Three Tests for a Website That Makes Every Prospective Student Want to Matriculate
What makes a website stand out as superior? There are some key qualities we all subconsciously look for when we scout a new site, but they are too often forgotten when it comes time to build or revise our own.
That Best Most Imperfect Place
A long, tough week has ended -- more or less -- in Boston.
Getting Ready
An important issue has yet to take center stage in the debate simmering over the impact that credentialing will have on the relevancy of a college degree. There is a difference between completing certification that leads a student/employee to present credentials and verification that credentials actually demonstrate proficiency. What happens if our commitment to increasing access effectively leads to a “dumbing down” of learned outcomes? In the end, who's in charge
Finally, Secure Collaborative Document Software for Institutions
You’ve heard of Dropbox, Box, Google Drive - need I go on? Why would you care to hear about another cloud document service? Well, as of today, a little school out east called Yale is taking notice and has officially selected NetDocuments to handle their collaborative file management. And for good reason.
Finding Students Where They Live
I had lunch in Boston last week with Rob Hutter and Michael Staton, partners at Learn Capital, based near San Francisco. Both are extremely creative, committed and entrepreneurial thinkers about the intersection of ed tech and higher education. The conversation ranged widely as time flew by. What struck me most during it, however, was a theme that has repeated itself in a number of conversations I've participated in over the past few months.
The Evolution of Faculty Governance
Historically, three groups share principal responsibility in collegiate governance. Boards of trustees are charged with financial stewardship, administrative oversight, and creating a climate in which all parties, especially the president, can succeed. Presidents and their senior staffs manage the enterprise. The faculty plays a critical role in program development and review.
New Opportunities for Independent Higher Education in the American West
While acknowledging the many reasons not to proceed, we argued that the drive to hold down sticker price, competition with each other and from for-profit and accredited online courses, adaptive use of new technology, and shifting consumer preferences intersect to effectively call the question. Fundamental to these realities, however, is a basic assumption that opportunity - dramatic and sustainable -- exists for those who can see the forest from among the trees.
And the Winner Is...Competition Through Cooperation in Higher Education
American colleges and universities have reached a tipping point in their evolution. The old business, financial and program models are insufficient. Consumers now balk at the advertised sticker prices charged. Local government, trapped by a spiral of declining revenues in a long and deep recession, challenges the nonprofit status of these institutions. Endowments - at least for a few colleges that have endowments that actually impact their bottom line - are only now approaching 2007-2008 levels. Donations are flat or at best increasing modestly except at that those institutions that have long-established pipelines in place.
The Role of Technology in the Classroom
With the rise of the technology, the landscape of education has changed dramatically in the last decade. Graduates are now expected to navigate a fast-paced, quickly changing world and to integrate numerous forms of technology along the way. In the classroom, teachers are taking on larger roles as facilitators while encouraging students to become active learners in a more independent educational process.
The Risks Ahead
As the federal government, encouraged by the media, looks more closely at college and university sticker prices, the American higher education community must be ready to cooperate where possible and defend itself when necessary.
Too Much Work, Too Little Time - How Financial Aid Offices are Outsourcing to Improve Service to Students
Very few financial aid administrators got into the business of financial aid because they love regulations. While there are a few “reg hounds” out there (and thank goodness for each and every one of you), most of us entered the profession and stayed past the magic five-year mark because we wanted to work with students. When we can open the door to college and help a student overcome the financial obstacles that life throws in the way, we feel like we have done our job. The problem many administrators face is that the business of financial aid can actually prevent student interaction. Long days, long nights and long lines of students are just part of processing season, but increasing enrollments, regulatory changes and staffing constraints have created an almost insurmountable mountain of work. So what can you do?
Deliberate Tech to Make Your Campus Sustainable
Every college on the planet has taken steps toward sound, sustainable practices, but for that matter, so has every business, household, etc. The little things, like using both sides of the copy paper or highlighting reusable utensils as an option in the cafeteria, are becoming more mainstream.
Ready...Set...Graduate.
As American higher education begins to adapt to the changes that engulf it, one basic assumption must be that policy makers and educators see the education system in America as a continuum.
The Education of Corporate America
The leadership in America’s colleges and universities spends a great deal of time making the case for the kind of education that reflects the people, programs and facilities already in place. It is an understandable position; indeed, on most levels many of us often wish that the argument had more legs. Much of the defense centers on the value of a liberal arts education. The liberal arts teach us to think by training us to write, articulate, work cooperatively, employ technology and use quantitative methods. It’s the right argument to make. The problem is that the right argument is also an insufficient one.
The New Building Blocks
As we move to the last phase of this year’s college admissions cycle, it is useful to look at how selective colleges and universities construct their admission classes.
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