Explore and discuss soft power strategies for program development within the context of a mid-sized public university. Here, we examine a case study involving recent efforts to bring STEM programs online to identify successes and failures on the path to improving both the quality and quantity of online programs.
"Soft power - getting others to want the outcomes you want." - Joseph S. Nye
How does one create online programs without the direct authority to do so? At our mid-sized public university, we employ a variety of solutions to enhance both the quality and quantity of our online program offerings. In this Discovery Session, we will explore and discuss this diverse toolbox of soft power strategies for program development. In particular, we examine a case study of recent efforts to bring STEM programs online at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, featuring a unionized faculty and strong faculty governance.
Specifically, we'll discuss how to bring home the voices and expertise of contacts made right here at OLC Accelerate, how to make the most of internal faculty champions, how and to whom to provide compelling contextual data, strategies for educating constituents about the competition, how to find and support your faculty allies, and other strategies as part of a multi-pronged approach to successful online program development.
Presenter Owen Guthrie will share and discuss these strategies and more using recent experiences related to attempts to bring STEM programs online as a source of real-world examples. He will share how one might gain momentum in the struggle to develop online programs including stories of successes, and some (in retrospect) amusing stories of early failures.