An item from the folks at the USDLA.

Tuesday 2/27: USDLA News The Early Bird gets the … book! Register before March 31 for our National Conference and get a free copy of “Commencement” Happy Tuesday, USDLA friends — We are so excited about our upcoming 2024 National Conference, June 17-20 in St. Louis. As our gift to all of you Early Birds, we are giving away a signed copy of “Commencement: The Beginning of a New Era in Higher Education.” Just register before March 31, and at the conference, our executive director Pat Cassella will sign your tome that includes the foreword he penned. Also at the conference: You’ll have the chance to meet co-author Dr. Joe Sallustio, our keynote speaker on Day 3. Click here to watch our interview with Joe and Kate Colbert on USDLA’s Distance Learning Roundtable show. Scroll down for an excerpt of Pat’s essay, as well as fascinating insights from the news outlet Higher Dive about why some employers are wary of Gen Z workers. What can colleges do? Meet our USDLA Sponsor Instructure: Learn what the makers of Canvas have in store for us in 2024. Have you registered for the conference yet? Click here to be an Early Bird: usdla.org/2024-conference-registration “Commencement: The Beginning of a New Era in High Education,” by Kate Colbert and Joe Sallustio Special edition foreword by USDLA executive director Pat Cassella Change is a constant — in our lives and in our work. And as we enter a new era in higher education, there is perhaps no better example of the ever-present power of change than within the virtual and physical walls of our colleges and universities in the United States. When managed accordingly, change in higher education can bring about truly positive outcomes. As more higher education institutions embrace necessary change and notable innovation, we see a meaningful impact on campuses and communities, with a greater number of qualified graduates to fill high-paying, in-demand jobs and with increased learning productivity leading to degrees in a shorter timeframe. In the 2020s, higher education is speeding up, leveling up, and standing up to new challenges and opportunities. However, what might be most concerning to today’s educational leaders is the rate of change we are currently experiencing — across every segment of the industry, across every type of learner population, and every intricate element of operation. Leaders who are asleep at the wheel might quickly see their bread-and-butter enrollment vanish faster than a federal budget dollar. Students demand flexibility, instructors want to be compensated for the additional work and exponential increase in faculty/student relationships that hybrid instruction can require, and classes need to reflect jobs that don’t yet exist. So … are you still interested in that open University President position? Because it’s tough at the top in an industry under fire — an industry where you serve changing populations with changing expectations through changing times. Kate Colbert and Dr. Joe Sallustio tell us in the opening pages of Commencement that “Higher education is no longer about ‘or.’ It’s about ‘and.’” They are right. Students, faculty, staff, administrators, employers, and higher education partners don’t just want something different today — they want (and deserve) more. When the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) was founded 36 years ago, we focused on providing video conferencing expertise and guidance to the global educational community. Colleges and universities around the world turned to our board of directors, comprising mostly institutional presidents and industry executives, to learn about design choices and best practices. In those early days, the data was primitive, and the video conference systems we spoke of were both expensive and unreliable. But we are hard-wired for human connection — in our personal and professional lives and during our educational experiences — and the education industry had an opportunity to become more inclusive, more accessible, more flexible, and more affordable. And technology was key to the opportunities that lay before us. So, for all the shortcomings of “distance learning innovations” several decades ago, we were on a path to somewhere important, and USDLA stakeholders knew it. As such, industry professionals came to our conferences to hear about the good, the bad, and the ugly truths from the experts. INDUSTRY NEWS: HigherEd Dive Some employers are wary of Gen Z workers. What can colleges do? In this week’s article by Kate Rix in HigherEd Dive, she shares ways for higher education institutions to help students learn critical workplace skills, such as oral communication and empathy. Kate writes: Call them power skills, durable skills or 21st century skills, but career development experts say it’s time to acknowledge that proficiency in empathy, critical thinking and collaboration are required to be successful in most jobs. And some younger employees aren’t cutting it. They say a less-than-perfect storm of events has left Gen Z, generally considered young adults born after 1997, lacking in competencies that, in some cases, have been expected of workers but not explicitly named. Competencies like using a more formal way of talking or writing an email, dressing appropriately for the office and showing up for work on time are in short supply among some young employees, the career experts contend. Click here to read the entire article. USDLA Sponsor of the Week Instructure: The Makers of Canvas Many thanks to the dynamic team at Instructure for being part of USDLA’s 2023 National Conference. Not only is Instructure the maker of a leading learning management system. It’s an education technology company with a mission to elevate student success, amplify the power of teaching, and inspire everyone to learn together. Sparked in 2008 by two enterprising grad students, Instructure is the home of Canvas LMS and the Instructure Learning Platform that benefits millions of students and teachers worldwide daily. In 2021, Instructure went public as INST (Again!). And welcomed EesySoft to the family. In 2022, it acquired Concentric Sky: the Makers of Badgr, now known as Canvas Credentials, and LearnPlatform. Watch our video interview with Instructure.com. Become a MEMBER of USDLA Become a SPONSOR of USDLA Higher Education Certification Professional Learning Certification Support USDLA When You Shop @Amazon Smile Thank You to Our National Sponsors D2L, Instructure, JDL Horizons, Poly, Google, Verizon, Carolina Distance Learning,  Harmonize, FDLA, IAP, Nearpod, ViewSonic, Wolfvision, Anatomage,  Arizona Telemedicine Program and Southwest Telehealth Resource Center, GoReact, Huddly, BocaVox, Softchalk, NC Sara, Simple Syllabus, VDO360, Symbiosis,  VirtualCare, Waldorf University, Merlot, IntelliBoard, Flo-ops,  Upswing, Questionmark, Perlego, Padlet Thank you for supporting USDLA, our Sponsors, and our State Chapters. Chuck Sengstock, President Valary Oleinik, President-elect About United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) Formed in 1987, USDLA is a 501(c)3 non-profit association formed in 1987. Our weekly newsletters reach more than 100,000 people globally, including our members and sponsors working in industries including pre-K-12 education, homeschooling, higher education, continuing education, corporate, military, government, and telehealth. Our mission is to promote the development and application of distance learning for education, training, advocacy, and networking: USDLA.org USDLA | www.usdla.org

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