs by TheBestSchools.org (The Best Schools). Excelsior was ranked #1 by U S News & World Report for the number of transfer students. Excelsior was also identified by Military Times EDGE magazine as a "Best for Vets" college, October 2011, 2012 (Lesczinski, Excelsior named a best for vets college and top military-friendly school for 2012, 2011). Additionally, Excelsior was ranked by Military Advanced Education magazine as one of the top 10 colleges serving the military (Lesczinski, 2013). Finally, G.I. Jobs magazine ranked Excelsior as military friendly among the top 15% of all colleges, universities and trade schools serving the military nationwide (Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California). Based upon industry knowledge, two very strong competitors in this industry include the University of Phoenix and Strayer University. Studying Excelsior is significant because the growth of the use of the Internet has essentially changed distance teaching and learning, and Excelsior has been in the distance education industry for over 40 years. Excelsior, and other online colleges and universities, must apply the benefits of constantly the evolving information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure to how they do business to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of the

In April 1998, Regents College became a private, nonprofit, independent institution and changed its name to Excelsior College (Excelsior College, 2014).

3 [SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL] 3 learning experience provided to present and future students. Changes in technology have made online teaching very competitive with the traditional means of teaching. This leads to the question of whether or not online education will lead to dramatic changes in how colleges and universities conduct business (Leef, 2013). The idea of value chains is beneficial for recording and refining the delivery of online education (Elloumi, 2004). Colleges and universities must decide on what service(s) are best for online learners. Decisions must be made on implementing strategy, business processes, structure and culture that is best suited for the growth of online learning. This implementation must also be coupled with using the best technological strategies for course delivery. Due to heavy competition within the online college industry (Elloumi, 2004), it is imperative that Excelsior College gets it right, and this proposed sustainable solution paper will offer suggestions for doing so.

This leads to the question of whether or not online education will lead to dramatic changes in how colleges and universities conduct business (Leef, 2013).

4 [SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL] 4 References Elloumi, F. (2004). Value Chain Analysis: A strategic Approach to Online Learning. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Theory and Practice of Online Learning: Excelsior College. (2014). Excelsior College History. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Excelsior College: Leef, G. (2013, 10 29). Will online education render traditional college obsolete? Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Forbes: Lesczinski, M. (2011, December 6). Excelsior named a best for vets college and top military-friendly school for Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Excelsior Life: Lesczinski, M. (2013, September 17). Excelsior designated a military friendly school by military advanced education magazine for 7th Consecutive Year. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Excelsior life: The Best Schools. (n.d.). The 20 best online bachelor of information technology degree programs. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from The Best Schools:

Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Excelsior College: http://www.excelsior.edu/about/history Leef, G. (2013, 10 29). Will online education render traditional college obsolete?

5 [SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PAPER PROPOSAL] 5 Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California. (n.d.). Vfwca.org. Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Excelsior college information:

Retrieved March 15, 2015, from Excelsior college

Milestones and Recognitions

Milestones and Recognitions Since its inception, University of Phoenix has participated in 30 accreditation visits by regional accrediting bodies, 35 evaluations by state education agencies, and undergone