Today's rapidly evolving technology has higher education on the move, literally and figuratively. Mobile devices are powering a shift to more learning on the go, driving increased video consumption and requiring IT to fund ongoing bandwidth and infrastructure expansion. Tech is enabling big changes in how colleges deliver academic programs and grant credentials. Increased automation […]
Not long ago a journal published an article criticizing registrars for holding back the tide of innovation and change. While it dawned on me that registrars frequently have to say "no" to change, I have never thought of my fellow registrars or myself as stodgy curmudgeons seeking to restrain the pace of innovation. Quite the […]
The University of Vermont offers its students allergen-free, gluten-free and kosher food stations—plus cage-free eggs, fair trade coffee and locally sourced organic food (including Vermont maple syrup). Hunger cravings can be satisfied at any of three dining halls and 12 retail locations on campus, yet meal prices haven't increased at rates higher than the cost […]
More students now do their research on the web, bypassing resources offered by their campus libraries as digital usurps print in curricula, a recent survey says. Among the 4,300 students surveyed, less than 40 percent reported doing research at their library. About half used the library's online databases. Still, 77 percent said they study alone […]
Have you heard about Periscope yet? If you follow tech early adopters, journalists, celebrities or even politicians on Twitter, you might have already seen Periscope notifications for live broadcasts in your feed. Acquired for $100 million by Twitter in March 2015, the live-streaming mobile app could be either the next big thing or the latest […]
Rapid changes in technology, the dissolution of boundaries in the global marketplace, and innovation in research all demand a new approach to higher education. Universities must blur the lines—between public and private, between not-for-profit and commercial, between the liberal arts and STEM—by working with industry and nonprofit organizations to create unique training, research opportunities and […]
Commencement speakers have become another point of financial scrutiny in higher ed, with an annual flurry of students crying foul on both the person selected and fees incurred. Some colleges avoid charges by tapping their own faculty for the task (as University of Chicago has done since 1970). Others pursue prominent speakers willing to donate […]
Much has been written in recent years about the threats robots pose to jobs in America. Conventional wisdom states that machines will eventually overtake the jobs humans do today and then continue on to the future, infiltrating new jobs almost as quickly as they are created. Not only will they gain more ground in automated […]
In many ways, 2015 will look a lot like 2014 with respect to facilities. But there are trends impacting the creation and use of physical space on virtually every college and university campus. Institutions will be curbing new construction activity, getting creative about funding, paying more attention to overdue maintenance, and planning more for mixed-use […]
In 2008, former Yale professor William Deresiewicz wrote a scathing essay titled "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education." It quickly went viral, gaining more than 100,000 views in a matter of weeks (and many times that since). "The system manufactures students who are smart and talented and driven," he noted, "but also anxious, timid and […]
