By's Musings

Education

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New Look for the HEBB Website

I’ve been rethinking my approach to, the purpose of, and design of this website. All images in this post are courtesy of Presenter Media.

With this post, I was originally intending to roll out the new format of the Higher Ed By Baylis website. The collapse of my old website at first looked like a disaster. It has actually turned out to be something of a blessing in disguise. It has given me time to rethink my approach to, the purpose of, and the design of the website.

I’m one sick puppy over this situation.

Unfortunately, the rollout is not ready and that makes me sick. I have no one to blame about this delay except myself. I am frustrated with myself for misunderstanding the set of instructions that my webmaster provided me related to the new process of adding and editing pages on my website.

So instead of celebrating a big reveal, I am reluctantly left with just giving you a rough sketch of what I have planned for the website. However, I hope that my enthusiasm for the new format will move you to stay in touch until the new site comes to fruition. Moreover, I trust these peeks behind the curtain will whet your appetite to visit and use the site when it is fully operational.

I want my posts to engender intense conversations about the topics presented. I have attempted to make it clear that I want those exchanges to become vigorous dialogues so that my readers and I may share our thoughts and beliefs on what we feel are very important topics.

I have also hinted that I intend to use the transformed Higher Ed By Baylis website in four ways. I hope to employ it as a research-sharing center, a distribution center, a publicity center, and finally a recruitment center.

More than 1600 American colleges or campuses have ceased operations since 1950.

First, as a research-sharing center, I will make available a database that I have assembled on more than 1600 American colleges or campuses that have ceased operations since 1950. Using the information derived from our investigations into the circumstances and reasons for their closures, Ron Burwell and I have written several articles summarizing our findings which will be available as downloads from the website.

For each of eight factors, we have a three-point sustainability scale.

Based on these results, we are suggesting that there are eight factors that contributed to the decline and fall of these institutions. For each of these eight factors, we are proposing a three-point organizational sustainability scale [Thriving=+1; Surviving=0; Dying=-1]. The website will include detailed descriptions of these scales.

Combining all eight scales generates a vitality/morbidity index (VMI) for an institution. Every closed institution in our database had a negative VMI. The question that immediately came to mind was: “Could this index serve as a dashboard “idiot light” to warn institutions that trouble lies ahead?”

In addition to my work on institutional sustainability, I am writing a number of manuscripts in the areas of education, preparation for career and college, faith development, and Christian discipleship. Until I can complete those manuscripts, I plan to use the HEBB website as a warehouse and distribution center for excerpts, previews, and chapters from manuscripts from these manuscripts.

As I noted in this blog more than three years ago, health concerns made me shut down the individual consulting and counseling portion of the work of Higher Ed By Baylis. Those health concerns still persist. Thus, I am forced to turn my attention to the production of in-person and webinars related to these topics.

The third use of the HEBB website will be as a publicity center for these programs and webinars. When I have videotapes and printed resources from these programs, the website will then be used as a distribution center for these materials.

The first version of The Watershed Collaborative was a big box consulting firm.

The fourth use of the HEBB website will be centered on a new version of one of my big dreams. Five years ago I started talking to a number of former colleagues about the possibility of forming a consulting firm named The Watershed Collaborative (TWC).

This firm was to be unique within the consulting world. The name “The Watershed Collaborative” was derived from the concept of a “watershed” as a tipping point. When an organization faces a watershed decision, its choice can make a huge difference in the future success or failure of that organization.

TWC was fashioned after the idea of a big box provider like Walmart or Amazon. By building an army of experts in all areas of operations of organizations working together, TWC could address any problem faced by our clients. I was so confident of the expertise and caliber of TWC’s members, that I was ready to guarantee that our clients would be satisfied with their results. Every time I found experts ready to join me, new health problems would intervene. Thus, I had to momentarily shelve the dream.

The Watershed Collaborative re-envisioned as a non-profit think tank focused on educational issues.

I am ready to look at a new variant of The Watershed Collaborative. This time, I am proposing the establishment of a non-profit think tank. TWC would address policy and operational issues associated with higher education. Its members would produce white papers and substantial reports on significant educational topics.

I will use the HEBB website as a venue to recruit experts as contributing members of the collaborative and the funding sources necessary to power this dream.

Please stay tuned to By’s Musings for the announcement of the exciting rollout. In the meantime, next Tuesday’s post, Repurpose or Build Anew, is the first post in the Point versus Counterpoint series. It addresses the big question: “What’s the best way to make big changes in educational programs?”

