With increasing urgency, today's colleges are being asked—by business, government and the nonprofit field—to impart so-called "21st century skills" of communication, collaboration, problem-solving and creativity to their students. What's often missing from the list is leadership, which galvanizes these other skills and equips students to make informed decisions, take meaningful action, and develop pathways to […]
Remember the "Flutie Effect"? That's the claim that Boston College applications increased as a result of Doug Flutie's last-second Hail Mary pass that won a football game against the defending champs from the University of Miami. Now we may be seeing the opposite—let's call it the Scandal Side Effect—where a school's bad publicity can drive […]
American higher education is admired around the world, with its research universities leading the way in creating the breakthroughs that will lead to yet unimaginable futures, liberal arts colleges and state universities educating tomorrow’s leaders, and its community colleges providing retraining for middle aged displaced workers. However, across the full spectrum of higher education institutions […]
“Don’t just believe in UBTech, believe in something higher—your pursuit of education excellence.” And with those words, University Business Group Publisher Matt Kinnaman kicked off UBTech 2016. More than 1,100 campus tech leaders and innovators from across the nation flocked to Las Vegas for the June 6-8 event, descending upon The Mirage Convention Center for three […]
The Payden Academic Center—the first new academic building added to Trinity’s historic Washington, D.C. campus in more than half a century, provides much needed instructional space for the school’s growing nursing and health programs as well as a step into modern architecture. The four-story, LEED-certified structure accommodates classes from every discipline offered on campus so that […]
Claire Sterk is the new president of Emory University in Atlanta, effective September 1. Currently provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, Sterk's long-range plan includes increasing diversity of staff and students, improving access, making the university more affordable, and strengthening Emory's healthcare programs. Sterk has been at Emory since 1995, when she joined […]
It is no coincidence that at a time of staggering family college debt burden, hands-on learning is experiencing a revival in schools, colleges, and universities across the Nation and around the world. Students and families perplexed and frustrated by the gainful employment vs. tuition gap are looking for more practical (maker) skills from their next […]
A recent survey of alumni of institutions confirmed what every university president knows: when asked who set them on a constructive path, at the top of the list are professors who made them excited about learning, professors who cared about them as persons, encouraged them, mentored them, and directed them in projects—what we call “high touch.” […]
ADA awareness training should be mandatory and ongoing across all departments. If students come to a staff member requesting an accommodation, they should be referred to the disabilities services office, which will help ensure consistency and fairness. Campuses see a range of disabilities that must be covered, from mental and emotional (anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, […]
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 […]
