The days when a trip to campus automatically included a stop at the bookstore are long gone—but these stores are facing the challenge from online retailers head-on. Students, like all consumers, have their choice of where to shop—and online giants tempt them with massive selections, super deals and services such as free, fast shipping. With […]
Creating a welcoming environment, especially in the form of admissions offices, is increasingly crucial to a university's bottom line as schools are more dependent on tuition and fees as a revenue stream. Thus, new emphasis has emerged on the role of admissions offices. Research indicates that the campus visit is the student's most trusted source […]
When we first learned of Hope International University's (HIU) strategic partnership with Nebraska Christian College (NCC), we were skeptical to say the least. Indeed, we can well imagine that some folks within and beyond the HIU and NCC communities thought that the proposed transaction was misguided. After all, HIU's main campus is situated in an […]
Launching new athletic programs—a go-to strategy for driving enrollment and boosting campus enthusiasm—usually comes with some major costs. But some institutions have added a rapidly growing, co-ed sport that doesn't require an expensive new athletic complex or a big travel budget. Competitive, online video-gaming, also known as e-sports, checks several inclusive and low-cost boxes, and […]
Faced with rising costs of higher education, many students are deciding not to purchase required course materials, therefore going through their semester without the tools they need to learn and succeed. Fifty percent of students say avoiding or delaying these purchases negatively impacts their grades. As a result, more institutions are taking advantage of digital […]
We asked: What are your predictions, hopes and concerns for 2018? Administrators and experts who have recently contributed to UB answered. A link to each contributor’s recent column appears under their name. “College students are wired to think about their future. Higher education must start early to create meaningful career development experiences for students by […]
Empowering underrepresented sectors in higher ed doesn't stop with recruiting a diverse student population. Yet, in many cases, institutions are not creating a more inclusive atmosphere for top female and minority administrators by paying them as much as their white, male peers. In fact, just 11 of 2,279 institutions responding to a recent survey from […]
The closure of Amazon’s virtual bookseller at UMass Amherst underscores once again the need for campus stores to diversify services. It also highlights ongoing efforts by administrators to reduce the cost of course materials through online textbooks, open educational resources and other initiatives. “I don’t think anybody assumes Amazon isn’t a pretty sharp outfit,” says Bob Walton, […]
More than half of students at Indiana University’s seven campuses started the fall semester with at least one e-textbook loaded directly into their learning management system account—at about a quarter of the cost of a new print edition. And at the University of California, Davis, students in hundreds of courses use e-textbooks and take interactive, […]
