2021 Newlane University Annual Report: How We Are Achieving Our Mission

The Time

is NOW.

Newlane is mission-driven to provide an accessible, quality college-level education. While Newlane University doesn’t have enough students or information to consider what information we have gathered as “data”, we work hard to gather and analyze information from our community (including Newlane faculty, administration, personnel and students) and outside reviewers. The unmistakable conclusion from our work in 2021–though tentative since we’re too small to draw firm conclusions–is that Newlane is meeting its mission to deliver accessible, quality college-level education, albeit at a small scale currently. This report provides details on what we track to assess the accessibility and quality of our offerings, as well as metrics for assessing how we are realizing our manifesto.

Registered Students at the beginning of 2021: 25

Registered Students at the end of 2021: 64 Total (7 enrolled) (53 registered)

Graduates at the beginning of 2021: 1

Graduates at the end of 2021: 2

Total Graduates: 2

Faculty at the beginning of 2021: 17

Faculty at the end of 2021: 23

Programs at the beginning and end of 2021: Associate of Arts in General Studies; Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy

The mission of Newlane University is: “To make quality online higher education accessible to anyone on earth.” The mission of Newlane is based on the first tenet of the Newlane manifesto.

Our mission has two key components for online higher education: quality and accessibility.

In what follows, we report on relevant achievements and KPIs related to our mission and manifesto. The report first reports relevant achievements and KPIs related to Quality, then on relevant achievements and KPIs related to Accessibility (which merge with) relevant achievements and KPIs related to our Manifesto.

Improve the QUALITY of curriculum and assessments.

Relevant Achievements:

Our second graduate (AA General Studies, Fall 2021) has enrolled in Newlane’s BA, Philosophy Program.

Our first graduate (BA Philosophy Spring 2020) was accepted to a Master’s program at University of Nottingham. (Aug. 2020)

KPI: Course and Degree Review Committees vouch that course or degree outcomes are appropriate.

Relevant Achievements:

All published courses and degrees have been reviewed and vouched for by a Course or Degree Review Committee (respectively), composed of faculty members with advanced degrees in a field relevant to the course. (August 2020)

KPI: Maintain high ratings (over 75+% Positive) on student responses on survey prompts relevant to curricular/instructional quality

Prompt	Responses 2021
From End of Course Evaluations:
Rate on a scale from 1 (Poor) – 5 (Excellent): “How would you rate the course overall?”	56% Excellent (5)36% Very Good (4)
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “By the end of the course, I was confident I had mastered the course goals and objectives.”	64% Very Strongly Agree (5)28% Strongly Agree (4)
From Student Alumni Satisfaction Survey
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “Experts were quick to respond to any inquiry.”	100% Strongly Agree (5)
From Overall Annual Survey:
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “The assessment process at Newlane University is fair and effective.”	75% Very Strongly Agree (5) 17% Strongly Agree (4)

Comment: Responses on these prompts are positive, with most responses indicating either the highest or second highest mark. In all cases, the highest percentage gave the highest possible mark.

KPI: Maintain high ratings (75+% positive) on student responses on survey prompts relevant to students transitioning to “next landings”.

Prompt	Responses 2021
From End of Course Evaluations:
“Yes or No: Did you achieve, or will you have achieved upon completing your studies, the goals you had when you started the course?”	100% Yes

Comment: Responses on these prompts are positive, with most responses indicating either the highest or second highest mark. In all cases, the highest percentage gave the highest possible mark.

Improve the QUALITY of our program administration.

KPI: Maintain high ratings (75+% on survey prompts relevant to program administration.)

Prompt	Responses 2021
From End of Course Evaluation Form:
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “My learning was a higher priority than institutional timelines, convenience, etc.”	85% Very Strongly Agree (5)15% Strongly Agree (4)
From Student/Alumni Satisfaction Survey:
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “I know to whom I can reach out if I have a question or concern about anything in my program.”	100% Strongly Agree (5)

Comment: Responses on these prompts are positive, with most responses indicating either the highest or second highest mark. In all cases, the highest percentage gave the highest possible mark.

