Recent research studies have begun to recognize males as a new "at-risk" population. Achieving gender balance means different things to different institutions. Technical programs with STEM-heavy curricula have traditionally struggled to attract female enrollments (though women are fast making inroads into these fields). Large public universities and smaller liberal arts colleges, on the other hand, […]
With headline after tragic headline, and demands from angry constituents and stakeholders to do more, colleges and universities are facing the harsh reality that just complying with the minimum requirements of the Campus SaVE (Sexual Violence Elimination) Act isn’t enough to prevent sexual assault. What’s more is that it’s not only the Title IX coordinator’s […]
Need-based financial aid was supposed to give everyone an opportunity to get into college and better their lives and career prospects. But that assistance is not always applied as intended, says the third edition of New America's "Undermining Pell" report. Nearly half of the public, four-year colleges studied now leave the most financially needy students on […]
A campus washing machine should send students a text when their clothes are done, and it can. Thanks to a concept called the Internet of Things, anything—really, anything—can and will be hooked up to a network. A simple bathroom scale in an athlete’s dorm room can connect to Wi-Fi and transmit weight, body fat percentage, […]
Like library administrators across the country, David Lewis of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is used to making hard choices. This year, he saved $200,000 by canceling dozens of subscriptions to scholarly science journals. In exchange, he began offering researchers on-request access to articles within hours, replacing the instant access they were accustomed to. He also […]
To academic librarians, the serials crisis—the budget squeeze caused by the rising cost of subscriptions to scholarly journals—is old news. Library spending on serials rose 402 percent between 1986 and 2012, according to the Association of Research Libraries, and costs for individual subscriptions rose by an average of 12 percent over the past two years […]
Five years ago, a researcher in Kazakhstan frustrated at the inaccessibility and cost of so many scholarly journals launched Sci-Hub, a website that today provides quick, free access to 47 million articles, often by illegally bypassing paywalls. A recent article in Science found that in a single six-month period, Sci-Hub received requests for a staggering […]
“Don’t just believe in UBTech, believe in something higher—your pursuit of education excellence.” And with those words, University Business Group Publisher Matt Kinnaman kicked off UBTech 2016. More than 1,100 campus tech leaders and innovators from across the nation flocked to Las Vegas for the June 6-8 event, descending upon The Mirage Convention Center for three […]
At one university, a garbage can blocked access to the paper towels, a table was placed in front of the automatic door button, students in wheelchairs couldn't access the accessible sink in a science lab because of a trash can's placement, and staff sometimes plowed snow into disabled parking spaces or access lanes. At another […]
Eugene L. Anderson has been named vice president for the Office of Access and Success for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). He will be involved with the Council of 1890 Universities and the Commission on Access, Diversity, and Excellence, and also support other APLU initiatives focused on increasing degree completion for minorities. […]
