Online faculty at Castleton University don’t just dole out tests—they take them, too. Full- and part-time instructors who have no experience teaching online with Moodle’s learning management system work through a self-paced, six-module course created by associate academic dean Cathy Kozlik. The course resides on a Vermont State Colleges System Moodle Sandbox website, where professors […]
When campus marketing departments and admissions offices collaborate, valuable strategic alignments can be formed. Well-coordinated teams ensure that institutional branding messages speak to recruitment needs, while the recruiting messages encourage brand awareness and market penetration that resonate with faculty, staff and alumni. A shared reporting structure is one way to foster these alignments. Additionally, a […]
How is the way in which institutions address student success expected to evolve in 2017 and beyond? Previously, students were looked at in a very fragmented way: They were either a recruit, an applicant, a student, a potential graduate, a lifelong learner or potential dropout. New tools have caused a shift in how higher ed […]
Open educational resources have grown over the last few years from one-off oddities in single courses to the basis of entire degree programs. Cutting out textbook costs for students tops the list of reasons administrators encourage faculty to develop and adopt these free—or very inexpensive—resources, also known as OER. Other enticements include immediate access for […]
Considering that textbooks can account for 25 percent of a community college student’s degree, some institutions have banded together to develop more open educational resources. A coalition of institutions in Washington recently launched a competency-based online business degree that doesn’t require textbooks. When students pay for the course, they also pay for all of the […]
According to a recent survey of auxiliary directors conducted by the National Association of College Stores, we know that the top reason (41 percent) for outsourcing the campus store is to eliminate operational headaches and simplify processes. Those are valid reasons. Managing a retail operation is a complex business—and quite different from other higher education […]
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 […]
While most libraries have cleared out hundreds, if not thousands, of books from their shelves, that doesn’t mean they have surrendered square footage. In fact, many colleges and universities are investing millions of dollars to repurpose or even expand these facilities to make room for collaborative learning, technology centers, dining areas, research support and other […]
What are some of the instructional technology challenges higher ed leaders are facing as their campuses grow in physical size? Unfortunately, technology budgets do not often grow when campuses do. So selections must be made with maximum ROI in mind, from both the usability and support ends. New deployments ought to integrate into the university’s […]
Recent highly publicized cyber attacks have spurred a growing public awareness of the risk that sensitive personal information might be accessed by unauthorized third parties. It is not as well-known that the industry sector with the highest number of breaches is higher education: since 2005, higher education institutions have been the victim of 539 breaches […]
