You think there's not enough sun in cold, dark Maine to generate solar power? You say solar panels belong in the deserts of the Great Southwest? Actually, solar panels operate more efficiently in cooler weather, and Maine gets more sun than Germany, known worldwide as a solar powerhouse. Five New England colleges have teamed up […]
As huddle rooms within academic buildings grow in popularity, what challenges—perhaps unexpected ones—tend to crop up for administrators and professors? "There are several challenges that administrators, professors and students face as campus huddle rooms grow in popularity. With busy schedules and heavy workloads, they may not know what huddle rooms are available or when they […]
Measuring faculty effectiveness has never been a perfect science—and it has always held potential for contention among instructors and administrators. Today, tighter budgets, greater demands in terms of student outcomes and service responsibilities, and a push for hard data increase the pressure to develop fair and accurate evaluation systems. The types of information collected on […]
Why are metaphors useful? Language is central to our humanity, and the language we use defines how we see ourselves, others and the world. If we see arguments as war we respond very differently than if we see them as dance. Over the centuries, metaphors have been used in daily language and thought (Lakoff and Johnson, […]
As global collaboration increases in higher education, so do concerns about violence abroad. In response, colleges and universities are strengthening international travel policies in an effort to keep their community members safe and accounted for overseas. Destination: Known Risk management teams now work across departments to improve travel protocols. Washington University in St. Louis' International […]
The cost of college, a daunting concern for many American families, is now the central storyline of a Hollywood movie. In a short-lived summer movie release called The House, Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, a middle-class couple, open an illegal casino to cope with their personal gamble: how to pay for their daughter's college tuition. […]
Today's college students face stress everywhere they turn, from friend and roommate tensions to financial strains and fear of becoming a victim of school violence. Consider these stats: Nationwide, more than 8 in 10 college students report feeling overwhelmed, and the average student waits two weeks for a college counseling center appointment, according to a […]
In an effort to comply with the impending regulations, Indiana University Bloomington appointed a lawyer to work with various departments that the regulations will most likely affect, including registrars, admissions, HR, facilities and its international office. The university's legal council asked registrars, for instance, to come up with scenarios. "I had to identify where incoming data comes from, who acts on it and […]
The traditional, nail-biting wait for an admission offer has, at some colleges, given way to a process offering immediate gratification for prospective students: the instant decision day. This admission recruitment strategy—involving applicants getting an on-the-spot admission decision during a scheduled event—has gained a lot of traction, particularly as a way for colleges that aren't Ivies […]
At the University of Leeds in England, students taking classes in the Roger Stevens Lecture Theatre sit at small, trapezoid-shaped tables on tiered levels, working on group projects on a laptop connected to a video-sharing system. At the University of Hong Kong, students meeting at the Chi Wah Learning Commons collaborate with classmates on joint […]