When Duke University class of 2008 arrived on campus to start their freshman year, they had no idea they would become pioneers. Why? Because each of the incoming freshmen received a free iPod as part of a program aimed at fostering innovative uses of technology in the classroom. I led the Apple team that helped […]
In the past few years, many universities have begun to explore a concept frequently and successfully implemented in the corporate world, but previously rare in higher education: shared services. The term “shared services” refers to a streamlining process where administrative tasks or technology management services that regularly occurred across several departments in the organization are […]
Cougar Corporate Partners, a new University of Houston giving program, lets companies invest directly in programs that will have an immediate impact on students who make up the future workforce. Half of each donation is funneled into scholarships, the first $5,000 of which are being awarded in August. The other half of the donation is […]
Regardless of function, many of the facilities completed within the past year on college and university campuses were designed to create connections. These buildings may help campus groups and departments collaborate, or they may enhance town-gown relations. Linking the facility to other parts of campus through a deliberate architectural feature is another way project planners […]
In today's higher ed world, no department can work in a vacuum, least of all IT. From understanding the business plan to knowing how a web page or application will be used and by whom before it is designed and built, the days of CIOs and their teams working independently are gone. IT administrators are […]
Of all the new ideas bubbling to the surface in building state-of-the-art science centers, the one theme that was constant across all Inside Look submissions was creating spaces that foster collaboration—both among students and teachers within a specific science, as well as across all science disciplines. One school even calls its science center a “collaboratory.” […]
Demands for increased innovation are commonplace today, with leaders of all stripes—including those in postsecondary education—calling for individuals and enterprises to be more innovative. However, few know much about innovation or its cultivation. Not surprisingly, innovations are typically stumbled upon by accident or, as is most commonly the case in higher education, occur within the […]
Historically black colleges and universities are coming together to encourage entrepreneurial ventures and thinking among their students and faculty. Kicking off the initiative is the first HBCU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Collaborative Symposium in late March in conjunction with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance's Annual OPEN Conference. Hosted also by the Association of Public […]
Vanderbilt University's medical school is among the best in the country, but its officials still wanted to create awareness of it with prospective students—those who are only in high school. The undergraduate admissions office had deployed a constituent relationship management (CRM) system, but university officials knew from the outset that the system could be used […]
Campus leaders are increasingly confronted with transformation—from students acting as consumers to universities acting more like businesses to the rapid evolution of faculty. Yet perhaps the most prominent change is the proliferation of technology-based learning methods. Online courses have created a new world of education—one where learning can occur anytime and anywhere. While technology is […]