Robert Pearl Starks

Robert Pearl Starks

Location: phoenix, arizona

About me

As Vice President of Product Development, I lead cross-functional teams of designers, developers, QA testers and product stakeholders to develop, launch, and improve products customers need and love. 

Previously, I've worked in a variety of leadership roles in education / learning & professional development. Through my experience, I've become accustomed to working across departmental silos and with various stakeholders (executives, end-users, faculty, staff, students / learners, alumni, parents, regulatory agencies, partners and employers) to facilitate collaboration and advance common goals. In my previous roles, I've advocated for student needs and driven organizational change that helped educators do their best work, students thrive in their careers, and employers connect with quality talent.

Despite different contexts, a common theme in my career journey has been to do work that contributes to a mission which improves people's lives. It's also always been important for me to work with an organization whose values align with my own. I'm a listener, empathizer, customer advocate, servant leader, and lifelong learner. I'm never satisfied with status quo, I constantly strive for "better," and I'm driven by genuine curiosity to solve complex problems.

“Work to become; not to acquire.” -Elbert Hubbard

Interests

social media, career development, training, higher education, web 2.0/3.0, career services, leadership, marketing

Skills

social media, marketing, training, consulting, management, strategic planning

Activity

Hi Jason, The course differentiates social media from traditional communication channels. When considering these differences, although you use social media to "stay in contact" with graduates and cultivate your alumni network, one can also use a telephone or email for these purposes. With this context, could you describe how your strategies are uniquely different using social media vs. traditional channels of communication to stay in contact, cultivate your alumni network and communicate regarding employment? In other words, what has social media enabled you to do differently than traditional channels and how are you taking advantage of these differences? Might you… >>>

A newly released report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reveals the average cost of attendance and the net price of attendance for the 2011-12 academic year.  The report reveals that the costs varied by institutional sector.

 

 

Among full-time, first time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students receiving any grant aid, the average cost, for those attending public 4-year institutions, was approximately $18,300 and net price was about $11,700; for those attending nonprofit 4-year institutions, average cost was roughly $35,200 and net price was about $20,600; and for those attending for-profit 4-year institutions, average cost was approximately $27,000 and net… >>>

What are the consequences and policy ramifications — social, fiscal, and otherwise — of the US government shutdown of 2013?  Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Director Josh Wyner explains the challenges the US education system faces during a time when the education sector is rapidly changing.

There is empirical evidence that graduates today need specific, job related experience to be considered for employment. How important do you feel experience is in finding a job and what specific steps do you take with individual students to help them gain some experience prior to graduating?
The evidence suggests that students benefit most from individualized and structured instruction when finding a job. However, this presents a challenge when trying to manage workload. What resources do you currently use to help provide the student with individual attention (workbooks, videos, mentoring, etc.) that gets results while managing your workload in CS?
The benefits of having an active Alumni Association are many; however, only a small percentage of career colleges have them. Does your institution have a robust Alumni Association and if so, what difficulties did you face getting started and how did you overcome these challenges? Has your institution tried to start an Alumni Association and failed? If so, what happened?
The course discusses how employers site a skills deficiency despite the skills training that they receive in institutions of higher learning. This skills gaps suggests colleges need to improve methods of measuring work-readiness. How do you measure the job readiness of your students? Do you assess both technical and soft-skill readiness? What tools (if any) do you use?

The Times Higher Education published the world university rankings for 2013 and discuss how the rankings are used by different stakeholders and why certain countries are rising in the rankings while others have fallen.  The world rankings are discussed as an important report because of the correlation between higher education and economic development and are one indicator of how well countries are performing in preparing students for the Knowledge Economy.

Watch the Video: 

Editor Kevin Kevin presents the final video in a four-part series of interviews with Diana Oblinger, President and CEO of EDUCAUSE. Diana talks with Kevin about the future of education and how innovation will change how we educate.

Prospective students, parents and policy makers want to know if their investment in higher education will produce a return and they are looking at graduate employment outcomes (placement) for the answer. As institutions consider how to continuously improve graduate employment outcomes, 3 key ideas to keep in mind are shared below:

 

  1. Rethink Career Services – Rather than thinking of Career Services as a department or the “back-end” of a process for preparing students to enter the workforce, rethink career services as a systemic set of strategically designed interventions woven into the fabric of the institution.  How might “career services”
  2. >>>

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