Who would ever think that replacing simple lightbulbs could end up costing a university hundreds of thousands of dollars? Or that a piece of equipment destined for a building's basement could nearly cause the destruction of an exterior wall, with an associated price tag in the tens of thousands of dollars, because the system was […]
Sprucing up a campus building's interiors need not involve buying loads of new furniture. Just ask officials at Georgetown University. The institution recently refinished and reupholstered a variety of public space furniture in Alumni Square, an apartment complex on the Washington, D.C. campus. It also had loveseats, sofas, arm and lounge chairs, and other pieces […]
The academic landscape is fraught with risk—everything from hazardous chemicals and internal fraud, to flu outbreaks and budget shortfalls. It seems obvious that any college or university would invest effort to identify and rank its current top risks, if just to assign the right level of attention and resources to each. Yet many academic institutions […]
Thirty percent of higher ed students today are the first in their family to attend college, while 24 percent—4.5 million—are both first-generation and low-income. That means a significant portion of students is at risk of dropping out, as National Center for Education Statistics data shows that only 11 percent of low-income, first-generation students graduated within […]
New football teams continue to take the field at colleges and universities each fall, overcoming criticism—from within higher ed and from outside—that sports programs not only suck up money desperately needed by academic departments but also drive up tuition and student fees. Some experts also predict that the wave of lawsuits the NCAA faces could push […]
The U.S. Department of Education has been working to establish the Postsecondary Institution Rating System (PIRS) since President Obama announced it in August 2013. The proposed system is planned to provide consumers of higher education with objective data and information that helps students make educated decisions between different institutions. It also aims to improve the […]
Stable, reliable and adaptable. Those are the key descriptors for a successful learning management system. When the current LMS doesn't provide a needed functionality, schools can often add new features or configurations to achieve the desired outcome. But in some cases, it's time to scrap the old system. "Universities change on a dime; they're constantly […]
The temperature around higher education unionizing efforts often runs hot. Officials are reluctant to have outside labor groups on campus or to relinquish control over important personnel decisions—including pay, benefits and other sensitive employee issues. But should higher ed leaders fear unionization efforts? One primary area of worry for institutions whose employees are beginning to […]
For many, Jan. 1 signifies a day of great college football bowl games, highly caloric leftover holiday food, and time with family and friends ringing in the New Year. However, for those working in financial aid offices at colleges or universities across the country, the start of the new year signals the beginning of financial […]
The American Dream is an enduring ethos in the United States. It existed among the earliest notions of our forefathers, as it is proposed within the words of the Constitution that every citizen has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While today the American Dream is self-defined, it has historically been […]
