American higher education is admired around the world, with its research universities leading the way in creating the breakthroughs that will lead to yet unimaginable futures, liberal arts colleges and state universities educating tomorrow's leaders, and its community colleges providing retraining for middle aged displaced workers. However, across the full spectrum of higher education institutions […]
"Don't just believe in UBTech, believe in something higher—your pursuit of education excellence." And with those words, University Business Group Publisher Matt Kinnaman kicked off UBTech 2016. More than 1,100 campus tech leaders and innovators from across the nation flocked to Las Vegas for the June 6-8 event, descending upon The Mirage Convention Center for three […]
Students from six nearby states can now attend the University of Maine at the same in-state tuition rate offered by the flagship institutions in their home states. The university launched its Flagship Match program this spring to boost not just its enrollment, but also prestige. As completion rates of full-time students in Maine flounder and […]
Unionizing efforts are picking up steam at colleges and universities across the country. In the last three years, the Service Employees International Union's "faculty forward" campaign has organized more than 10,000 part-time instructors at more than 40 different schools. Beyond the widespread cultural impact, this trend has significant financial implications for universities. If union targets […]
When the economy tanked in 2009, the trustees of Hamilton College in upstate New York made a major investment in the future of admissions practices—they shifted from need-sensitive to need-blind admissions, while remaining a school that promises to meet full need. The trustees of the 1,850-student liberal arts college provided bridge funding of five $500,000 […]
Fraternity brothers on spring break—what image immediately comes to mind? Picture this instead: golf-ball sized blisters, swollen feet, strained muscles and determination to help others. Thirty-one members of Troy University's Alpha Tau Omega Chapter dedicated their spring break to walking 128 miles to raise money to aid wounded military veterans. I met with them on […]
Staff in the IT department at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg used to say "no" a lot. Meeting the computer needs of 6,000 students—many who work full-time and have families—and hundreds of faculty became an increasing challenge in the less-than-affluent community. Requests from faculty and the demand for technical assistance couldn't be […]
In regard to desktop virtualization, what aspects of implementation do higher ed institutions tend to overlook? "It's easy to overlook security when implementing new technologies, and a good example of this is desktop virtualization. It's an efficient way to deploy the same functionality across multiple machines, however, you'll most likely need to adjust security practices […]
The world of online learning has significantly changed the landscape of higher education over the last decade. In a survey by the Instructional Technology Council (ITC), 94 percent of student respondents said their online courses were equivalent or superior to traditional courses, indicating improvements in both online pedagogy and delivery methods. Fred Lokken, a member […]
The free lunch for marketers is over on social media. Now that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and, more recently, Snapchat can boast millions of daily users, they can set the prices—and encourage users to pay through the algorithms ruling user feeds. Social media might be about the people, but for the top players it's about business. […]