Improve the QUALITY of student support.

KPI: Maintain excellent rates (75+%) in Progress, Retention, & Completion rates

	2021 Rate
Data from Student Progress Tracking	100% Satisfactory Progress, Retention, and Completion rates

Comment: All enrolled Newlane students demonstrated satisfactory progress retention and completion rates. This means that all enrolled students are on pace to complete their program on, or prior to the deadline, established in accordance with accreditation benchmarks and protocols.

Improve the ACCESSIBILITY of our programs.

KPIs: For KPIs related to improving accessibility of Newlane programs, see KPIs on first three manifesto tenets below.

Manifesto Tenet 1:

Education should be available and accessible to every person on earth; making quality education inaccessible or exclusive is immoral. Education belongs in the same category as shelter, clean water, and basic food.

KPI: Expand availability and accessibility (in any way).

Data or Metrics	2021 Status
Mobile compatibility	While Newlane offered mobile compatibility in 2020, we have updated and improved the mobile experience in 2021.

Comment: Newlane uses a variety of indicators to assess availability and accessibility, including different hardware students can use to access Newlane (e.g., desktop, laptop, mobile), student and faculty country of residence, accommodations for students with disabilities, and different instructional and assessment options for students. While none of these indicators on its own may be remarkable, together, they make a strong case that Newlane is expanding accessibility to its courses and programs.

Relevant Achievements:

• Updated our Policy for Accommodations for students with Disabilities.

Newlane University provides reasonable accommodations in the form of reasonable modifications to policies, practices, or procedures in order to make its services, programs, and activities accessible to qualified individuals with disabilities unless the modification would fundamentally alter the nature of a university service, program, or activity. Once approved, Newlane strives to make these accommodations and adjustments in a timely manner and on an individualized and flexible basis. Read the full policy here.

• Launched Newlane Global Scholarship Fund

In 2021, Newlane University joined forces with Haiti Partners to offer an option for interested scholarship sponsors to make a tax-deductible (in the US) scholarship donation that will fund Newlane students (no matter their ethnicity or country of residence) to complete their college degree through Newlane while also supporting Haiti Partners’ mission to help Haitians change Haiti through education. We believe this partnership can very positively impact the lives of many.

• Relevant Initiative: Newlane is in the process of updating all courses, lessons, and objectives to be more accessible to more students. As part of this update, at least 90% of objectives in each course will include at least two different types of instructional resources (e.g., video, audio, text, etc.) to provide options for student accessibility or preferences. While many objectives currently meet this standard, this initiative expands the number of objectives with varied instructional media.

Manifesto Tenet 2:

Education should be disconnected from geography. Students should be able to learn anything from anywhere on earth. With few exceptions, tying education to geography is a form of exclusion.

KPI: Continue to expand geographic availability.

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement:	2021
User residence	Expanded user residence to 25 countries

Comment: While expanding user country residence does not on its own establish that we meet this manifesto, more countries from which users can successfully use Newlane is a positive indicator.

Prompt: From End of Course Evaluations:
Rate on a scale of 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “My geographic location was not a key factor in my ability to complete this course. (In other words, you didn’t have to live in a particular city or country or in proximity to a specific location–like a physical college–in order to complete the course.)”	92% Very Strongly Agree (5)8% Strongly Agree (4)

Comment: This is as much a check to make sure we are living up to our manifesto as a check that student geography was not a key factor in their enrollment. In other words, it would be surprising if a student gave a negative response. But by keeping this question in the End of course surveys, we stay open to the possibility that geography could be a key factor, and we would want to know about that.

Manifesto Tenet 3:

Education should be disconnected from a schedule. The most effective time to learn something is when the student is ready, not when the teacher or institution is available.

KPI: Maintain very high ratings (over 80+% Positive) on student responses on end of course evaluations that convey that they could work according to their own schedule.

