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. […]
Financial aid is in a state of flux, but an institution's size and selectivity offer clues to what kind of student assistance gets prioritized. Some public flagships and less-selective private schools are using increased merit aid to lure higher achievers from more prestigious private schools, while some highly selective colleges and universities are phasing out […]
At a time when the gulf between liberals and conservatives seems to be wider than ever, there is one topic about which they agree: the reasons for the rising cost of a college education. Why do colleges and universities keep raising tuition, asks Timothy Noah in The New Republic? Because they can. And Allysia Finley […]
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 […]
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 […]
Although managing enrollment efforts has never been easy, it was not that long ago when the traditional funnel was somewhat predictable. As an admissions counselor in my early days, I could easily work backward to set goals for my territory, starting with my goal for the number of enrolled students. I then used historical data […]
As the long-lasting effects of the Great Recession slowly fade, most states have begun rescinding cuts made to public higher education since 2008. Eight states, however, have continued reducing funds, according to a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Those that continued to cut per-student funding in the past year are: Wyoming, […]
Cultivating a campus culture that embodies both global diversity and interconnectivity should be central to the mission of universities today. Reminders persist that our current environment and economy are not confined to our immediate geographic surroundings. Modern-day technologies, transportation, international trade, and politics significantly diminish distances that used to seem great. At the University of […]
Next fall, Susquehanna University will begin enforcing a long-standing policy requiring most students to live on campus all four years, officials at the Pennsylvania school say. There was a small protest by students after media coverage indicated the policy was new. But spokeswoman Angela Burrows says the decision was driven simply by new residential units. […]
The University of Central Florida is the second-largest university in the U.S., with 12 campuses serving 60,000 students. Keystone College, on the other hand, a small, private, liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, is on the other end of the spectrum, with just 2,000 students. Both institutions transitioned to a new learning management system—UCF to Canvas […]
