While students have a variety of options when it comes to paying for college, making unwise financial decisions can lead to negative consequences for the student as well as the institution. Overborrowing, poor planning and budgeting, and misunderstanding financial aid can create seemingly insurmountable debt that can affect academic performance, push students to leave school […]
Seven years ago, Western Kentucky University said goodbye to its time-consuming, paper-based way of issuing financial aid refunds and said hello to BankMobile, an electronic disbursement service that has led to major savings. "Between student refunds and student payroll disbursements, we have eliminated having to issue 76,000 paper checks annually," says Belinda Higginbotham, bursar for […]
Teenagers spend more of their time watching YouTube video clips than television, according to research from DEFY Media. Yet when they arrive at college, they're suddenly expected to sit in classrooms, concentrating on 50-minute lectures. The disconnect between students' digital lives and their classroom experience is narrowing as professors are increasingly embedding video in their […]
Here are some examples of content ideas for interactive video content as well as best practices that are already employed by various universities and colleges across the U.S. Create ways for the professor and students to provide recorded or written feedback on the video Embed a quiz at frequent intervals during the video Use a glass […]
While the concept may seem unnecessary, a formal document—signed by each student—that states tuition payments are, in fact, expected is now required by a majority of colleges. In December 2016, Idaho State University began folding a financial responsibility agreement into the course registration process. Student financial obligations have not changed. Rather, the move is an […]
Wendy Woodward had never worked in a high-tech environment when she accepted a position managing academic technology at Northwestern University. But she believed her corporate experience equipped her with the project planning, leadership and business process skills she needed to do the job. "I'm not the most technical person in the room, but I understand […]
Sian Beilock has been named the new president of Barnard College, the women's institution that's part of Columbia University. As executive vice provost at the University of Chicago, she oversaw the University of Chicago Press, building projects and the school's engagement with its surrounding community. Beilock created UChicagoGRAD, an office that trains grad students and […]
After working in an antiquated mailroom in a windowless basement of a dorm, Linda Barrows was thrilled to occupy space in the brand new, centrally located Center for Communication and Creative Media on the campus of Champlain College in Vermont. Her process has been upgraded as much as her digs. In the "old" days, her […]
Faced once again with state and federal funding cuts, Connecticut State Colleges & Universities system President Mark Ojakian has had to make some tough decisions to keep the 17-school system functioning. His strategy of consolidation and shared services, called Students First, should save at least $41 million annually and bring much-needed fiscal discipline to a […]
Many higher education institutions still rely on inefficient, disparate systems for tracking employee time and attendance. And with workers on campus in a wide variety of jobs, it can be challenging to manage professional, union, auxiliary and student workforces all at the same time. Some institutions are turning to automated time and attendance solutions to […]
