As colleges and universities move into 2016, campus finance leaders may wish for a crystal ball to help with preparations in the coming year. Unfortunately, a crystal ball is not in the budget. Most colleges and universities will continue to face financial hurdles, and although there is much crossover, certain issues will be more or […]
Higher ed leaders continue to seek ways to prove their institution's value to a shrinking pool of college candidates. In addition, a huge financial aid cloud hangs over everyone's heads: the one with that odd moniker of "prior-prior." While the hope is that FAFSA modifications will ultimately benefit students and institutions alike, 2016 is the […]
Not long ago a journal published an article criticizing registrars for holding back the tide of innovation and change. While it dawned on me that registrars frequently have to say “no” to change, I have never thought of my fellow registrars or myself as stodgy curmudgeons seeking to restrain the pace of innovation. Quite the […]
Just imagine this nightmare scenario playing out at your institution of higher education: armed agents in navy blue "FBI," "ICE" and "DHS" windbreakers wandering the halls, stuffing files into boxes marked for evidence, removing and taking possession of computer hard drives, and sealing off rooms with yellow tape. Television reporters chase you and other university […]
With freshman discount rates once again on the rise, it will be more important than ever for institutions to review whether their methodologies for developing a budget for financial aid are sufficiently robust. Using a cohort-based budget approach is critical for understanding the implications of replacing a "cheaper" senior class with a more heavily discounted […]
Embezzlement originating from any corner of campus can threaten any college and university. As for the losses, they can be big. Take, for example: Emory University in Atlanta. In July, a former employee received an 18-month prison term for stealing over $300,000. As an administrative assistant in the school of nursing, she misled students into […]
Colleges and universities have made spending on administrators and part-time instructors a higher priority than raising salaries of core faculty members who have the biggest impact on learning, says a new report from the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education. Heavier teaching loads for professors combined with increased use of adjunct faculty reduces the […]
Picture this: sticky notes on every screen. And if there are none on the monitor, lift up the keyboard. Nothing there? Try opening the pencil drawer. Unfortunately, it’s not hard for the wrong person to find these notes, and it’s the passwords written on these innocuous slips of paper that worry IT administrators at every […]
Academia’s cyber preparedness (or lack thereof) has received less media attention than that of certain retailers and financial institutions, but nonetheless the cyber risks confronting universities are pervasive and alarming. Consider recent breaches suffered by educational institutions. At the University of Maryland, an outside source gained access to a secure records database that held information […]
With YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, virtually nothing escapes the pubic's notice, and judgment. It's one reason higher education is paying much more attention to risk management now than in the past. There are also more risk-generating contingencies, such as mass shootings, and accountability standards, such as for the prevention of sexual […]
