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Featured Article

How Can We Convince the Public That a College Degree is Still Worth It?

May 19, 2023 Written by Dr. Elmore Alexander

The Wall Street Journal and The Economist recently treated us to dueling perspectives on the value of higher education. The Wall Street Journal reported on a recent poll (in conjunction with NORC) revealing that 56% of Americans think a 4-year college degree is a bad bet—as recently as 2013, 53% had positive perceptions. The Economist retorted that this is not true for the average college graduate citing two perspectives which suggest that the return on the 4-year college degree remains strong. Who’s right? I suspect they both are. The key, like the devil, is in the details.

Featured Series

Strategic Positioning for Institutional Viability

Articles in Series: 4 Articles | Last Article Published: May 18, 2021

In this series, we will be looking more closely at financial and programmatic models of higher education, presenting tools for understanding your institution’s performance through benchmarking, introducing concepts from financial analysis to help institutions analyze their mix of academic programs, looking at the challenges of introducing financial analysis techniques in academe, and looking at the concept of the institutional value proposition.

Strategic Transformations in Higher Education

Articles in Series: 2 Articles | Last Article Published: April 19th, 2021

The next several years will be very challenging. Institutions faced with fiscal and enrollment challenges should be taking action to reset business models by taking a hard look at program mixes and administrative efficiencies. Mergers and partnerships are also viable strategies to increase the viability of such institutions. Failure to address these challenges at their onset will make campus closures more commonplace.

Recent Posts

How to Innovate Effectively Within Higher Ed IT

Published on November 27, 2022 | Written by Nuno Couto

The last three years have inflicted unprecedented costs on American higher education institutions, resulting in campus closures, refunded student fees, and a rapid shift to online learning—all as declining state support continues to undermine budgets. According to a GatherContent study, most universities are still grappling with legacy technologies while consolidating data across multiple silos. These trends have continued to worsen issues that existed in higher ed prior to 2020, turning cracks into chasms and leaving challenged colleges and universities with the daunting task of using technology to help effectively innovate and differentiate their institution’s value proposition.Continue Reading

Saving Millions of Dollars by a Thousand Cuts

Published on November 2, 2022 | Written by Eric Schnurer

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, higher education, particularly at public and/or smaller institutions, faced serious challenges, including declining enrollments, increased costs, expanding alternatives, and decreasing confidence in the value of investing in current higher education models. The pandemic and accompanying economic depression have only exacerbated these threats, striking at traditional colleges’ core operating model, making higher education less affordable for the record number of families sinking into economic distress, decimating state budgets and thereby threatening necessary continued public support for higher education institutions, all while further driving families and individuals toward alternative service-delivery models and providers.Continue Reading

How to Evaluate the Potential of New Programs

Published on October 19, 2022 | Written by Lloyd Russow

It can be difficult to develop budgets for new programs that reflect actual revenues and expenses due to the complexities of including retention rates, discounting and how students progress through a program. Optimal will describe a self-contained tool that can be used to build a five-year pro forma budget.Continue Reading

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The Future of Higher Ed IT

Find out where the field is headed and what you should be considering over the next few years. In collaboration with eCampus News, we are conducting a survey of Higher Ed CIOs and Directors.

