The world of online learning has significantly changed the landscape of higher education over the last decade. In a survey by the Instructional Technology Council (ITC), 94 percent of student respondents said their online courses were equivalent or superior to traditional courses, indicating improvements in both online pedagogy and delivery methods. Fred Lokken, a member […]
Times of transition are always a good opportunity for evaluating processes in a financial aid office. So when the director of financial aid at Beloit College in Wisconsin took a new position, leadership at the 1,350-student institution decided to examine that department's business operations. "We wanted to see if we were operating at best-practice level," […]
There's "a real revolution" underway in integrated, cloud-based human resources software, says Josh Bersin, of Bersin by Deloitte, a consultancy specializing in talent management and acquisition. Besides freeing up IT to handle other tasks, these systems allow HR to be more efficient because data is located in one spot rather than spread through multiple systems […]
Just as websites morphed from digital brochures into versatile multimedia portals, electronic portfolios have evolved from information repositories to robust tools for showcasing student learning. Now generally referred to as "ePortfolios," these software systems house completed assignments, reflections on learning, photos, creative work and journal entries—all evidence of a student's education. "It is a personal, […]
Portfolio providers: What are some uses for ePortfolios that you believe aren't as common at colleges as they should be? "We'd like to see more colleges using ePortfolios with guided learning pathways through a program or institution to assess learning at key points. The full potential for ePortfolios to encourage more integrative, deeper learning won't be […]
It has been demonstrated amply that financial aid leveraging can, under the right circumstances, increase enrollment and net tuition revenue. For some, however, that isn't the case. Enrollment leaders must therefore assess other aspects of recruitment to determine how effectively they are working to build larger, more committed applicant and admit pools, especially when increases […]
Almost everybody ranks colleges these days—old stalwarts like U.S. News & World Report, influential upstarts like Washington Monthly and click-baiting websites that measure everything from campus sustainability to most attractive students to coolest mascots. William Destler, president of Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, even found his university named one of the "geekiest" in […]
At The University of Alabama, football weekends rule. So imagine a student who's got a big date, a tailgate spot and an electronic ticket to the Saturday football game on his campus Action Card—but then loses the card on Friday night. To save the day, the campus card office is open for business on game […]
Eight years ago administrators laying plans for Guttman Community College in New York City set a goal: This school would not be like so many other community colleges with low completion rates. Guttman would make getting students to graduation a primary mission. That approach is proliferating across the community college sector, says Melinda Mechur Karp, assistant […]
Two- and four-year colleges across the nation have plugged the black hole of remediation with a range of programs designed to keep students enrolled while steering them toward greater levels of success. Some institutions have upgraded their assessment process to ensure incoming students take placement exams seriously and aren't assigned a higher (or lower) level […]
