What are key challenges institutions are facing in achieving efficiencies through technology initiatives? There are three challenges. The first is user adoption, and the technology is good only if your users are using it. The key reason for low user adoption is that the technology is very complicated. That is the second challenge. Technology should […]
Student success is inherently at the center of every institution's mission, and this round of Models of Excellence showcases eight initiatives dedicated to supporting that goal, from before a student's first class right through—and beyond—graduation. Honorees include efforts aimed at improving academic performance as well as boosting life skills that transcend the classroom. Two honorees […]
How many databases does your campus administer in the broad area of student support? American University uses more than 36 databases for different student-related administrative and learning management functions. Each data system was designed to serve the professional needs of discrete administrative units and is maintained and updated as needed. For the most part, these […]
Exotic branch campuses across the globe give American institutions an extra shine when recruiting students and establishing an internationally recognized brand. Now, several universities are finding similar success with satellites in other parts of the U.S. For example: Drexel University, based in Philadelphia, operates a satellite in Sacramento, California; Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh runs […]
Data can be a beautiful thing. It can reveal patterns, failures and sometimes, surprises—as long as the measurements are consistent. At Prince George's Community College that wasn't the case. Each class was measuring different things, so campus leaders couldn't quite see the big picture. W. Allen Richman, dean of the Office of Planning, Assessment and […]
AV has been absorbed by the IT department on many college campuses. But is the situation more like a friendly merger or hostile takeover? The trend started in the mid-2000s, when AV equipment joined the network and control moved to remote software suites. The transition put AV departments in constant communication with the IT teams […]
When leaders at Brigham Young University-Idaho searched for a student success solution in 2012, they could not find an end-to-end system that encompassed every step of the student lifecycle. In 2013, BYU-Idaho partnered with Excelsoft, a technology solutions provider, to custom-design a comprehensive product for the institution's 44,844 students. "We had the manager from each […]
How many databases does your campus administer in the broad area of student support? American University utilizes more than 36 databases for different student-related administrative and learning management functions. Each data system was designed to serve the professional needs of discrete administrative units and is maintained and updated as needed. For the most part, these […]
The University of Alabama's former president, Robert Witt, tasked the campus with both increasing enrollment and becoming more pedestrian-friendly in 2006. An extensive transportation system helped support both of those goals. Alabama partnered with First Transit, one of the largest private-sector providers of mobility solutions in North America, to implement an initial network of 17 […]
When Teri McIntyre was a University of Wisconsin undergrad in the early '90s, she volunteered to call alumni to ask for college fund donations and—believe it or not—she liked making those calls. A university development officer noticed and offered McIntyre a job after graduation. "I didn't know if I could spend my whole life in […]