 

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By’s Musings New Foci

By’s Musings will focus on 3 areas: Education; Faith & Religion; Organizational Theory & Operations. All images in this post are courtesy of Presenter Media

As I noted in previous posts, I will be restricting my future posts to the three broad areas of education, faith and religion, and organizational theory and operations. These areas should open up many opportunities for engaging dialogue.

By’s Musings presents a focus on education.

Within the field of Education, I will begin by addressing a score of significant issues and dilemmas which have vexed contemporary society in general and the discipline of education in particular. Within these topics, there are numerous divergent and contrasting points of views. This diversity will hopefully engender much discussion. 

The list of potential topics is too long to include in this post. I will highlight some in future posts.

These topics include issues that relate to students, faculty, administration, curriculum, facilities, finances, policies, governance, and operations. Since they are too numerous to list in this post, I will include a preliminary list in a subsequent post.

I will be asking for your help in deciding what topics to include in the topics I cover in By’s Musings.

Along with the list, I will invite the audience to participate in a poll to help determine which issues I should address first. 

By’s Musings focuses on the areas of Faith & Religion.

Within the broad area of Faith and Religion, I plan to publish short posts that will be written in the form of testimonies, prayers, devotionals, and sermonettes.

A deep examination of scriptures in order to explicate Biblical principles and develop practical applications to everyday lives.

I hope to achieve two goals with these posts. The first is to explicate Biblical principles and develop practical applications to the everyday lives of modern Christians. I hope that this will help those who use Christ’s name will be able to integrate spiritual practices and disciplines into their daily lives.

Countering arguments that Christianity impedes intellectual curiosity and serious thought.

My second goal of this section is to counter the arguments of those who feel that any religious teaching, but particularly Christianity, impedes intellectual curiosity and hinders serious thinking.

One very active spokesperson for this group is David Silverman, a well-known atheist, who stated in his book, Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto in a Theist World, “Atheists seek truth; theists ignore it.” 

I pray that God will help me to add something helpful and hopeful to the conversations.

My essays will attempt to show that there are Christians in the intellectual arena who do not ignore truth but sincerely seek it. Hopefully, and prayerfully, I will demonstrate that we can rationally say that faith and reason do not have to be at odds with one another. At the end of the day, it is possible to reconcile them.

Iron sharpens iron. Let’s hammer out the truth together.

However, this task is much too large for one person. I fervently desire and will solicit audience participation in this mission. We can come closer to the truth as a community. As the Lord, speaking through Solomon, admonished us in Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” (KJV)

By’s Musings focuses on Organizational Theory & Operations.

In the arena of Organizational Theory and Operations, I will be concentrating on how organizations come into being, how they maintain themselves, and how they expire. This work is based upon ongoing research into closed institutions within American higher education (IHEs). A colleague and I have been working on this project in one form or another for many years.

More than 1600 American IHEs have died since 1950. Why?

For the past ten years, we have concentrated our study on more than 1,600 colleges in the United States that closed, merged, were acquired by another institution, or otherwise disappeared. In the course of this study, we have identified eight factors that we believe were the major contributing elements in the demise of these IHEs.

The eight factors of Vitality/Morbidity.Sustainability. How do I connect the boxes?

These factors were

  • Market
  • Expertise
  • Passion
  • Leadership
  • Values
  • Resources
  • Internal Culture
  • External Environment

You may recognize the first three as the three factors that Jim Collins identified as the key components for organizations seeking to move from Good to Great.

As I looked more closely at the eight factors, I came to the conclusion that they were definitely descriptive of the cause of death of the IHEs.

Could our factors help diagnosis the health of an organization prior to its demise.

Moreover, in most circumstances, problems in these factors did not appear overnight. Thus, it seemed reasonable that they could be the basis of a model that would serve as a predictor of future difficulties.

I was very excited at this point. Questions came fast and furiously. Firstly, could we develop a sustainability scale or a vitality/morbidity index, using these eight factors to determine whether an IHE was thriving, surviving or dying? Secondly, if this process worked for IHEs, could it work for other organizations? 

We need a consistent language to research and talk about colleges and their disappearances.

One of the biggest difficulties in this research was the lack of a consistent language to talk about colleges and their demise. The first posts in this arena will start the process of developing a consistent language to describe what we mean by a college and what happened to them.

The next set of posts will more fully define my eight factors and all of their subfactors. When we have completed this foundation, we will begin a series of posts that describe our sustainability scale and our vitality/morbidity index. We will save the details of our research for the website and later publication.

Watch for my October 2 post describing the changes coming to the Higher Ed By Baylis website.

