Recent news has highlighted how the economy is making aging faculty more reluctant to retire and slowing colleges’ ability to hire new faculty. And this week saw a New York Times feature interviewing diverse faculty about the issue. Mary Coussons-Read, a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado Denver, summarizes some forward-thinking approaches institutions […]
In recent news, development officers at Claremont McKenna College are expanding their alumni engagement strategy by asking alumni volunteers to interview their peers about interest and affinity. The college’s commitment to investing in engaging young alumni has already seen returns: the institution’s 10-year average giving rate has increased 6% since 2008, despite a difficult economy. […]
Among the findings from GLOSSARI, the Georgia Learning Outcomes of Students Studying Abroad Research Initiative: Students completing study abroad programs show improved academic performance in subsequent terms Study abroad students have higher graduation rates Study abroad improves academic performance for at-risk students However, as the Chronicle‘s article “7 Signs of Successful Study Abroad Programs” notes, as […]
As July 2010 draws to a close, the news is full of reports of state budget shortfalls, belt-tightening initiatives to cope with the approaching demise of stimulus funding, and growing protests from faculty and staff as institutions make politically unpopular decisions in re-allocating increasingly scarce resources. In this environment, it is critical to engage as many stakeholders as […]
The 21st Century Report released by CDW-G confirms an increasing trend of rising student expectations for technology on campus: 63% of current college students indicate that campus technology was a critical factor in their college choice 93% of current high school students indicate that campus technology is a critical factor in their college choice, 95% […]
Testing your campus’s crisis response plans frequently and rigorously is key to ensuring that you can protect campus resources and recover speedily following a crisis, and as of July 1, 2010, annual testing is mandated under the updated Clery Act. Nonetheless, annual testing represents a significant shift in practice for many institutions. Nearly a quarter […]
In the news recently, the regents for the University of South Dakota system have focused attention on re-enrolling students who have “stopped out” and left their degree incomplete. This is in response to a recent report to the board that demonstrated that 1,889 students who had earned at least 90 semester credit hours had left […]
Trent Batson, executive director of The Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL), stirred some controversy this week with an article entitled “The Testing Straitjacket,” in which he advocates for privileging e-portfolios over legacy testing as a primary tool for assessing student learning, arguing that e-portfolios, which “encourage students to use their collection of […]
Traditionally, most institutions have not made significant investments in either training or rigorous evaluation for contingent faculty. However, given the rising percentages of part-time instructors, it is increasingly crucial that deans and department chairs give thought to implementing evaluation methods that will encourage continued improvement of the quality of instruction in their adjunct-taught courses. For this […]
Lecture capture has been receiving a lot of attention in the news this year, as colleges attempt to expand online and blended course offerings or make instruction to more students in remote locations. The impact on student learning of removing the ‘face-to-face’ dynamic remains a continuing concern for educators. A few institutions have recently made […]
