In her 2014 State of the University of New York Address, Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher launched Open SUNY, a systemwide distance learning consortium. Over the near term, it will reduce the time it takes to complete a degree, course or certificate. What is especially distinctive about Open SUNY is that it is one of the […]
Not long ago, I asked presenters at the Higher Ed Analytics Conference what the next “big thing” would be. Their answer? Universal Analytics, or UA. Philippe Taza, of the Montreal-based digital marketing agency Higher Ed Marketing, explained that tracking a visitor across multiple devices would be both important and desirable—something UA will make possible. Alan […]
Workforce development has long been a bastion of the community college environment. But with student-loan debt topping $1 trillion and enrollments falling, many four-year colleges and universities are devoting more attention to the area, in part as a way to boost their own relevance within a challenging global economy. Because these programs tend to be […]
A Midwestern state university budgeted about $12 million for a major addition to its library several years ago. At the time, there was not a tightly controlled project planning process at the institution and the library’s plaza—already a major central gathering space on campus—was not included in the project budget. Officials thought they would raise $2.5 […]
While details of President Obama's college affordability proposals are not fully known, what is clear is that higher education is going under the microscope to prove its value. Add to that a growing chorus of pundits who believe that a liberal arts education is a waste of time and a relic of the past. But […]
Despite the hype surrounding the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, the reality is that BYOD has been around on college campuses for nearly a decade. Spurred by tech-savvy students who demanded internet access to their personal devices, forward-thinking administrations recognized early on that providing network access and resources to these students could improve the educational experience, while […]
Similar to their corporate counterparts, institutions of higher education have to operate in a fiscally responsible manner, which means managing budgets and achieving bottom line results. While there are many factors that contribute to success in this arena, the recent decline in state support for higher education is making it more difficult for colleges and […]
Preparing to take a college-level course once meant simply heading to the campus bookstore and purchasing the textbook. Today, preparing for a course may require students to gather a wide variety of resources, both printed and digital. And while the printed items are still available at the bookstore, accessing a variety of digital materials is […]
An increasing number of students with special needs now attend four-year universities, with admissions officers reporting a fivefold increase in their applications over the past 30 years. But with this opportunity also comes additional challenges in ensuring that their needs are met. At Sage Colleges, an online degree platform is filling that gap. “Most colleges […]
What do a private liberal arts college, a public community college and a high-ranking national university all have in common? Each recently reported six-figure occupational fraud losses. At Bethany College in West Virginia, a cashier’s office employee is charged with stealing more than $500,000. In Pennsylvania, a Harrisburg Area Community College vice president plead guilty […]
