Purdue University surprised its faculty and the general higher ed sector this spring with its plans to acquire Kaplan University for a symbolic $1 (with a revenue-share plan spanning 30 years). Less noted is the opportunity Purdue has to learn from its new unit. Purdue, an Indiana land-grant institution, will form a new, public university […]
Steve Kramer, Vice President, ACI Worldwide I know the pain Finance VPs in higher education experience. It seems like every day that someone comes to you saying “Our students need new technology. Can we squeeze it into the budget?” I own the P&L, so I get it. Did you know that your university payment systems […]
The interest in live videos across social media platforms has accelerated over the past few months with a series of developments that bring high-quality video broadcasting to the masses. Instagram launched live video in Instagram Stories, an upgrade to the ephemeral format it borrowed from Snapchat. Periscope’s live capabilities have been integrated into the Twitter […]
With skilled workers in demand by industry and student enrollment declining, ignoring diversity initiatives is impractical, even unproductive. Students, employees and job candidates can easily see through an institutional faÁ§ade that claims to embrace diversity but makes little effort to promote it. By expanding the definition of diversity and frequently introducing new programs or events […]
Renowned research chemist Karen Wetterhahn was working with dimethyl mercury in her lab at Dartmouth College, when she spilled a drop of the toxic compound on her glove. She had taken every precaution possible while working with the volatile substance, from using a hood to prevent her from inhaling fumes, to wearing a face shield […]
On some college campuses, the endangered species aren't in the environmental science textbooks. They're in the president's office. Based on a wide array of real and perceived performance issues, university presidents are facing growing challenges to their powerful roles. New findings by Southern Methodist University researchers reveal that "involuntary" presidential departures rose dramatically between 2007 […]
The first clue that something was wrong at Tidewater Community College in Virginia emerged in March 2016 when at least 15 employees discovered they could not file their tax returns. After the IRS informed the employees that their returns had already been submitted, college officials realized someone had breached the computer system. The attack began […]
Sometimes it becomes clear very early on that a facilities project—especially a solar initiative—will be complicated. At Endicott College in Massachusetts, administrators looking into solar and other renewable energy technologies discovered several of the rooftops were too small to accommodate solar installation. Planned renovations on other buildings meant solar panels would need to be removed […]
A January memorandum issued by Richard Griffin, the current general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, has further stoked long-running debate over whether university students should be deemed "employees" who can assert collective bargaining rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The issue has particular significance for schools with high-profile football or other athletic […]
Ian Mortimer was searching for a way to make communication with prospective students at Nazareth College in western New York easier without picking up the phone or sending an email. “One of the problems we were facing was having that one-way connection,” says Mortimer, who is vice president for Enrollment Management at Nazareth. “We wanted […]
