Higher ed leaders continue to seek ways to prove their institution's value to a shrinking pool of college candidates. In addition, a huge financial aid cloud hangs over everyone's heads: the one with that odd moniker of "prior-prior." While the hope is that FAFSA modifications will ultimately benefit students and institutions alike, 2016 is the […]
Students, of course, have lives beyond the classroom. That's why campus success initiatives in 2016 will spread further beyond the classroom and academic sectors, engaging students in a spectrum of activities and support designed to steer them toward a meaningful diploma and fulfilling life after graduation. Highlighting this trend is Texas Woman's University, which just […]
Have you ever wondered why experts like Forbes and Bloomberg estimate that between 80-90 percent of entrepreneurial initiatives fail? American higher ed surely has, and universities are now investing in startups by connecting them to business incubators, product development accelerators, and other higher education-based launchpads. As small business entrepreneurs, we observed early on that many […]
Do today's employee benefit packages resemble those that colleges and universities offered in the past? Hardly. Wellness benefits have transformed into all kinds of unique offerings, ranging from on-site vegetable gardens to fitness centers. Meanwhile, traditional "do-everything-for-me" benefits have disappeared. Schools now expect employees to take action, change behaviors and make decisions that positively impact […]
Student success is the number one goal at Columbia College Chicago. When an increasing number of students were delaying that success because of financial challenges, administrators took action. New this fall were automated payment plans that encourage students and their authorized users—usually parents—to spread out a semester's worth of tuition payments. Using plans from Nelnet […]
Institution leaders may think they understand how students feel about their college experience, but truly gaining insight into student impressions of program efficacy and quality of facilities is an intensive undertaking. When the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University was applying for accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of […]
Embezzlement originating from any corner of campus can threaten any college and university. As for the losses, they can be big. Take, for example: Emory University in Atlanta. In July, a former employee received an 18-month prison term for stealing over $300,000. As an administrative assistant in the school of nursing, she misled students into […]
When making decisions about Hope College's website redesign, project team members found themselves looking at a photo of Adam, an 18-year-old freshman, to gauge what he might think is the most logical place for a piece of content—or whether he thinks the content should be there at all. And then, knowing Adam's mom is very […]
One of the primary justifications universities use for sponsoring football programs is that they serve as the "front porch" of the institution. Given the popularity and intense media coverage of the games, players and coaches, it is hard to argue the point. For many institutions, football is the largest and clearest window through which the […]
Earlier this year, former College of DuPage President Robert Breuder almost won himself a $763,000 golden parachute to leave the institution in March 2016, three years before his contract expired; that contract has since been voided by the college's board, and the package reduced to $495,000. In an apparent response, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has […]
