No institution can be better than its faculty. An institution can be better than its president, its football team, its library and its food service—but if the faculty are weak, the institution is weak. We are in an exciting time for faculty in that their roles are expanding with new opportunities in online education, MOOCs, […]
First-generation college student and recent UC Berkeley grad Ulises Serrano, an aspiring higher ed administrator, will enter graduate school this fall without any student loan debt. That’s thanks in part to the income-share agreement (ISA) used to finance the first two years of his post-secondary education at Allan Hancock College in California. For Serrano and […]
The "perfect storm" of a weak economy, the expansion of for-profit schools and greater competition for fewer students has forced many colleges to become more strategic about their survival, and to avoid previously unthinkable options, including closing their doors for good. In Consolidating Colleges and Merging Universities (2017, Johns Hopkins University Press), James Martin and […]
“The last thing colleges want to do is put a former student in collections,” says Harrison Wadsworth, executive director of the Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations. But when internal efforts to collect tuition don’t work, it’s important to have somewhere to turn for help. At Texas Tech University, the finance office pursues unpaid balances […]
When Tyson Cooper began working in student accounts 10 years ago, debt collection on college campuses was viewed as purely business and "a necessary evil," says the director of student financial services at the University of Southern Virginia. Today, with increased attention on student success and the long-term effects of unpaid accounts, institutions need to […]
The student debt crisis—despite dire warnings from the media—is not as bad as it is portrayed, researchers Beth Akers and Matthew Chingos say. In their book Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt (Princeton University Press, 2016), the authors say the popular myth of looming crisis has obscured the real problems facing student […]
"In God we trust. All others must bring data." —W. Edwards Deming Baby boomers look back nostalgically on the 1960s, some marching in the ranks of a war on the other side of the world and others marching on college campuses. It seemed a Golden Age of affordable tuition, manageable student debt, and good job […]
In uncertain political times, some higher ed lobbyists say their most important role may be blocking legislation that could harm their client colleges and universities. Term limits result in lobbyists constantly forging relationships with legislators, as well as reintroducing their institution to a new set of lawmakers. “The key is to know that you have […]
Not all vocational experience is created equally—this is especially true if it happens on the battlefield. In 13 Midwestern states, veterans can now receive college credit for military vocational skills and trades learned working on base or in the field. For many vets, taking unnecessary general ed courses leads to longer grad times, debt accrued […]
Funding cycles come and go, but the need to repair, expand and modernize college and university facilities goes on forever. Universities have a core academic mission to achieve, one that shouldn’t be sidetracked by the need to pour precious resources into new facilities or expensive renovations. To bridge the gap between dwindling public resources and […]
