College classrooms of yore were often fortresses reinforced with concrete floors and walls. Listening to a lecture in such hard-surfaced rooms was like trying to decipher sound in an echo chamber. After years of complaints from students and faculty, many colleges and universities have begun upgrading classrooms and lecture halls by installing ceiling baffles, fabric-covered […]
Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can struggle even in rooms with the best acoustics. Institutions receiving federal funding, including all public colleges and universities, are required by law to provide hearing-impaired students equal access to all on-campus activities. Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, home of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, […]
In a nutshell, what is an omnichannel payment approach? Omnichannel is the ability to take payments anytime, anywhere through any channel. It is also the ability to deliver those payments securely and manage them centrally for easy reporting and administration. Higher ed leaders want to provide a frictionless experience for students, parents and other constituents, […]
When University of Maryland University College needed a new management solution for business operations, administrators decided to purchase a system using cloud technology rather than upgrade the school's current software. "At UMUC, innovation is in our DNA. Executive leadership championed a move to cloud technology because it was a proven innovation," says Robin Whitfield, associate […]
Colleges and universities are witnessing a growing number of transgender students—and faculty—struggling to find their way. The term describes any gender identity that does not fit the male and female binary. While some institutions promote trans-inclusive policies and practices, others have not kept pace. For example, students who transition while in college may face a […]
Leaders of the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative strive to provide students with more than just college access and employment. Graduation and a well-paying career—in fields such as health care, education and industrial maintenance—top the list of goals for the low-income parents who participate. "We don't just want to put people in minimum-wage jobs or in […]
Arkansas Community Colleges Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative, 2005 Funding: Pathways is funded by the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Implementation: Each campus hired case managers to work with low-income parents. Training: The state trains case managers to work with people experiencing poverty. Endicott College (Mass.) Keys to Degrees, 1993 Funding: The university is […]
When Cathy Stickney first arrived in Northbridge as the superintendent of Public Schools, she was that candidate whose eyes were wide open. After all, Stickney knew going in that the Northbridge Public Schools had a low college-bound aspiration and admission rate; and importantly, a low four-year graduation rate than the statewide average. Worse yet, 25 percent […]
If Judy Jetson enrolled in college, she might have hopped aboard a self-driving shuttle to get across campus for her astrophysics class and then tapped a few buttons to summon a driver to take her home to her parents, Elroy, Astro and Rosie. The Jetsons was set in 2062, but some of the high-tech predictions […]
At some colleges, students are playing an important role in developing high-tech transportation tools, including driverless shuttles. These four institutions provide hands-on experience in the transportation technology of the future. Stanford University: The Center for Automotive Research at Stanford has been including students in autonomous vehicle research since its 2008 launch. As part of a […]
