Almost everybody ranks colleges these days—old stalwarts like U.S. News & World Report, influential upstarts like Washington Monthly and click-baiting websites that measure everything from campus sustainability to most attractive students to coolest mascots. William Destler, president of Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, even found his university named one of the "geekiest" in […]
After six colleges and universities in the Boston Consortium launched a self-insurance program in 2012, healthcare costs at Wheaton College ceased their upward spiral. Health premiums at the small liberal arts college had been increasing by 7 percent annually, but now costs have remained flat for the past four years. "We've changed the trend line […]
The new higher education alliances cropping up are not just of the regional variety. A group of private colleges and universities created a consortium in fall 2015 to negotiate better deals on enterprise resource planning systems, which can account for up to 4 percent of an institution's entire annual budget. The Higher Education Systems and […]
The twin goals of affordability and diversity dominate the nation's push to expand access to higher ed, but another critical factor—geography—is drawing more attention for the role it plays in where students go to college. With more than half selecting colleges less than 50 miles from home, there's growing concern about "education deserts"—localities that lack […]
Congratulations, you've landed your first job as a college's chief public relations and marketing officer. It's a grand role loaded with ocean-size opportunities and responsibilities. I got my first director's position in 1988 when I joined the staff at Georgetown College in Kentucky. Up until then I had been a one-person shop. With my appointment […]
In the eyes of many, higher education has become an industry focused on a singular goal—career training—and college students these days forgo the big questions about who they are and how they can change the world. In The Purposeful Graduate: Why Colleges Must Talk to Students about Vocation (University Of Chicago Press, 2015), Tim Clydesdale […]
In an era when prospective students and their parents can learn about hundreds of schools from the comfort of their homes, the in-person campus tour offers a golden opportunity to tip the scales in your favor. The tour is also the most influential factor in enrollment decisions, according to a 2012 Noel-Levitz study. But too […]
Criminal justice professor and public safety expert Robin Engel's extensive background working with both law enforcement and community advocates should give plenty of credibility to her leadership of the police reform initiative launched by University of Cincinnati after an officer-involved shooting near campus this summer. Engel was promoted—to vice president for safety and reform—so she […]
Cluster hiring of faculty is an effective strategy that has been around for at least 15 years. Ask universities that practice it and they'll tell you it strengthens faculty diversity and promotes new research opportunities. The practice also encourages faculty to collaborate across multiple disciplines and departments to develop creative academic programs and outreach initiatives. […]
A family's willingness to pay for a college education relies heavily on an institution's ability to articulate return on investment. Discounting tuition through scholarships and other financial aid is the most common approach to increasing a college's perceived value, as these strategies reduce the net cost to the family. Many efforts are being implemented to […]