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement:
From End Of Course Evaluations:	2021
Rate on a scale of 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “I could work on this course according to my schedule (vs. having to work according to the school’s or professor’s schedule).”	84% Very Strongly Agree16% Strongly Agree

Comment: This is as much a check to make sure we are living up to our manifesto as a check that student schedule was not a key factor in their enrollment. In other words, it would be surprising if a student gave a negative response. But by keeping this question in the End of course surveys, we stay open to the possibility that student schedule could be a key factor, and we would want to know about that.

Manifesto Tenet 4:

Education should not be admission- or permission-based, but freely available upon the asking. The current admission-based system is a vestige of a scarcity model that could only fit a limited number of seats in a classroom. No one should have to be admitted or ask permission to learn a subject.

KPI: Streamline and simplify application process

Relevant Achievement: Streamlined and simplified application process to enable prospective students to register an account without a counselor so there wouldn’t be a bottleneck for students to test out the platform. (DONE Aug 2021)

Relevant Achievement: Streamlined and simplified transfer credit evaluation process (DONE Nov 2021)

Relevant Achievement: Streamlined and simplified process for students to request and receive a degree completion schedule (DONE Nov 2021)

Manifesto Tenet 5:

Education should not have a prescribed completion time. The amount of time it takes to learn something shouldn’t be decided beforehand; some students can learn something in minutes that will take others days or years to learn.

KPI: Maintain very high ratings (over 80+% Positive) on student responses on end of course evaluations that convey that they could work according to their own schedule (and spend more or less time on particular lessons, depending on their understanding).

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement:
From End Of Course Evaluations:	2021
Rate on a scale of 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “I could work according to my own pace in this course, and spend more (or less) time on particular lessons, depending on how well I felt I understood.”	82% Strongly Agree (5)15% Agree (4)

Comment: Both of these questions are as much a check to make sure we are living up to our manifesto as a check that students can work according to their own pace and schedule. In other words, it would be surprising if a student gave a negative response. But by keeping this question in the End of course surveys, we stay open to the possibility that student schedule and pace could be constrained, and we would want to know about that.

Manifesto Tenet 6:

Education should not be set to a specific time period in a person’s life; it should be a process like eating, drinking, and exercise: continual, habitual, and evolving. Students should not be categorized or limited by what they have studied or learned to date.

KPI: Range of student age expanding; Time students remain active students expanding.

Relevant Achievements: Refined our registration process to collect more student demographic information. (July 2020)

Manifesto Tenet 7:

Education should not be competitive or judged by other students’ achievements. Students should only be assessed on whether they have mastered the stated objective or ‘not yet’. Removing competition takes away many of the incentives for cheating or cutting corners.

KPI: Maintain very high ratings (over 80+% Positive) on student responses on end of course evaluations that convey that they did not feel competitive with other students.

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement:	2021
From End of Course Evaluations:
Rate on a scale of 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “I felt that I was assessed according to my own understanding of the course goals and objectives, not in competition with other students. In other words, I didn’t feel competitive with other students.”	85% Very Strongly Agree (5)15% Strongly Agree (4)

Comment: This is as much a check to make sure we are living up to our manifesto as a check that students don’t feel competitive with other students. In other words, it would be surprising if a student gave a negative response. But by keeping this question in the End of course surveys, we stay open to the possibility that students could feel competitive, and we would want to know about that.

KPI: Improve reliability of assessments for documenting course and project goals/standards mastery.

Relevant Achievement: Refined Assessment Review System (Done Oct 2021) Our Assessment Review System involves a quantitative and qualitative review of Newlane assessments, procedures and practices and ensures we administer appropriate assessments and that we have proper and sufficient documentation of student mastery of degree aims and course goals and objectives.

Manifesto Tenet 8:

Educational records, including learning achievements, grades, transcripts, credentials, and degrees should be owned and managed by the student rather than an institution. Students should be able to move freely among any learning institution or organization at any time or for any reason.

KPI: Ease of students sharing their records improving. Ease of transferring records to other institutions expanding.

