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Needs Assessment
Access to higher education, especially for specific segments of the general population, including adult learners/non-traditional students, low-income, minority, and rural students, is an insistent concern among policymakers, education professionals, and the general public. Barriers that include prohibitive costs, limited knowledge of financial aid options, the complexity of aid application procedures, personal health,child and senior care challenges, transportation difficultiesare among the many barriers to enrollment and completion of postsecondary education. Existing within the state of Mississippi are significant disparities in the college degree-holders for ages 25 and over. Among racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. As a young university, Leighton University has a commitment to education for all as a common social justice goal and a particular purpose concerning the successful education for the non-traditional students. We increase students’ options for resources and contribute to the State of Mississippi an increase in degrees. There is no argument that individuals benefit by attaining a postsecondary education (PSE) in increased earnings and physical and mental well-being. These benefits ultimately extend beyond the individual graduate to improve the social and economic well-being of the wider community.
In the 2017 Mississippi Complete to Compete (C2C) initiatives, launched by the Commissioner of Higher Education and Executive Director of Mississippi Community College Board, the central focus then, and still true today, was to increase the number of degrees awarded citizens of Mississippi. The initiative has been attentive to reducing, if not eliminating, barriers that keep adult learners from returning to complete their degrees. In support of this initiative, the Board supported the initiation of the C2C Grant that was purposed to encourage adult learners to return to complete their degrees within a year. At the same time, Mississippi’s public community colleges and universities expanded the number of online courses, programs, and student services personalized to provide greater access to working adults to higher education opportunities.
In support of the vision of the Commission and joining hand with the State’s public and private institutions, Leighton University, a non-profit private 501(c)(3) organization, has a clear vision of increasing postsecondary education attainment in the State of Mississippi. Its vision gives a particular focus on adult learners with (a) no college experience or credits, (b) some college but no degree, and (c) adults with associate degrees who want to earn a bachelor's degree. Our focus is to access high-quality academic programs that offer traditional and non-traditional/adult learners’ educational opportunities. The realization of such access guarantees the chance to Mississippians, especially, to prepare for rigorous learning experiences. By embracing and harnessing technology to support and offer access and affordability of higher education, Leighton University will position itself to meet a share of the State of Mississippi vital mission’s services.
As a needs assessment effort, the preceding Study required a comprehensive data set and analysis of factors that affect the design of the program and the potential for success of its future graduates. For that reason, the overarching goal of our Needs Assessment Study was to examine postsecondary need gaps from current Mississippi students and to take a pulse reading of successes and challenges of the existing Mississippi 4-years and above institutions. Through knowledge and discoveries made, Leighton will consider ways to bridge the gaps through a fully online institution. This information is vital to Leighton University in developing its programs while considering sharing accountability for the consumer’s (student) success.
In our quest to gather information, we approached this activity with a clear understanding that “need" refers to the gap between a present position (what is) and the desired positioning (what should be). In that case, the need is neither the present nor the future position; but the existing gap between the two. Leighton University, a proposed institution, hopes to bridge the current gap by offering educational opportunities to an exceptional group of traditional and non-traditional students. Leighton University is likely to serve a proportionally larger share of underprepared students who thirst for post-secondary academic education and require assistance and opportunities to achieve their educational goals successfully. In the authors' assessment, Leighton University gained the capability to develop coursework to support various program scopes and knowledge requirements.
The need assessment research team participated in various roles in the planning of Leighton. This small team possessed the expertise, resources, and authority to perform the needs assessment and publish the recommendations for implementation. To ensure accuracy of results, our data was collated from multiple streams of sources and took a critical approach to:
· Understand our specific “business" need
· Find the right research approach
· Ensure that our insights are actionable.
Analyzing educational vis-a-vis state needs is essential in planning and providing academic programs primarily targeted to non-traditional students/adult learners. If an exercise on needs analysis is neglected, the quest for the development of educational programs and the associated support programs would be counterproductive. Leighton intentionally tasked itself to pursue both primary and secondary information sources. Information from these sources will support the development and implementation of (a) the institution strategic plans, (b) refinement of the proposed and future development of new academic programs, (c) enhancement student learning experiences, and (d) above all, support the University’s mission and values.