He holds a law degree and an MBA. He has a background as a dot-com pioneer, corporate chief, consultant, and world traveler. He's an experienced pilot and also sang in an award-winning male chorus. John Williams, president of Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, might well be a contender for Dos Equis' next World's Most Interesting Man. […]
Campus newspapers face many of the same challenges confronting the professional media—inconsistent readership, dwindling financial resources, and competition with bloggers and social media. And when it comes to the involvement of administrators in editorial decisions, a movement now spreading across the country is pushing state legislatures to reaffirm the press freedoms of student journalists—particularly at […]
American higher education in 2016 faced increased pressure on performance—from students with high expectations and an economy in need of qualified workers. Colleges and universities were also being pushed to eliminate administrative and academic silos to help students of all ages and backgrounds succeed. Here’s a look back at what made headlines in higher ed […]
A Texas judge’s eleventh-hour injunction against a controversial labor regulation change has left more than 4 million U.S. workers, including thousands in higher education, in limbo. Scheduled to go into effect December 1, the so-called Overtime Rule would have made full-time employees earning less than $47,476 eligible for a pay raise or overtime pay. In […]
Enrollment management presents one of the most pressing challenges for many institutions in the current higher education landscape. Uncertain economic conditions, stretched institutional budgets, dependence on tuition revenue, increased competition for top students, and changing demographics have all intensified the need for effective enrollment strategies—and for exceptional managers to champion those strategies. As a search […]
A greater level of accountability around access and outcomes looms on the horizon for higher ed administrators in 2017 and beyond. Experts across the ideological spectrum predict the federal government and the general public to demand more transparency in the data released about how graduates of specific campus programs fare in the job market. This push could […]
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 […]
What are key challenges institutions are facing in achieving efficiencies through technology initiatives? There are three challenges. The first is user adoption, and the technology is good only if your users are using it. The key reason for low user adoption is that the technology is very complicated. That is the second challenge. Technology should […]
How many databases does your campus administer in the broad area of student support? American University uses more than 36 databases for different student-related administrative and learning management functions. Each data system was designed to serve the professional needs of discrete administrative units and is maintained and updated as needed. For the most part, these […]
Data can be a beautiful thing. It can reveal patterns, failures and sometimes, surprises—as long as the measurements are consistent. At Prince George's Community College that wasn't the case. Each class was measuring different things, so campus leaders couldn't quite see the big picture. W. Allen Richman, dean of the Office of Planning, Assessment and […]