Relevant Achievements:	Comments:
Relevant Achievement: ASIC Accreditation (Oct 2020)	Newlane University is accredited by Accreditation Service for International Schools, Colleges and Universities (ASIC). ASIC accreditation helps students and parents make a more informed choice and will also help a school, college, university, training provider or distance education provider, demonstrate to the international student body that they are a high quality institution.ASIC is recognised by UKVI in UK, is a member of the CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG) in USA and is listed in their International Directory, is a member of the BQF (British Quality Foundation) and are institutional members of EDEN (European Distance and E-Learning Network)
Relevant Achievement: Articulation Agreement with Lakewood University (Oct 2021)	In 2021, Newlane University entered an articulation agreement with Lakewood University, a DEAC-accredited University. As part of this agreement, both institutions agree to facilitate mobility of students who wish to continue or supplement their education, provide a smooth transition for students wishing to continue their education across schools, and commit to curriculum and course design in accordance with best practices acknowledged in our industry. While Newlane cannot guarantee that any accepting school will accept transfer credits from Newlane, all these achievements improve the likelihood of transferability of credits earned through Newlane.

Manifesto Tenet 9: Educational records should include universally understandable, useful, and verifiable documentation of student mastery of explicit learning objectives, rather than an institutional stamp attesting to completion of a vague curriculum.

KPI: Maintain high ratings (75+% Positive) from students on relevant survey questions

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement	2021
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree) “I value the granular record of all the objectives I have mastered in this course.”	63% Very Strongly Agree (5) 23% Strongly Agree (4)
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): By the end of the course, I was confident I had mastered the course goals and objectives.	64% Very Strongly Agree (5) 28%: Strongly Agree (4)

Comment: Responses on these prompts are positive, with most responses indicating either the highest or second highest mark. In all cases, the highest percentage gave the highest possible mark.

Manifesto Tenet 10: Education should not have a prescribed way of teaching. Prevalent teaching approaches are often culturally, gender or socio-economically biased. While clear and explicit learning objectives can be universally agreed upon, the manner in which these are achieved should be as diverse as the student body.

KPI: Growing library of high quality instructional resources.

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement	2021
From End of Course Evaluations:
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “The objectives I was expected to master in this course were clear.”	59% Very Strongly Agree (5)31% Strongly Agree (4)

Comment: Responses on these prompts are positive, with most responses indicating either the highest or second highest mark. In all cases, the highest percentage gave the highest possible mark.

Manifesto Tenet 11: Educational learning paths should be personalized and as varied and diverse as the students pursuing them.

KPI: Expand available learning paths through our platform.

Relevant Achievement: Average 2+ expert-vetted instructional resources for each objective (DONE Oct 2019) (UPDATED Nov 2021)

Manifesto Tenet 12: Education should not be at the service of institutions, but at the service of learning. Organizing education around institutional timelines, schedules, expertise, records, and convenience is efficient for institutions, but limits the student, and by extension humanity’s potential.

KPI: Maintain very high ratings (over 80% Agree) on student responses on end of course evaluations that convey that they felt their learning was a higher priority than institutional timelines, convenience, etc.

Data, Metric, or Relevant Achievement	2021
From End of Course Evaluations:
Rate on a scale from 1 (Disagree) – 5 (Very Strongly Agree): “My learning was a higher priority than institutional timelines, convenience, etc.”	85% Very Strongly Agree (5)15% Strongly Agree (4)

Comment: This is as much a check to make sure we are living up to our manifesto as a check that students feel their learning is a higher priority than institutional timelines or convenience. In other words, it would be surprising if a student gave a negative response. But by keeping this question in the End of course surveys, we stay open to the possibility that students could feel that their learning was a lower priority than the institution’s convenience, and we would want to know about that.

Our efforts to collect feedback from community members on the Newlane mission and manifesto are ongoing. To date, we don’t have anything like a consensus from the community on specific priorities for improvement, but we’ll continue to solicit and monitor their feedback. Given our small size, it’s premature to draw any firm conclusions from the responses we have gathered from community members, but so far, they seem to be sending positive signals on our efforts and alignment toward our mission and manifesto. We continue to be committed to the vision of education articulated by our manifesto, and working to realize it.

For any questions related to this report, or the Newlane Mission, please contact Ben Blair: ben@newlane.edu