From construction workers and machinists to occupational therapists and fire fighters, skilled laborers are in high demand. And shortages of employees like these are making it difficult for companies to fill jobs. In a July 2016 survey, the National Association for Business Economics found that 31 percent of its members experienced labor shortages; and the […]
Adaptive learning, which brings the benefits of one-on-one tutoring to large numbers of students with instruction tailored to the learner, has garnered attention since the 1970s. But while it’s a common topic in education circles and technology is now widely available to make it happen, translating traditional lectures to an adaptive learning format takes time, […]
A campus washing machine should send students a text when their clothes are done, and it can. Thanks to a concept called the Internet of Things, anything—really, anything—can and will be hooked up to a network. A simple bathroom scale in an athlete’s dorm room can connect to Wi-Fi and transmit weight, body fat percentage, […]
Like library administrators across the country, David Lewis of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is used to making hard choices. This year, he saved $200,000 by canceling dozens of subscriptions to scholarly science journals. In exchange, he began offering researchers on-request access to articles within hours, replacing the instant access they were accustomed to. He also […]
Margaret A. Cargill Natural Sciences and Health Building Berea College (Ky.) Berea’s new $72 million Margaret A. Cargill Natural Sciences and Health building will house the biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics and nursing departments. Designed to accent the historic aspects of campus, the 125,000-square-foot structure will feature a central lab space spanning four floors and technology-rich […]
Alice L. Brown doesn't pull punches when discussing the problems of leadership at the small schools that constitute the Appalachian College Association. Some, she says, are barely surviving and their leaders seem reluctant to take the steps necessary to change course. Brown served 15 years as president of the Appalachian College Association, a nonprofit consortium […]
No one would deny that college students spend a good part of the day with eyes locked on their mobile devices, scrolling through social media feeds. Despite that clear trend, just 30 percent of financial aid professionals reported using social media to provide financial literacy content to their constituents, notes the “2016 Financial Literacy Trends […]
Eight years ago administrators laying plans for Guttman Community College in New York City set a goal: This school would not be like so many other community colleges with low completion rates. Guttman would make getting students to graduation a primary mission. That approach is proliferating across the community college sector, says Melinda Mechur Karp, assistant […]
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 […]
On a cold evening in December 2014, over 400 students, faculty and staff gathered quietly on the central plaza of Salisbury University's Maryland campus. Chalked on the pavers were the silhouettes of 24 bodies. As victim names were read, students proceeded to lie down within the outlines and observe several minutes of silence, remembering black […]