 

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A New Format to Posts on By’s Musings

Something tried to cut us down, but we’re back and going to be stronger than ever. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

As I announced in the previous post What’s Coming Next on By’s Musings and the HEBB Website, we are launching a new format for this blog. When the old blog was chopped down, I didn’t know what we were going to do. However, now, I am very excited about the potential for a radically different, conversational approach to this “new” blog.

Let’s have a cup of coffee and a chat. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

Before I get into the details about all the anticipated changes, I want to take this opportunity to invite you to join me each Tuesday morning for a cup of coffee, and an enlightening and a vigorous chat. I chose Tuesdays because I hope readers will come to look forward to Tuesdays with By.

I unabashedly admit that this is a shameless attempt to appropriate the memories and feelings of attachment, compassion, friendship, and learning that I took from the pages of one of my favorite books: Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson.

A role reversal. The one time mentor now needs the help. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

Unfortunately, I can longer pretend to be Mitch Albom, a young author visiting his beloved mentor Morrie Schwartz. Instead, I must reluctantly relegate myself to playing the role of the feisty Morrie.

Let’s discuss this point further. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

Moreover, like Morrie, I am not willing to concede to the ravages of health and time. I purpose to fight until the end. I intend to fully wage the battle and enthusiastically engage in the back and forth process of arguing or discussing point versus counterpoint. I invite you, my readers, to join me in this daunting task in two ways.

Please read the posts. Think about them, React to them. Engage your friends with them. Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

The first way is the most obvious. I want you to read these posts. Thus, I will endeavor to make them inviting.  I also promise to do my best to make them interesting, both in terms of topic, as well as, in terms of readability. I want them to be such that you can’t wait to read them and recommend them to your friends and colleagues. 

The second, but more important change to my approach, is that I want you to be much more involved in the nitty-gritty of the posts themselves. I want your reactions. I want your thoughts. I want your comments. As I included in the hint above, I want you to engage with me and other readers in Point versus Counterpoint dialogues.

The origin of the English phrase Point versus Counterpoint most likely is the Latin phrase puntus contra punctum (literal translation: point against point).

The phrase usually references two very distinct approaches to formal or informal responses to a stated proposition or theme.

In a formal debate one participant attempts to defeat the other by countering the first person’s points with “better” points. Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

The first is typically evident in the discipline of debating.  Presents a counterpoint is a technique employed to defeat an opponent. By presenting evidence or arguments that undermine the proposition under consideration, debaters attempt to sway listeners or judges away from their opponents’ positions and toward their sides of the issue.

Handel Variations on a Fugue, Part 3. This score is Brahms’s Handel Variations, Fugue 9 (part 3). The image is a screenshot by deschreiber from a copyright expired edition of Brahms’s Handel Variations from the Internet Music Score Library Project. The work is in the public domain in its country of origin, and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years. Image courtesy of deschreiber, the Internet Music Score Library Project, and Wikimedia Commons.

 

On the other hand, in the discipline of music, the use of counterpoint is a technique meant to complete or complement a proposition or theme. Rounds and fugues are prime examples of the use of counterpoint in music. The formal definition of counterpoint in music is a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.

 

Got it? It all seems easy. I will state a proposition in a post and will take a position on that proposition. Then, it’s your turn to either counter it with opposing views or to complement it with views that complete the thought. I want you to make full use of the comment box at the bottom of each post. Please don’t hesitate to dialogue with me or anyone who makes a comment. I envision that this could turn into quite a learning adventure for all of us. 

Please keep checking out my blog By’s Musings and the HEBB Website. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

As I approach my self-imposed limit of 1,000 words, I will detail more of my plans and thoughts on the three foci to which I will also restrict my posts. I have scheduled my next post for publication on Tuesday, September 25.  

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What’s Coming Next on By’s Musings and the HEBB Website?

Hooray! By’s finally announcing the changes that are coming to By’s Musings and his website. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

In my previous post What Happened to By’s Musings, I asked you to keep watching for new blog posts because some significant changes were coming to my blog and website. I am now ready to unveil those changes.

It’s Tuesday. Time to publish a new post! Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The first change applies solely to the blog. I have instituted a firmer schedule for the publication of posts to By’s Musings. A new post will be published every Tuesday starting September 18.

Due to the extended absence which just ended, I have built up a backlog of ideas for posts and even completed first drafts of many posts. At the rate of one per week, it will take more than a year to exhaust these ideas and posts. So I have confidence that I will be able to keep to this more rigid schedule.

