Stable, reliable and adaptable. Those are the key descriptors for a successful learning management system. When the current LMS doesn't provide a needed functionality, schools can often add new features or configurations to achieve the desired outcome. But in some cases, it's time to scrap the old system. "Universities change on a dime; they're constantly […]
The temperature around higher education unionizing efforts often runs hot. Officials are reluctant to have outside labor groups on campus or to relinquish control over important personnel decisions—including pay, benefits and other sensitive employee issues. But should higher ed leaders fear unionization efforts? One primary area of worry for institutions whose employees are beginning to […]
The United University Professions (UUP), SUNY's labor union, has defended funding for public higher education—which has decreased nationwide by about 25 percent since the Great Recession. (Only two states, Alaska and North Dakota, have increased funding.) "Funding impacts classroom sizes, ability for students to afford college—it means that because states aren't investing, there is less […]
All offices involved in student success are now, for the first time, housed together in the new 230,000-square-foot University Crossing student center. The building also links the South, North and East campuses with the city's downtown business district and cultural attractions. Challenge Historically, University of Massachusetts, Lowell comprised of three separate campuses geographically divided by […]
The University System of Georgia has worked to combine several more of its higher education institutions this year in what is likely the nation's most aggressive and high-profile campus consolidation program. Around the country, institutions are merging at a slower pace, with some proposed consolidations collapsing under backlash from students and other community members. "I […]
People often go to college for the wrong reasons, with assumptions about how it's going to benefit them, says Donald Farish. "When it doesn't come out the way they imagined it would be, then, of course, it's everybody else's fault." Farish, president of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, will be the inaugural speaker at […]
As institution leaders plan out campus-wide AV projects, what are the top strategies for successful implementation of maintainable systems? At my institution, we strive to meet three design principles when completing all AV projects: Simplicity: We want a user interface that is easy for faculty and end users to operate with little to no learning […]
In the 1990s, Al Gore warned the public about the consequences of global warming. Though Gore may not have been the father of campus recycling nor the Internet, he and other like minded politicians placed the environmental public policy ball in play within the executive and legislative branches of Federal and State governments. At first, some […]
For many, Jan. 1 signifies a day of great college football bowl games, highly caloric leftover holiday food, and time with family and friends ringing in the New Year. However, for those working in financial aid offices at colleges or universities across the country, the start of the new year signals the beginning of financial […]
With a design to do things their own way, Generation Z, or people ages 16 to 19, could change higher ed. According to the "Portrait of Generation Z" report released by Northeastern University, nearly two-thirds of Gen Z-aged respondents said they want to learn about entrepreneurship in college, including how to start a business. More […]
