Changing Higher Ed

Higher education leaders who want to increase inclusion while maintaining affordability at their campus can emulate the actions of the Illinois Institute of Technology. By following three core principles, Illinois Tech has ranked first in the state for people it has successfully moved from the bottom 20th percentile of household income to the upper 20th percentile.   Illinois Tech is also one of j...

Tier two (R2) research and smaller institutions, including two-year, minority-serving, and tribal colleges, can now build solid research infrastructures and perform groundbreaking discoveries through research enterprises on the same scale as larger R1 and flagship universities. In this episode of Changing Higher Ed ® , Drumm speaks with Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the National Science Fou...

It is well known that public perception of post-secondary education is at an all-time low, as politics, rising tuition, and higher student debt is saddling students and graduates with more stress. And, despite reports showing that people with student debt can negatively affect society, the Supreme Court recently ruled that the $1.7 trillion in student debt cannot be forgiven despite what the HEA c...

The recent hack of MOVEit has serious implications for higher education. MOVEit, an application used by the National Student Clearinghouse and many other institutions to move large files, directly affects numerous higher ed institutions and solution providers. This, coupled with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act going into effect in early June of 2023, has (should have) put cybersecurity at the top of mi...

The recently filed and highly publicized Florida versus the Department of Education lawsuit could change the face of higher education across the US. At stake is the ability of accreditors to set standards in the accreditation versus how much state governments can be involved in accreditation affairs. Essentially the lawsuit is pushing to allow institutions to change their accreditors without being...

Higher ed needs to provide more accessible, high-outcome internships to meet the current demands of the workforce and students. A recent McKinsey report finds that more than 85% of companies feel there is a skills gap between education and industry, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has identified several career readiness skills students must have upon graduation but ca...

Currently enrolled students, as well as people who stopped out or never attended a higher ed institution, are sharing what will keep them enrolled, re-enroll, or enroll for the first time, in addition to what could make them leave, not come back, or never attempt to enroll at all.   In the second half of his two-part podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton continues his conversation with Dr. Courtney Brown...

Higher ed leaders can learn what 6,000 current students, 3,000 people who stopped out, and 3,000 more who never enrolled in a U.S. college or university say their barriers have been to finishing their education over three years. The results come from a study by the Lumina Foundation called "The State of Higher Ed" in partnership with Gallup. In the first of a two-part podcast episode, Dr. Drumm Mc...

A lot has been happening up on the Hill that affects higher education. In his latest podcast episode,  Dr. Drumm McNaughton catches up on the latest news with Tom Netting, president of TEN Government Strategies, who advocates before Congress, federal agencies, and state governments on behalf of private institutions of higher education and post-secondary education companies.   Tom discusses the par...

A new study on what campus leaders can do to help their graduates move into good jobs by age 30 found that the most effective ways for young adults to succeed in the workforce generally involve attaining post-secondary education degrees. The Georgetown Center for Education in the Workforce (CEW)'s "What Works: 10 Education, Training, and Work-Based Pathway Changes that Lead to Good Jobs" determine...

The liberal arts are currently under fire in higher education, with Marymount University in Virginia recently eliminating nine such undergraduate degrees. But should most colleges and universities follow suit, it would harm democracy in America, according to Jeff Scheuer, author of Inside the Liberal Arts: Critical Thinking and Citizenship. " There's no way a democracy can function based on people...

Villanova University is creating career-ready graduates despite the current negative perception of higher ed that is partly fueled by students having difficulties finding jobs upon graduation. Part of this comes from approximately 94% of Villanova students being accepted into internships. Anyone can see these successes for themselves since the private Roman Catholic research institution shares wha...

Higher ed can be better positioned to meet, enroll, retain, and help future generations of students successfully maneuver the ever-changing business world by embracing micro-credentials appropriately and programmatically. Micro-credentials are also money-making opportunities for colleges and universities that can help address deficits and fund other pursuits. Additionally, with digital credential...

College and university leaders can recover from the drop in international enrollment brought on by the pandemic and federal policies by establishing cost-effective overseas branch campuses in the Middle East and other areas. Although many other countries compete in this market, an increasing number of international students who can't travel to the US would like to attend the same prestigious insti...

Higher ed leaders looking to not only expand their student population to include underrepresented communities but to ensure they succeed can actually replicate a comprehensive program from the University of Cambridge's Lucy Cavendish College in the UK. Part of the larger Cambridge system that once depended largely on legacy admissions from private schools for decades, Lucy Cavendish now admits 90%...

Presidents and other higher ed leaders that want their institution to grow and sustain that growth can easily replicate Southeastern University (SEU)'s success. SEU grew from 2,200 to over 10,000 students and expanded to more than 200 campuses worldwide despite having no president for two years, resulting in a drop in enrollment that almost bankrupted the university. In this podcast,  Dr. Drumm Mc...

College and university leaders who understand and implement the customer lifecycle model into their processes and procedures can boost enrollment numbers at their institutions despite the ongoing trend in higher education. In his latest podcast,  Dr. Drumm McNaughton explores how higher ed leaders can follow the seven steps of this particular business model with Modern Campus' Senior Director of S...

A recent Dear Colleague letter that addresses the Department of Education's upcoming expansion of a third-party service regulation will likely impact nearly all higher ed institutions that contract with a vendor to use their services and programs. The original rule was designed to monitor contracted companies that provide colleges and universities with services to manage various aspects of Federal...

In stark contrast to prevailing trends in higher education, colleges and universities have or are boosting their enrollment, retention, and graduation rates by improving their students' sense of belonging, student support services, student-faculty relationships, and career readiness programs. In this podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton explores how higher ed leaders can follow these actionable steps wit...

Rural-serving institutions (RSIs) face many more unique challenges than most urban schools and persist, comprising more than 25% of all U.S. colleges and universities. Although inherently different, every higher ed institution can learn from the innovative best practices RSIs have been forced to adopt to help positively impact their enrollment and more. To understand what RSIs can teach higher ed...

Aside from the obvious importance of wanting to improve diversity and inclusiveness in higher ed, the benefits that businesses experience after promoting or hiring more women into leadership positions and the data that proves the positive impact female faculty have on teaching and learning should be enough to convince college and university leaders on how women can transform their campuses for the...

With the endless stories about ChatGPT in the news and theories on it could negatively affect teaching and learning in higher ed, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are becoming increasingly topical among college and university leaders. However, few headlines highlight how machine learning and AI can benefit Higher Ed.  To help higher ed decision-makers avoid getting too caught...

Institutional accreditation is in dire need of change, even though it provides institutions with more external recognition, improves the likelihood of gaining more resources, and boosts the respect of staff and faculty. And with an increasingly high number of professional accrediting bodies now touching and impacting many colleges and universities, now is the time for higher ed leaders to strive t...

Now more than ever, accreditation is essential in higher education. An increasingly high number of professional accrediting bodies touch and impact colleges and universities to the point where accreditors have the potential to lead or even stifle change in higher ed. This is especially true given that accreditation is the gatekeeper for over $150 billion in federal financial aid. In the first of t...

In today's multi-generational and borderless world, study abroad programs are critical for introducing students to the world outside their university and even their country. They make up an integral part of the curriculum and the student undergraduate experience, and generally, students look back with very fond memories of their time abroad on their colleagues with whom they experienced these trip...