I’m instituting a strict limit of 1000 words for new blog posts. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The second change also only applies to the blog. It is a move toward more consistency in the length of posts. I am imposing on myself a limit of 1,000 words for each post. Via this concerted attempt to make the postings more concise and precise, I hope that the posts will be more readable and accessible to a wider audience.

Friends, before you rejoice prematurely, you can rest assured that I still suffer from the Russian novel syndrome that has plagued me for most of my life.

Longer reads will be placed on the HEBB website for those that want them. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The third change involves moving the longer and more rambling of my essays to the website. And, yes, I have already prepared first drafts of a number of these works. In this format, I can offer them as white papers and ebooks to those individuals who are looking for a deeper analysis and a more extended read on a topic.

By’s Musings will focus on three areas: Education, Faith and Religion, and Organizational Theory and Operations. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The fourth change will be an initial sharp reduction in the scope of topics which I will address. Until I exhaust the backlog of ideas which I have stockpiled, I will restrict my posts on the blog to the topics of education, faith and religion, and organizational theory and operations.

I will use Social Media Outlets to communicate my thoughts on other topics. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

This does not mean that I am no longer concerned with the topics of athletics, business, economics, food, health, and politics. As an idea strikes me, I will continue to think and write about these important areas of life. However, I will use Social Media avenues such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to communicate my ideas related to these fields.

The website will serve as a distribution center for resources. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The fifth change is directly related to the third and fourth changes. I will also be reorganizing the website around four primary foci. The first three are the previously mentioned topics of faith and religion, education, and organizational theory and operations. As noted above, I will be using the website as a distribution outlet for my research into the areas of faith and religion, education, and organizational theory and operations.

A circle of experts using all of their knowledge and experience to fit the pieces of a puzzle back together to solve problems. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The fourth focus will be the reinvention of an idea that I had several years ago. I will be using the website as the initial home base for a circle of experts who use their theoretical knowledge and practical experience to solve problems, and put the pieces back together to complete the puzzle.

As MLK once said, “There is strength in unity, and there is power in numbers.” One of the basic tenets of my educational philosophy is that learning is both an individual and social activity and process. If one can move the molehill, then more can move the mountain. The name that I am proposing for this alliance is The Watershed Collaborative (TWC). In a future post, I will explain the name and the purpose of The Collaborative. I will also begin to recruit partners to join me in this grand quest.

The website will promote webcasts and live events. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The sixth change will not be visible immediately. I will also use the website as a recruiting or promotional tool for another new venture. As a result of my work in the four areas outlined above, I am in the process of preparing presentations that may end up as either webcasts or in-person events. I will use social media to drive people to the blog. I will use the blog to recruit people to an event. The website will become a repository of resources related to current and past events and a recruitment venue for future events.

I have titled the next post, A New Format to Posts on By’s Musings. As noted above, it is scheduled for release on Tuesday, September 18.  

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What Happened to By’s Musings?

What happened? Where’s my blog and website? They were just here! What am I supposed to do now? Image courtesy of Presenter Media

What happened to By’s Musings?” and “What went wrong?” are two questions that have been bugging me for eight months. In late December 2017, my blog and website both crashed.

It can’t be a 404 Error. I just used that page! Image courtesy of Presenter Media

I discovered the damage just after New Year’s when I attempted to go to the login page of my site to compose a draft of a new post. I got the dreaded 404 Error Message: The requested page is not available. I felt like screaming at the computer screen: What do mean “NOT AVAILABLE”? I used this page two weeks ago. 

I hadn’t checked my blog or site for two weeks because it was the Christmas and New Year’s Break. How could the site be unavailable for only three people, me, my webmaster and his assistant are supposed to have access to it.

Emergency! Emergency! Please answer the red phone now. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

I immediately called my webmaster, he said he would check it out and get back to me. When he did respond, his initial assessment was not encouraging.

Sometimes, you just want to cry. This was seven years of work down the drain. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

Everything on the website and blog that had been done between June 17, 2017, and December 17, 2017 had been wiped out. It had all vanished into Cyber La La Land. The electronic gremlins which inflicted this damage had also destroyed all links and formatting on everything done prior to June 17, 2017. This meant that nothing on my website or blog was working properly, or at least in the manner that I had intended it to work.

It will be alright. We have backups of everything. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

My webmaster sensing my deep frustration and mounting desperation immediately tried to console me with the soothing words, “But we have backups of everything.”

My webmaster and I are both backup fanatics. I have more than 50 years of files on two external hard drives and another copy stored at an offsite location through a backup service. My webmaster has a whole row of backup drives servicing his web clients. I even kept paper copies of all of my previous blog posts, just in case.

