A Cohort Pioneer:

Daniel Webster College to celebrate anniversary of its adult learning model

October 10, 2004 - This year Daniel Webster College (DWC) celebrates the 10^th anniversary of its EXCEL degree completion program, which enables working adults with some college credit to complete their degrees by attending class one night a week for 18 months. 

The program is based on the “cohort” model of experiential learning, where a cohort, or class of students, stays together, learns together, and works together throughout the entire program.

DWC holds the distinction of being the pioneer of the cohort model in the region, according to DWC’s Professor Neil Parmenter, possibly in the entire country.  “In all my research I have not come across another academic institution that has been doing this longer than we have.  We are the experts.”

DWC holds the distinction of being the pioneer of the cohort model in the region, according to DWC’s Professor Neil Parmenter. “In all my research I have not come across another academic institution that has been doing this longer than we have.  We are the experts.”

DWC’s Dr. Doris Jafferian conceived the original EXCEL program based on this distinctive method of teaching and worked with a think tank in Reston, Va., to finalize the format.   Now retired, Dr. Jafferian, formerly a professor of business and management and department chair at the College, was recently named Professor Emeritus for the outstanding work she did while at DWC, including spearheading the establishment of the EXCEL program. 

What makes the EXCEL format unique is that it incorporates group activities that mirror a typical organizational environment. By becoming part of a group that makes decisions collaboratively, EXCEL student plan, develop and complete work-related projects that reinforce marketable, work-related skills.  Cohort members learn by doing.

Nashua’s Mary Hilton, a 2004 EXCEL graduate, says, “I was 50 years old and had waited almost 30 years to complete my degree. Whenever I need help, someone from my cohort was always there offering assistance and encouragement.  I have formed ties and bonds that will last a lifetime.”

According to Professor Parmenter, who heads up the EXCEL program in the College’s Business and Management Division, “The program always has been popular with adult learners; and we are not standing still – we have made changes over time based both on the experiences of our students and what we have learned ourselves over the past 10 years.  This is why DWC’s program continues to offer the highest quality, student-centered learning experience.”

Two years from the time DWC first began offering the EXCEL program, the College integrated Internet access into the classroom. “DWC has a strong IT focus, and we saw the need to offer our students the same high tech tools they would be using in the workplace, like Microsoft Project and Access,” Parmenter noted.

This was followed by the inclusion of a comprehensive Internet environment for both students and instructors, which enabled the College to provide a number of on-line activities, like discussions and collaborations, posting links for research, and communication with instructors. All of this further enhanced interaction among cohort members, to the benefit of students and their instructors.

Current EXCEL student Chip Baron, of Nashua, says the EXCEL program is “very different from many of the engineering courses I took before joining the EXCEL program — those courses were very rigid.  I enjoyed EXCEL classes where you could write a paper and make a contradictory statement, and the instructor would post it [on the Internet] and let everyone discuss it in an exciting manner.”

About five years ago the program’s individual research project was changed to a “capstone project,” that pulled from all of the courses that students took at DWC.  Now, up to 10 members of a cohort conceive and develop a business plan as a group, and, after many weeks and perhaps months of work, present it to other students, faculty, friends, and family in a formal public presentation in the form of a venture capital request.

Brian Flanagan, of Salem, an instructor of the capstone module says, “Every student can take the skills they acquired as a member of a cohort — and particularly those they learned while developing and presenting their capstone project — and bring them into their working world and get results.  That’s the magic of the program.”

Parmenter also noted that over the years the college has built an impressive team of instructors who are dedicated to teaching the cohort model, like working with highly motivated adults, and are able to offer suggestions for program improvement. 

“The right balance of academic and practical experience is key,” he said.   “We publish a complete syllabus for each class so students know what is expected of them and how they will be graded.  And, our instructors work as ‘facilitators,’ leading discussions rather than taking on the role of lecturer.

Steve Shaw, a 2004 EXCEL graduate, gives the instructors high grades.  “I spent a long time in classes at other institutions before joining the EXCEL program.  During all those years I only met one teacher at each school with whom I have kept in touch.  At DWC, in an 18-month program, I have found three.  They had to be very memorable to make that kind of impression, considering students only spend five or six weeks with each.  That says a lot for the caliber of people teaching the EXCEL program at Daniel Webster College.”

The College offers the EXCEL bachelor of science degree program in organizational management, management and information technology, and marketing management. Additionally, DWC offers an MBA degree, also based on the cohort model. Both the MBA and EXCEL programs are also offered through the college’s Portsmouth campus. For more information or to find out when the next cohort begins, call 603-577-6500 or click here.