The strategic plans of every administrator and department must work collectively toward the overall goals of a college or university. It's a bit like playing dominoes where each tile connects to another but always links back to the first tile played. Sounds simple but it's not a common practice at higher education institutions. Act like […]
Working on a campus near the coast with sunny, 70-degree weather year-round is an appealing prospect to many people. It's also why real estate in Southern California is among the most expensive in the nation—placing housing there out of the reach for academics seeking a first or new teaching opportunity. This reality motivated the University […]
While students have a variety of options when it comes to paying for college, making unwise financial decisions can lead to negative consequences for the student as well as the institution. Overborrowing, poor planning and budgeting, and misunderstanding financial aid can create seemingly insurmountable debt that can affect academic performance, push students to leave school […]
A newly formed advocacy organization hopes to smooth the process for busy adults looking to attend college. The Coalition for Adult Learners will campaign for competency-based learning, simplified and more flexible financial aid, and other federal policies and institutional practices. "Most colleges are still organized around their historic mission of serving traditional learners," said Bob […]
Flora Tydings is Tennessee Board of Regents' new chancellor, responsible for leading six universities, 13 community colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology. Tydings plans to improve the student experience by strengthening the link between colleges and employers. One goal is to analyze student achievement to identify initiatives that improve graduation rates and solve other […]
Early alert systems. Transfer credit assessment tools. Adaptive technologies. Apps to push student reminders. Career assessment software. Colleges and universities nationwide use these and many other success technologies to help students improve grades, increase involvement and persist to graduation with as little debt as possible. Driven, in part, by pressure from new federal regulations, campus […]
At one university, a garbage can blocked access to the paper towels, a table was placed in front of the automatic door button, students in wheelchairs couldn't access the accessible sink in a science lab because of a trash can's placement, and staff sometimes plowed snow into disabled parking spaces or access lanes. At another […]
The growing availability of custom and commercial software applications allows colleges and universities to transform classroom laboratory experiences into virtual equivalents that offer advantages over their physical precursors. This change is gradually evolving at higher ed institutions across the nation and the globe. For example, New Mexico State University has made virtual science labs available […]
Encouraging students to take a full-time course load to target on-time graduation has become a popular focus area in higher ed. Cleveland State University takes the concept a step further with its graduation incentive plan—in which students earn tuition rebates and bookstore credits for staying on track. The incentives are available to all CSU undergrads who […]
Students don't quite run the show when it comes to course scheduling. But colleges and universities are striving to make it easier for them—with their ongoing juggle of work, family and school commitments—to take the classes necessary to meet educational objectives in time to graduate. Course scheduling policies and practices tend to date back—way back—to […]
