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 […]
Eight years ago administrators laying plans for Guttman Community College in New York City set a goal: This school would not be like so many other community colleges with low completion rates. Guttman would make getting students to graduation a primary mission. That approach is proliferating across the community college sector, says Melinda Mechur Karp, assistant […]
After six colleges and universities in the Boston Consortium launched a self-insurance program in 2012, healthcare costs at Wheaton College ceased their upward spiral. Health premiums at the small liberal arts college had been increasing by 7 percent annually, but now costs have remained flat for the past four years. "We've changed the trend line […]
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 […]
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 […]
Choices for commencement speakers are making headlines this season, and higher ed officials are aiming to make sure those headlines are positive. Many colleges now prioritize student input and diversity when choosing commencement speakers. They are also developing screening processes to ensure speakers are both engaging and appropriate for the audience of graduating students and […]
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 […]
A siloed approach rarely works for any effort on higher ed campuses, much less student success and retention. Yet five years ago at Manhattan College, located in the Bronx in New York City, academic assistance was handled individually by each of the institution's five schools. "Then the college implemented a Center for Academic Success and hired […]
