In this country, 25 states have enacted some form of legislation tying financial aid eligibility to student outcomes. At the same time, students are demanding more options and greater flexibility for achieving their goals, with one in nine likely to transfer to another school after one year. Welcome to higher education in the 21st century, in which funding, student outcomes, competition, and academic delivery are converging […]
USA Funds and Truckee Meadows Community College in Nevada have partnered to promote a holistic approach to student loan debt management. The partnership has included implementing a financial literacy curriculum and peer counselors for TMCC students, communicating to student loan borrowers to promote successful loan repayment, applying analytics to better target outreach to borrowers, and […]
For years, universities have taken advantage of an insurance solution known as Owner-Controlled Insurance Programs (OCIPs) or “wrap-ups.” OCIPs provide general liability insurance and workers compensation for the length of a construction project for all or a majority of the parties involved rather than requiring each participant to be responsible for the procurement of insurance. […]
Higher ed’s reliance on adjunct faculty, hardly a secret anymore, has gotten much scrutiny in the past few years. Institutions of all types benefit from the fact that adjuncts—provided they don’t become eligible for health benefits by working more than 30 hours a week—can be employed for a fraction of the investment needed for full-time […]
What are the main concerns students and the community have concerning the affordability of higher education? There are two major concerns that seem to be the most popular worries of students and the general public. The rising cost of tuition: Tuition prices have been increasing at a rate over the past years that far outpaces […]
What are the biggest challenges facing higher education as a business? There are a few challenges that institutions face today. For such a long time, many were in a continuous growth pattern, developing new programs and online programs for receptive audiences. That certainly is not the case today. Many institutions are experiencing flat enrollment and […]
Each year, the University of Nebraska, Omaha, hires several hundred new administrative or office service workers, says Cecil Hicks, who himself was hired in May as the school’s HR director. Although onboarding new hires can range from a one-day orientation program to a year-long mentorship, Hicks believes the first day of anyone’s job should be […]
Students at the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine work in six-person groups around computer monitors to diagnose a medical case. The instructor roams the classroom, using an iPad application to share content on a large monitor and control all the technology in the room—including lighting, audio, video and screen positions. When exceptional work is […]
The often-used businesses term "right-sizing" has in recent years become common in higher education. Though sometimes used as a euphemism for "downsizing," it more rightly refers to an effort to optimize enrollment, human resources, programs and facilities—in other words, fixed costs. There are a host of factors that should go into the analysis when an […]
Maybe the last thing you want to do in environmentally conscious Oregon is implement an efficiency-oriented solution that ends up resulting in greater paper use. Administrators at Portland State purchased an enterprise content management solution for admissions, registration and records, financial aid and business services that—among other deficiencies—necessitated the printing of a prospective student’s application […]