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Latest Newsfeeds

Activities to Teach Students to Identify Materials in Objects
The identification of materials is a fundamental skill that every student should learn. It is an important facet of science
10th Jun 23By Matthew Lynch
Activities to Teach Students to Identify Mammals, Birds, Fish, Reptiles, and Amphibians
As a teacher or a parent, it is essential to introduce children to the diverse animals that exist in the
10th Jun 23By Matthew Lynch
Activities to Teach Students to Identify Main Verbs and Helping Verbs
As students progress through their academic careers, they are introduced to increasingly complex structures of language. Part of this progression
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Activities to Teach Students to Identify Magnets That Attract or Repel
Magnetism is an essential concept in science that students must learn about. To make the learning process more engaging and
10th Jun 23By Matthew Lynch
Activities to Teach Students to Identify Living and Nonliving Things
Teaching students to identify living and nonliving things is an important aspect of biology and environmental science. It is an
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Activities to Teach Students to Identify Lines of Symmetry
Symmetry is a concept that relates to balance and proportion, it’s a vital aspect of visual understanding that every student
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Activities to Teach Students to Identify Linking Verbs, Predicate Adjectives, and Predicate Nouns
As a teacher, identifying parts of speech can seem like a daunting task. Yet, teaching or reviewing the concept of
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Activities to Teach Students to Identify Lines of Best Fit
As students progress through their math education, they’ll encounter the concept of lines of best fit in statistics class. Lines
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Activities to Teach Students to Identify Lines of Latitude and Longitude
Latitude and longitude are a critical component of geography, navigation, and cartography. They help us find locations on the earth’s
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Activities to Teach Students to Identify Linear, Quadratic, and Exponential Functions From Tables
As math teachers, we know that identifying the type of function from a table is a fundamental skill necessary for
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Excelsior University: Instructional Designer
Excelsior University: Description The instructional designer will be a member of the design team in the Instructional Design and Development
10th Jun 23
Central College: Content Strategist – Web and Digital Communications
Central College: Category:: Marketing / Public Affairs Subscribe:: Department:: Marketing and Communications Locations:: Pella, IA Posted:: Jun 2, 2023 Closes::
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Central College: Content Specialist – Digital Communications
Central College: Category:: Marketing / Public Affairs Subscribe:: Department:: Marketing and Communications Locations:: Pella, IA Posted:: Jun 1, 2023 Closes::
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Fluent Readers: Everything You Need to Know
This is a reader who carries out the act of reading easily with accuracy and a level of understanding above
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University of Puget Sound: Administrative Support Coordinator – Business Program
$: University of Puget Sound: The University of Puget Sound is hiring an Administrative Support Coordinator to join our The
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San Diego State University: IT Communications Technician (Equipment Systems Specialist, Career)
San Diego State University: IT Communications Technician (Equipment Systems Specialist, Career) Job No: 528682 Work Type: Locations: San Diego Categories:
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University of Florida: Extension Agent I – IV Sustainable Agriculture and Community Food Systems
University of Florida: Extension Agent I - IV Sustainable Agriculture and Community Food Systems Job No: 527295 Work Type: Permanent
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University of Florida: OPS Program Assistant
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University of Colorado Boulder: ENVD Digital Media Center Manager
University of Colorado Boulder: ENVD Digital Media Center Manager Requisition Number: 49135 Location: Boulder Colorado Employment Type: Boulder
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Coast Community College District: Work Experience Program (WEP) – Internal Classified Employees Only
$0.00 Hourly: Coast Community College District: Work Experience Program (WEP) - Internal Classified Employees Only Coast Community College District Salary:
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Germanna Community College: Evening Support Technician
$22.26-$27.83 per hour, state benefits do not apply: Germanna Community College: Evening Support Technician Work Location: Orange - 137 Hiring
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San Diego State University: Program Coordinator I
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San Diego State University: Program Specialist II
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St. Edward’s University: IT Systems Manager
St. Edward's University: IT Systems Manager St. Edward's University IT Systems Manager Enterprise Information Systems The IT Systems Manager is
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Correct Spelling of the Consonant Word
As the English language has many rules and exceptions, it can be challenging for students to choose the correct spelling
10th Jun 23By Matthew Lynch
Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Correct Possessive Pronoun
Possessive pronouns can be a difficult concept for students to grasp. These pronouns are used to indicate possession or ownership
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Correct Personal Pronoun
As non-native speakers of English, students may struggle with correctly using personal pronouns. Therefore, it’s important to teach them the
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Correct Digraph
Digraphs are a fundamental part of the English language. They are formed when two letters come together and represent a
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Better Bet
As students grow and develop, they need to learn decision-making skills that will help them navigate the complex world around
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Best Topic Sentence
As students begin to write essays or research papers, it is essential for them to learn how to choose the
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Best Transition
When it comes to writing, transitions are crucial for creating a smooth and coherent piece of writing. Unfortunately, many students
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Best Location Word
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Best Location Word to Match the Picture
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Activities to Teach Students to Choose the Best Evidence to Support a Claim
As students learn to develop arguments and make claims, it is important that they also learn how to choose the
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24 Ways to Teach Kids Not to Abuse Drugs or Alcohol
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The Fight for Equity in Education: Claflin University’s Role in the Battle for Civil Rights
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Alcorn State University: The First Land-Grant HBCU in America
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The Rise of Prairie View A&M University in Texas Education
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The Unique Campus Culture of FAMU: A Tradition of Pride and Tradition
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Educating and Empowering Black Women: A Look at Spelman College and Wesleyan College Partnership
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Winston-Salem State University’s Commitment to HBCU Athletics
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Defying Stereotypes: The Groundbreaking Achievements of North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) has a long history of defying stereotypes and breaking barriers. Established
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Lincoln University: Defying the Odds in HBCU Enrollment Growth
Introduction Lincoln University, founded in 1854 as the first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the United States,
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New and Proposed Laws in Florida and Texas Are Already Reshaping the College Classroom
Vaguely worded legislation in Florida and Texas is already affecting how professors teach.By Megan Zahneis and Beckie Supiano
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Workers increasingly feel in-office work provides more opportunity
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