What does the typical student of today look like compared to the student of five or 10 years ago? Who is the new “traditional” college student? The non-traditional adult learner is now more prevalent than the traditional college student who comes straight from high school. This is where the market is growing, and the colleges and universities that are successful […]
What are the main concerns students and the community have concerning the affordability of higher education? There are two major concerns that seem to be the most popular worries of students and the general public. The rising cost of tuition: Tuition prices have been increasing at a rate over the past years that far outpaces […]
In 2008, former Yale professor William Deresiewicz wrote a scathing essay titled “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education.” It quickly went viral, gaining more than 100,000 views in a matter of weeks (and many times that since). “The system manufactures students who are smart and talented and driven,” he noted, “but also anxious, timid and […]
More transfer students will now have the chance to obtain an associate degree—with-out extra administrative burden—thanks to a Lumina Foundation grant that National Student Clearinghouse received to provide an automated solution for exchanging reverse transfer student data. With this technology (currently in phase-one development in Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin), four-year schools will send academic data […]
In the business world, products sometimes price themselves out of the market and provide an opening for competitors. Because of strong demand for what they offer, universities have long been able to raise tuitions without triggering this effect. But today we have controversy about the burden of student loans (a movie expose, “Ivory Tower,” opened […]
Mercer University Bears football fans who enter the Macon, Ga., campus through the Stadium Drive entrance now pass the school’s new fountain and surrounding rain garden. The garden, which is 1.5 acres, is not only attractively landscaped—it serves a dual purpose by collecting rainwater runoff from nearby parking lots. Challenge The former tension pond near […]
Steven Shaw spends much of his time analyzing spreadsheets and watching for trends. He also flies across the globe on extended trips that can last weeks. This might sound like a lot of work and resources—but for international student recruitment to be effective, it takes attention, buy-in and leadership at all levels, says Shaw, assistant […]
Supporting local economic and civic projects is a central part of the mission for community colleges that rely on voter approval for funding. In Kansas, for example, voters elect the six members of their community college’s board of trustees, which levies taxes to pay for the school’s operating expenses. Residents, however, can challenge the board’s […]
The longest-serving university president in the country, Norman Francis of Xavier University of Louisiana, will retire after the 2014-15 academic year, nearly 47 years after he took office. Francis, 83, is a 1952 Xavier graduate who was elected class president every year of his undergraduate study and student body president his senior year. In 1957, […]
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 […]
