College and universities must face a harsh reality: employer expectations of their graduates are changing. As the world becomes more complex, so do employer demands. It’s not enough for candidates to have the professional or technical skills needed for a particular job. Hiring managers now want strong “right brain” attributes — communication, collaboration and creativity […]
When leaders at Brigham Young University-Idaho searched for a student success solution in 2012, they could not find an end-to-end system that encompassed every step of the student lifecycle. In 2013, BYU-Idaho partnered with Excelsoft, a technology solutions provider, to custom-design a comprehensive product for the institution’s 44,844 students. “We had the manager from each […]
How many databases does your campus administer in the broad area of student support? American University utilizes more than 36 databases for different student-related administrative and learning management functions. Each data system was designed to serve the professional needs of discrete administrative units and is maintained and updated as needed. For the most part, these […]
As a conservative political strategy, "starving the beast" means to deprive an entity of funding to force it to reduce spending. Steve Mims' new film, "Starving the Beast," documents a political and philosophical shift that seeks to reframe public higher education—not as a public good for society, but as a "value proposition" to be borne by […]
When Teri McIntyre was a University of Wisconsin undergrad in the early ‘90s, she volunteered to call alumni to ask for college fund donations and—believe it or not—she liked making those calls. A university development officer noticed and offered McIntyre a job after graduation. “I didn’t know if I could spend my whole life in […]
It may be time to rethink some of our established models of higher education. Let’s consider two classic paradigms. By most definitions, liberal arts education refers to those college studies related to areas such as literature, languages, philosophy, humanities, history, mathematics, psychology and science. These instructional elements are among the most time-honored part of a […]
A retired nursing professor traveled to India to compile a how-to book for the country’s nurses. A one-time professor of religion took up digital photography. A former drama school dean helped a local theater company stay afloat. Janette Brown, assistant vice provost at the University of Southern California, has seen the phenomenon often: faculty members finding […]
From construction workers and machinists to occupational therapists and fire fighters, skilled laborers are in high demand. And shortages of employees like these are making it difficult for companies to fill jobs. In a July 2016 survey, the National Association for Business Economics found that 31 percent of its members experienced labor shortages; and the […]
There were more than 100,000 applicants to American Bar Association-accredited law schools in the fall of 2004. In the three years prior, the number of applicants rose almost 30 percent. At the time, most law schools could expect yearly increases in tuition and applications. For many universities, the law school was seen as a cash […]
When a trio of students at Christopher Newport University in Virginia wanted to start a program to collect leftover food from the dining halls each night and deliver it to a rescue mission, Kevin Ososkie had some questions. As director of the university’s dining services, he knew the students were passionate enough to follow through, […]
