Demands for increased innovation are commonplace today, with leaders of all stripes—including those in postsecondary education—calling for individuals and enterprises to be more innovative. However, few know much about innovation or its cultivation. Not surprisingly, innovations are typically stumbled upon by accident or, as is most commonly the case in higher education, occur within the […]
In the fall of 2012, Connecticut neighbors Fairfield University, University of Bridgeport and Housatonic Community College launched a dual-enrollment program, which initially served 78 high school students. From Bridgeport Public Schools, the students got a chance to take college-level courses for simultaneous high school and college credit. These kinds of dual-enrollment programs date back decades […]
Tech support is rarely fun—even, apparently, if it's a lot closer than an overseas call center. Despite 24/7 help desk availability and in-person technical consulting, Computing Services and Systems Development (CSSD) staff at the University of Pittsburgh believed their services were being underutilized by the main campus' 26,000-plus students. And those employees thought they knew […]
Integrated. Upgradeable. Simple. Affordable. That's the message HR professionals at universities and colleges are sending to software developers. "We don't want to be locked in to what we're doing today and not be able to adjust to the world tomorrow," says David Jones, organizational effectiveness specialist, division of housing and food services at Purdue University. […]
The University of Wisconsin's all-you-can-learn, competency-based flex program—designed for adult students—started in January. Students can pay $2,250 for a three-month, all-you-can-learn subscription, or just $900 to work on a single set of competencies, says Vice Chancellor Aaron Brower, the interim provost of the UW Extension School. Tuition covers assessments and faculty mentoring, and students' get […]
The September 11, 2001 attacks evoked a new era of national security and anxiety. The country responded with sweeping security measures that have sparked a growing concern over perceived violations of individual civil rights and liberties. This national debate surrounding the tension between national or organizational security and individual privacy can be especially complex when […]
The University of Florida's last fundraising campaign, completed in October 2012, surpassed its $1.5 billion goal and finished nine months ahead of schedule at $1.72 billion. Despite this tremendous success, the next campaign will deploy a new tactic—a fine-tuned army of the university's leaders prepared and practiced in the strategies of fundraising. "When we conducted […]
Adjunct faculty have long played a supporting role in higher education. These often overqualified professors work long hours for comparatively little pay, on the hope that it might lead to a full-time position. But somewhere along the way, the situation changed. University of Southern California Rossier School of Education Professor Adrianna Kezar, co-director of the […]
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 […]
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 […]