Web Only

Pearson Education President Dave Daniels bristles when he hears the word “outsourcing” used to describe contracts colleges and universities sign with outside vendors to develop online curriculum.

“The word ‘outsource’ to me is real pejorative,” Daniels says. “It sounds like the school is saying, ‘Here, take it and bring it back to us.’ When it really is a collaboration. People think there’s this big, bad for-profit giant coming and taking over.”

Although the in-house work in preparing traditional classes to be taught online can be overwhelming, the vast majority of colleges and universities do not to use third-party vendors for online course development. Ottawa University, based in Kansas but with locations across the country, has its own curriculum design studio, says Brian Messer, vice president of online.

As emerging technologies continue to influence the way institutions are managed, effective partnerships on campus become imperative for success. Enrollment management and technology teams must work together to overcome the growing challenges facing higher education by using technology to champion their university’s mission. By doing so, institutions are equipped to optimize operations, streamline efficiencies, and shape student outcomes. Yet, the bottom line is we have the technology but we have historically neglected to enable and promote successful partnerships institution-wide.

These days there’s a lot of attention on delivering content and services to the second, third, and now fourth screens - laptops, cell phones and tablets. One of these services is mass notification, or Emergency Alert System (EAS) messaging. While reaching all of these new screens provides extensive coverage, skipping the original first screen, the television, leaves a gaping hole in the plan.

For most colleges and universities, having students live on campus can provide a number of benefits, both in revenue and in classroom performance. So how can an institution maximize the benefits while creating an atmosphere that not only attracts a growing number of students, but also ensures that their experience is mutually beneficial? A comprehensive approach that emanates from the concept of providing improved value for the on-campus resident can have far reaching benefits for both student and school.

Increasing numbers of colleges and universities are making a commitment to foster sustainability on campus. This strategy aligns well with university missions that include public service, thought leadership and pioneering new technologies. But at the end of the day, the most compelling reason is financial. Energy makes up only a small percentage of a university’s operating budget (about 3.5 percent on average), but in terms of raw dollars, America’s colleges and universities spend almost $7 billion in energy and utilities.

Do energy visualization dashboards really save energy?

In higher ed we often find that the pace of decision making can be snail-like. While not always a bad thing, it is symptomatic of what the Higher Education culture embraces—making sure all the right data is in place before making the final decision. Thus, efficiency in decision making can become challenging because the institutional environment requires collaboration and every mind requires a different level of data satisfaction, due in large part to individual perspective.

When a group of venerable, high-profile universities that includes Georgetown and Villanova announced late last year that they were leaving the Big East, it may have seemed like just the latest reshuffling of collegiate athletic conferences in what has come to feel like an endless game of musical chairs. All of this recent turmoil in collegiate athletics is just a symptom, however. The larger problem is money—or, to be more specific—a lack of money.

When Jesica Rasmussen began looking into her university options three years ago, she had more on her mind than a typical college freshman. As the wife of an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army, Rasmussen could expect many moves in her future. She could expect deployments when her husband was away for long periods of time, leaving her alone to care for their four children. She also had to find the funds to pay for school with limited budgets and financial programs available to military spouses.