The IT team at Auburn University in Alabama purchases a large amount of computers and related technology to serve the 25,000 students and numerous faculty and staff that use the institution’s facilities and infrastructure. This is an expensive undertaking, especially considering it wasn’t until 2009 that Alabama law permitted the use of cooperatives for purchasing. […]
Higher ed’s reliance on adjunct faculty, hardly a secret anymore, has gotten much scrutiny in the past few years. Institutions of all types benefit from the fact that adjuncts—provided they don’t become eligible for health benefits by working more than 30 hours a week—can be employed for a fraction of the investment needed for full-time […]
It’s no secret that higher education is an increasingly global endeavor. Besides sending a significant number of students to participate in study abroad programs (which has more than tripled in the past two decades), colleges and universities also engage in research projects, collaborations and countless other international activities. To support these enterprises, universities may send […]
In terms of making money from inventions, New York University does pretty well. In 2013 it earned $214 million from intellectual property (IP) created through research, primarily in the schools of medicine and engineering and in the departments of computer science and physics. The institution developed the patents behind about 25 products on the market […]
There exist an endless number of articles, books, blogs, and interviews on the state of higher education (HE) in America. The themes are consistent – fewer resources, fewer students, bloated administrative staff, less affordability, unsustainable student debt, poor graduation rates, unimpressive employability skills and what the heck is a MOOC and why should I care. […]
Have net price calculators, merit scholarships and tuition discounts rendered sticker price meaningless? Not according to numerous surveys on the topic. The findings of three separate surveys over the past two years on the topic of cost and decision to apply suggest that students and parents give strong consideration to advertised price. A 2012 studentPOLL […]
The U.S. economy has been through major changes in the last several years, and the effects are being felt on campus. In many cases, this turmoil shows up publicly in the form of a credit-rating downgrade. On some campuses, a change in the credit rating has no effect on the day-to-day operations; on others, it […]
Textbook publishing has long been seen as an impenetrable business, with five major players controlling most of the nearly $14 billion industry. But in recent years, the shift to digital and open-access content has led to a proliferation of free and low-cost alternatives. Meanwhile, spiraling costs, massive student debt, changing consumer demands and public as […]
Georgetown University officials had a bit of an epiphany recently about the impact of their noncredit courses. While the offerings had been around since the 1990s, administrators hadn’t realized the big benefits they could bring to the institution. “What started as fairly standard, adult-education, personal-interest type of courses has evolved into a major part of […]
Some see the three year baccalaureate as a fad which will ultimately dilute the depth, breadth, and rigor of the true college learning and living experience. Other commentators see the accelerated credentials megatrend as the natural outcome of decades of degree inflation. Think about the fact that an associate's degree is no longer the coin […]
