Changing Higher Ed

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...

In this podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Dr. Steve Katsouros of Come to Believe Foundation and Network , which works with colleges and universities to replicate a successful DEI, enrollment, and graduation model. Dr. Katsouros was the founder of Arrupe College, a two-year institution that is part of Loyola University Chicago. Arrupe has an amazing track record for completion and having st...

Higher education is currently forcing many adult learners to jump through hoops to complete their degrees. Although many of these nontraditional students can be successful, colleges and universities should still meet adult learners where they are, as higher ed faces dwindling enrollment and a workforce that is relying less on employees with four-year degrees.  Higher ed institutions can start the...

Successfully reinventing a college or university into a truly innovative school after cutting a major portion of programs sounds near impossible, but the experiences at National Louis University (NLU), a four-campus private institution in Chicago, proves that presidents and other decision-makers can achieve the same without having to rebuild trust in faculty and staff.  NLU is also the poster chil...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Lucie Lapovsky of Lapovsky Consulting about higher education finances, including how low enrollment is forcing smaller, non-elite colleges and universities to shift cost functionality, drop majors, consolidate, reset their tuition, price-match the competition, embrace online learning and micro-credentials and retain students. Podcast Highlights Operating online...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews CFO Tom Netting of TEN Government Strategies about the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan, the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, delays in upcoming regulations, and the effects that changes in Congress will have on higher education. Podcast Highlights Chief Justice Amy Coney Barrett reviewed and dismissed two of the six filed suits again...

Dr. Drumm McNaughton, CEO and Higher Education Consultant at The Change Leader and Deb Maue, Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Aurora University, discuss what has happened in 2022 and predict trends in higher education for 2023. Read the summary at https://changinghighered.com/2023-higher-education-predictions-2022-year-in-review  

Dr. Drumm McNaughton , in conversation with Danny King , co-founder and CEO of the global digital credentialing platform Accredible, about this new—and now mainstream—technology that is transforming the hiring industry and higher ed's approach to credentialing. Podcast Highlights In the last decade or so, digital credentialing has become mainstream, with most organizations around the world—includi...

Podcast Summary Dr. Drumm McNaughton , in conversation with Dr. Nathan Long , President at Saybrook University, about how Saybrook has managed to more than double enrollment over the course of eight years. Podcast Highlights To connect with prospective students, update the university's mission every four to five years using data obtained from market research. Allocating a high percentage of the ov...

In the conclusion of this two-part series, Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Dr. Belle Wheelan , president of the Southern Association of Colleges Commission on Colleges , discuss the tsunami of issues facing higher ed and accreditation today, including several hot-button issues, how she responds to criticisms of accreditation, recent SACSCOC standards, and what's ahead for accreditation.   Podcast Highlig...

In the first of this two-part interview, Dr. Drumm McNaughton interviews Dr. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) , about the tsunami of issues facing higher ed and accreditation today, including three recent examples of undue political influence on governing boards.   Podcast Highlights The current misunderstanding of accreditation like...

Host,  Dr. Drumm McNaughton is joined by Dr. Jana Mathews in discussion about the changing role of faculty in student mental health – how helicopter parents, social media, and the pandemic lockdowns shaped today's undergraduate students, along with three tips for faculty as they navigate this unprecedented landscape, and how Higher Ed Administration can support Faculty in this transformational rol...