There exist an endless number of articles, books, blogs, and interviews on the state of higher education (HE) in America. The themes are consistent – fewer resources, fewer students, bloated administrative staff, less affordability, unsustainable student debt, poor graduation rates, unimpressive employability skills and what the heck is a MOOC and why should I care. […]
If "the medium is the message" as Marshall McLuhan so famously proclaimed in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, then what is the message of contemporary distributed learning? One can only wonder what McLuhan would say in 2014. Yet, as far back as 1967, McLuhan predicted that "the little red schoolhouse is already well on […]
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 […]
Consider the accounting clerk who coordinates community events; the help desk manager who moonlights as an exercise coach; or even the campus registrar who is also a freelance writer. Colleges and universities are loaded with talent, yet many employees' competencies unrelated to their job are virtually unknown. At a time when budgets are tight, activities […]
Colleges and universities are ramping up services for international freshmen and sophomores as administrators increasingly look abroad to further diversify their campuses and to expand enrollment with students who pay full tuition. International students face adjustments in and outside of the classroom—from unanticipated language barriers to stricter standards of academic integrity to joining the campus […]
If you build it, they will come. Your alumni are already Facebooking, tweeting and linking in, in ever-increasing numbers. Colleges and universities are taking advantage of this activity to launch and grow robust social networks of graduates that strengthen alumni engagement, boost volunteerism and stimulate giving. "Over the years we've spent so much time and […]
Whether it's purchasing textbooks every semester or meeting daily needs such as meals, snacks or health and beauty aids, students who find the right dining and retail stores on campus have a better college experience. Many higher ed institutions are adding shops and brand-name eateries, as well as renovating bookstores to keep up with current […]
At a time when the gulf between liberals and conservatives seems to be wider than ever, there is one topic about which they agree: the reasons for the rising cost of a college education. Why do colleges and universities keep raising tuition, asks Timothy Noah in The New Republic? Because they can. And Allysia Finley […]
Subsidies for public higher ed institutions are the lowest in a decade—and for the first time, students are paying, on average, half or more of their tuition's cost. Those are a few of the financial trends substantiated by a recent American Institutes for Research (AIR) study. According to "Trends in College Spending: 2001–2011," a report […]
Once again this July, recent Models of Efficiency honorees were recognized during the NACUBO conference at an awards dinner hosted by Higher One, the program's sponsor. This year, award recipients were honored at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Seattle. Casey McGuane, chief operations officer at Higher One, and Daniel Kinnaman, publisher of University Business, introduced the […]