Sometimes you can’t escape the dominoes once they start dropping. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

I felt a little more secure until the next domino dropped. My webmaster tried reloading my posts and pages from his backups. But Murphy’s Law struck again. They wouldn’t load correctly. Nothing that was done after June 17, 2017, would load at all. For posts and pages done before June 17, 2017, the only thing that would load was the text. Most of the illustrations, pictures, or links would not load properly. What were we to do now?

Further investigation indicated that software updates to three separate components of this project were all done at essentially the same time, possibly creating mass confusion and conflict. In addition, we found that the formatting and loading processes that we used in the early posts were now incompatible with the new software.

We’ve had to reconstruct By’s Musings from the ground up. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

We came to the agonizing conclusion that the only way to rectify the problem was to essentially reconstruct the website and blog posts one at a time and to relaunch a new and improved version of By’s Musings and the Higher Ed By Baylis (HEBB) website. Some of those hard copies were going to come in handy after all.

As we prepared to do this relaunch, we came to the obvious conclusion that this would be the best time to update and redesign them. Thus, we are getting ready to roll out several new features on both the blog and the website. 

What’s on the menu? You will have to wait for my post on October 1 to see the changes. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

I will highlight those new features in my next post which I plan to publish on Friday, September 14. 

To whet your appetite for what’s coming, I will just say that the new site and blog will integrate more social media aspects and will be more interactive. 

Surprise 50th Anniversary Party for Elaine & By Baylis. Note: Two shirt pockets are an absolute necessity for a buffet – one for pen and notepad (you will never know when an interesting idea will strike you), the second for napkin and flatware. All of the dishes look so good. Which one is the appetizer and which one is the entree? What should I try first? Where are the desserts? Image courtesy of our daughter, Theresa Burgard

Please stayed tuned for what I believe will be an exciting ride. One of the basic tenets of my philosophy of education is that education is both an individual and a social activity. It’s like a pot-luck dinner, where each participant brings something of value to the table. I trust you will enjoy the travels and the bountiful buffet. Give of yourself to help others, while helping yourself to the tantalizing offerings of others. I hope you will contribute your knowledge, expertise, and skills. Participate fully to the benefit of all of us. Bon appetit. 

 

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ATTENTION! BY’S MUSINGS IS BACK!

After an eight-month absence, By’s Musings has returned. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

Did that headline grab your attention? I certainly hope so. It’s not that I love attention. It’s just that I felt I needed to do something unusual to reach out to a new audience, along with my former audience.

Announcing the Grand Reopening of By’s Musings! Image courtesy of Presenter Media

After having been offline now for more than eight months, I definitely needed something to draw in that new audience and alert my former audience that By’s Musings is back in the game.

What in the worlds is By’s Musings? Image courtesy of Presenter Media

You don’t remember “By’s Musings“. You have no clue as to what it is. “By’s Musings” is my personal blog which also serves as an entry to my website Higher Ed By Baylis LLC.

Excuse me, but I have one question for you: If you didn’t know anything about By’s Musings, how did you get here? What made you read this Grand Reopening post from By’s blog?

Check By’s Musings on Monday, September 10, for an important message. Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

My next post will be published on Monday, September 10. You’re all invited to check out that post. It will provide you with a brief description of the extensive damage that shut down both the blog and website for the better part of a year.

Please pardon our dust while our website and blog are under construction. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

In subsequent posts, I will provide a more complete account of the new features of the website and the new threads which will be the focus of future blog posts.

As a quick introduction to the coming changes, suffice it to say that I will be consolidating my efforts in both my blog and website to three specific areas. I will be using an approach that resembles more of a rifle than a shotgun to target the areas of education, organizational theory/operations, and faith/religion.

I will be making a number of other changes. The first change will be an increased emphasis on the use of social media for pre- and post-publication dissemination of information and announcements. I will be using social media as a vehicle to help drive readers to my blog and website.

The second change will be a greater stress on and push for audience participation in both my blog and website. I want to engender more discussion and conversation. In a true learning environment, everyone has something of value to bring to the table. Hopefully, we can enrich each other, by learning and teaching together.  

In the third change, I will be using shorter blog posts to introduce topics and proposals for discussion. I will reserve the longer pieces for the website where they will be offered as resources to individuals and organizations via occasional whitepapers and ebooks. As the site develops more fully and becomes more operational, please check in at your convenience and browse through its contents.

“I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it.” Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

Borrowing a phrase from the Pointer Sisters, “I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it!” Please join me on an adventurous journey to both new and familiar places. Hopefully, all of us will learn much about ourselves and the world along the way. Bon voyage!