Study abroad has been reserved traditionally for upperclassmen, but institutions that include Michigan State, Kent State (Ohio), Florida State, American University (D.C.) and the University of New Haven (Conn.) are offering students the chance to learn overseas before or during their first year of college. Michigan State launched Freshman Seminar Abroad in 2003 with organized […]
With YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, virtually nothing escapes the pubic's notice, and judgment. It's one reason higher education is paying much more attention to risk management now than in the past. There are also more risk-generating contingencies, such as mass shootings, and accountability standards, such as for the prevention of sexual […]
After years of quiet evolution, the competency-based education movement is now poised for explosive growth, with several hundred colleges and universities developing programs that fundamentally redefine the college degree. An estimated 34 U.S. institutions now offer some form of competency-based learning, according to research by Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor of higher education at Seton […]
It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. To make a huge change at a university, it takes the entire village, a.k.a. a really good team, to make it happen. Here's our story. Millersville University of Pennsylvania has 7,500 undergraduates, 1,000 graduate students, seven unions representing faculty and staff, and […]
Fans at a University of New Haven football game might notice an odd sideline sight: medical personnel with their heads hunched over smartphones. But these athletic trainers are not checking text messages or updating their Facebook status. Rather, they are monitoring real-time data about the force of their players’ on-field collisions. In 2013 the Connecticut […]
Hillary Clinton’s recently announced $350 billion plan to offer free tuition for public colleges and universities has merit, but does not apply across the board and would require additional appropriations from Congress. Clinton and all the 2016 presidential candidates should absolutely be focused on this issue, but from a wider perspective. We must look for […]
Most public discussions about the use of race and ethnicity in higher education admissions decisions ignore targeted recruitment and some of the other strategies that have been used most often to increase campus diversity, says a new report by the American Council on Education. The result is more polarized debate that—in seizing on less commonly […]
If it’s finalized as is by Nov. 1, The Department of Education proposed rule on campus debit cards and Title IV payments will have a major impact on third-party service providers. Some of the regulations in the rule include restrictions on fees and limitations on access to student information. It would also require schools to […]
Outside the circle of higher ed facilities managers, it’s the shiny new campus buildings that get all the glory. Yet what facilities insiders know all too well is that existing buildings are in dire need of attention. Aging buildings, a recent economic downturn and pressure to invest in new construction has led to rising deferred […]
At 500,000 square feet, the new Science and Engineering Hall at The George Washington University is the largest academic building dedicated to these fields in the nation’s capital. And it serves thousands of students and roughly 140 faculty members in the heart of the Foggy Bottom campus. The building, known on campus as the SEH, provides […]
