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VU is a software application sponsored by the Alfred E. Sloan Foundation that provides a compelling new way for higher education students, administrators, and staff to understand the dilemmas facing today's colleges and universities. It is based on an underlying model that mimics the actual conditions within and facing higher education institutions across the country.
The first working simulator of the American university, VU provides users with a unique opportunity to step into the decision-making shoes of a university president by simulating all of the major features of a higher education institution, including academic departments, enrollment management, admissions criteria, and athletics. Users learn how to manage a university as a complex organization through an interactive tool that is based on actual data from the American higher education enterprise.
What
Does Virtual U Do?
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It
motivates and guides participants through common scenarios and problems
that college and university administrators face on a daily basis.
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It
takes place in real time, allowing users to do everything from hiring
and firing faculty and changing teaching loads to adjusting the
allocation of funds to campus departments. When the VU school year
is over, an evaluation of your performance as president arrives
in a letter from the Board of Trustees.
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It
allows you to access financial and operational reports at any time
and make the adjustments necessary to keep your institution afloat
and to avoid bankruptcy.
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It
allows you to choose from several scenarios or construct your own
college or university, similar to the institution you manage, attend,
or care about.
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It
allows you to make admissions decisions at the level of what types
of students receive admissions preference.
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Who Developed VU?
VU's development was made possible through a partnership that includes the Sloan Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group, the Institute for Research on Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania, Enlight Software, and DigitallMill.
VU was conceived and designed by Dr. William F. Massy, former professor of education and vice president for finance at Stanford University and current president of the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group. Enlight Software of Hong Kong, a leading simulation software developer, contributed its expertise on creating a holistic simulation design and completed the programming, artwork, and software construction. Research on collegiate outcomes by the Institute for Research on Higher Education helped to develop the software, and the Institute has been charged with promoting the use of VU as a teaching tool, through product demonstrations, workshops, and the Virtual Update website. Digital Mill was responsible for packaging the product, including developing the User Manual, Strategy Guide, and VU home site.
How Does VU Work?
In the creation of VU, Dr. Massy set out to create as real a simulation as possible. He used data from IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), the College Board, and the High School and Beyond Survey as a basis for the mathematical models that drive the variables that users manipulate. For example, rather than simply creating a hypothetical relationship between variables such as school characteristics and school applications, their underlying relationship is based on the real data compiled from hundreds of institutions similar to the one the user is emulating.
Players set, monitor, and modify a variety of institutional parameters and policies, allocate resources as they see fit, and watch as results continually unfold. The game provides an opportunity to experiment and succeed or fail in a safe and entertaining environment. While VU is a simulation, it is grounded in authentic data and provides serious lessons in higher education that focus on the following five broad areas:
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Academic
operations and faculty management
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Enrollment
management
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Resource
allocation and finance
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Physical
plant activities
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Performance
indicators
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