The Impact of Declining Enrollment and Re-Careering on Community College Gerontology Programs

According to Inside Higher Ed (2020), community college enrollment declined by 10.1% during the fall 2020 semester and this decline in enrollment continued into the spring 2021 semester for many community colleges. Gerontology programs within community colleges were among curriculums impacted by this downswing in enrollment. This presentation will discuss what this means for community college Gerontology programs across the United States in a time when the older adult population is rapidly increasing, and a qualified workforce is needed to fill the multiple fields serving this aging population. One area of discussion will be the number of returning adults who are re-careering into Gerontology, some because of the impact of a family caregiving situation while others are motivated to change careers because of their interest in the numerous career pathways available in the field of aging. Suggestions for encouraging and supporting these newly returning adults will be discussed.

Crisis in US Accounting Education

In 2001, Professors W. Steve Albrecht and Robert J. Sack wrote in their 2001 CPA Journal article that the accounting practice community perceived accounting education to be completely outdated. Fewer students majored in accounting, many accounting firms perceived accounting students higher educational training as outdated and hired fewer accounting majors. In 2021, these issues are still prevalent. This chapter discusses what has changed over the last 20 years and what issues are faced with current accounting graduates. A more agile accounting profession, a new CPA exam approach in 2024, and the use of more advanced analytical and technological tools in the profession only make the challenge to higher education even harder. The discussion then concludes with mitigating strategies to not only improve requisite skills that the profession demands, but also discusses strategies to curtail declining enrollment trends.

COVID Transitions: Characteristics of older adults who engage or do not engage in virtual exercise

Background. Exercise is a crucial component of maintaining good health in older individuals. The COVID-19 stay-at-home orders forced Veterans actively engaged in facility-based exercise to stop attending in-person group exercise programs like Gerofit. Objective. To compare the characteristics of Veterans who enrolled (E) or declined enrollment (DE) in the transition from a facility-based exercise program, Gerofit, to a virtual Gerofit-to-Home (GTH) program. Methods. Gerofit is a supervised exercise “VA Best Practice” program for older Veterans implemented at 17 VA medical centers around the country. At the time of COVID-19 mandated closures, 1149 Veterans were actively engaged in facility-based programs and invited to attend GTH classes. Comparisons between those enrolling and those declining enrollment were performed by t-tests. Results. Three hundred and eight of 1149 (27%) Veterans made the transition to telehealth delivered classes, with several sites having enrolled participants aged in their mid-nineties. Age was not associated with GTH adoption rates (74.0 vs. 74.7, p=not significant for E vs. NE). Body mass index (31.3 vs. 30.5 kg/m2, p<0.05), gait speed (1.19 vs. 1.12 m/s, p<0.001), arm curls (20.8 vs. 19.5, p<0.001), and chair stands (14.7 vs. 13.2, p<0.05) were higher in individuals actively participating in GTH compared to those that never enrolled. Conclusions. Some older adults can adopt a virtual approach to group-based exercise, demonstrating its feasibility. Further research is needed to improve GTH implementation for lower functioning individuals. Virtual group-based exercise could reduce negative health effects associated with isolation due to lack of in-person exercise.

Developing Effective Instructional Skills: The Master Educator Program at SUNY Buffalo State

With higher education facing budget cuts and declining enrollment, instructor effectiveness continues to be crucial, particularly in a state of increasing workloads with restricted resources. However, the dilemma of how to develop effective instructional skills while still maintaining a research agenda stems from a larger contradiction within professional disciplines; teaching is essential to the profession but holds a devalued position compared to research. It is not enough for educator to recognize that teaching and research are mutually reinforcing, universities must also recognize and support this reality. Understanding that we must learn to be good instructors, even as teaching is devalued, led our School of Professions to reflect on how we can develop strategies for becoming effective educators while still fulfilling our research (and service) agenda. With the Master Educator (MEP) program, our school is developing internal talent via instructional coaching between our School of Education (SOE) and our School of Professions (SOP). Research indicates that traditional forms of professional development are not effective. In turn, research on instructional coaching in K-12 setting has indicated a much higher implementation rate than traditional approaches to professional development; however, to our knowledge, there have been no attempt at implementing instructional coaching at the university level. The MEP is the first program to implement this practice at the university level.

Partnerships as Innovative Practices in Teacher Education

Education preparation providers (EPPs) and school districts are facing many challenges, such as declining enrollment, lack of teacher educators willing to teach in high need content areas, and attrition for those teachers who do enter the profession. Innovative thinking and creative planning are necessary to meet these challenges. Partnerships between EPPs and school districts can be part of the answer for overwhelmed school districts and struggling EPPs. Innovative partnerships between universities and school districts, consistently reviewed and adjusted based on data and needs, will benefit the teacher candidates, schools, and P-12 students. This chapter will highlight an innovative partnership between an EPP and a school district by describing the process of developing an effective partnership, the challenges that were overcome, resources utilized, and responsibilities of key personnel who were involved. Suggestions will be provided for other partnerships seeking to develop similar programs to address inequities and exclusivities.

Gentrification, Geography, and the Declining Enrollment of Neighborhood Schools

This study examines patterns and relations between gentrification and urban schooling across U.S. cities using longitudinal data from 2000 to 2014. The first section presents new statistics on the incidence and distribution of gentrification occurring around urban schools in the United States as a whole. Of the roughly 20% of urban schools located in divested neighborhoods in the year 2000, roughly one in five experienced gentrification in their surrounding neighborhood by 2014. However, there exists considerable heterogeneity in the prevalence of gentrification across U.S. cities, with exposure rates ranging from zero in some cities to over 50% in others. The second section finds evidence that gentrification is associated with declining enrollment at neighborhood schools, especially when gentrifiers are White.

La profesión docente en crisis: Disminución de la matrícula normalista en México

The decrease in interest in pursuing a teaching career is an international phenomenon. In the case of Mexico, periods of decline in interest in entering normal schools are associated with changes in the working conditions of teachers. The objective of this article is to present the results of a research work on the declining enrollment of the bachelor of arts in primary education (BAPE) as a consequence of the decrease in the number of applicants to enter this profession in Mexico. This exploratory study comprised two phases. In the first one, a revision of the federal policies regarding the teaching career and entrance to the normal schools is made. In the second phase, the statistics of the BAPE were analyzed. In relation to the applicants, a national reduction of 57% was found from 2011-2012 to 2017-2018, while enrollment shows a national declining of 17% from 2011-2012 to 2018-2019. In view of the clear and abrupt reduction of interest towards teacher education in a normal school, it is necessary to deepen the identification of the causes to implement national strategies that allow for reversing this phenomenon.