Managing change may be part of the job description for any higher ed administrator, but it's seldom easy. And nowhere is this more evident than with the core of any college or university: its academic programs. In fact, the process can be something of a minefield, with faculty feeling threatened and the media poised to […]
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 […]
In years past, the general counsel, director of athletics, and compliance officer at a college or university could manage legal risks by focusing all efforts on avoiding NCAA violations and the costly investigations and potential penalties that accompany them. That has now changed. As recent headlines attest, the risks are now multi-faceted and the regulatory […]
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 […]
Job candidates have questions they never ask during interviews. Is this an ethical school? Will I agree with its direction? Will I like my colleagues? Some recruiters tightly script the interview process, leaving no wiggle room for anything else, which makes some candidates wonder about a school's transparency. Everyone wants transparency in the workplace, which creates […]
In the July 2018 issue of UB, Richard L. Riccardi, senior associate provost and dean of libraries at Rider University in New Jersey, writes that "institutions have begun to see a culture of data-informed decision-making as a necessity instead of a luxury. Making good decisions depends on quality data and less on intuition or anecdotes." The […]
When we think of "media," images of the press spring to mind. Instances of "fake news" wreaked havoc throughout the 2016 presidential election, and subsequent accusations of the same levied against news organizations from top officials have dominated news narratives ever since. My primary goal as a journalism professor is to encourage students to be […]
What is the biggest challenge administrators have fostering trusting relationships between students and faculty? What's the most innovative way you've seen a college tackle this challenge? "Engaging in communication is the foundation of any trusting relationship, yet this is often difficult for students and faculty to do. There are generational gaps and technology changes constantly. […]
When we think of the students served by institutions of higher education, we usually think of young adults the age of undergraduate and graduate students. But colleges and universities often offer programs to children and adolescents under the age of eighteen and as young as pre-kindergarten. These children and adolescents are more vulnerable than older […]
Once meant to supplement full-time and tenured faculty, adjunct faculty were often viewed as "the others." But times and economics have changed and this contingent force has become the majority of faculty in American higher education. One result of this shift is a new push to unionize adjunct professors for better pay, benefits and working […]
