There’s a special relationship between decision-makers and benchmarking in higher education. Whether in information technology, marketing or even academics, rarely does anything get done before knowing what other institutions did. In higher education, benchmarking data is often one of the first steps on the path to action. Digital marketing isn’t an exception to this rule. […]
No one would deny that college students spend a good part of the day with eyes locked on their mobile devices, scrolling through social media feeds. Despite that clear trend, just 30 percent of financial aid professionals reported using social media to provide financial literacy content to their constituents, notes the “2016 Financial Literacy Trends […]
What aspects of customer service do campus card offices seem to do best with—and in what areas do they struggle the most? “Getting it right starts with the genuine belief that the services card offices provide have a positive—and lasting—influence on a student’s experience. We see more campuses focusing on this, and the positive impact […]
At The University of Alabama, football weekends rule. So imagine a student who’s got a big date, a tailgate spot and an electronic ticket to the Saturday football game on his campus Action Card—but then loses the card on Friday night. To save the day, the campus card office is open for business on game […]
Community colleges have been in the news during the current election cycle, due to plans by some politicians—including President Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders—who suggest the federal government should provide free education for any citizen willing to put in the bookwork. But so far this is just talk for colleges, which have yet to plan […]
Effective collaboration between administration, academic officers and faculty is crucial for effective leadership at colleges and universities. Enrollment levels, academic freedom, financial viability and student success could all be affected if these individuals don't team up to develop and implement an effective strategy. I recently had firsthand experience on how close collaboration between the chief […]
At first glance, Deyven Ferreras looks like a typical university student: youthful face, college sweatshirt, backpack. But until recently, his backpack carried more than books. Quite literally, it was his lifeline. Inside was a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a mechanical pump that helped his weakened heart move blood throughout his body. Ferreras, a second-year […]
The twin goals of affordability and diversity dominate the nation’s push to expand access to higher ed, but another critical factor—geography—is drawing more attention for the role it plays in where students go to college. With more than half selecting colleges less than 50 miles from home, there’s growing concern about “education deserts”—localities that lack […]
An institution’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system drives many of its core processes. ERP software allows students and faculty to access key information, and staff to automate previously manual tasks. It is critical for administrators to make their other programs, such as payment technology systems, integrate seamlessly with the software that governs so much on […]
Unlike wine or cheese, networks don’t tend to improve with age. That’s why some higher ed institutions are looking toward a newer network technology called passive optical LAN. Unlike copper cabling that’s been in place for decades, a fiber-based passive optical network (PON) offers faster, cheaper and more secure networks compared to legacy systems. Following […]
