EdUp Insights

Research and teaching have always been considered fundamental elements of the higher education faculty experience. Graduate curricula regularly include courses in research methods and strategies, and degree completion is usually based in large part upon students’ ability to demonstrate proficiency in research. Once in the faculty ranks, research will be a major component in determining overall ach...

Amid the current turmoil in higher education, there are those who remind us about and lament the demise of the good old days.  In this episode I’ll look at two hallmarks of the higher ed ecosystem that are fading into the forgotten annals of history—the graduate student experience and tenure. I’ll look at both of these milestones in the higher ed process and how they are part of the redefinition o...

Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees.  And we tend to forget that the forest changes as new trees are planted and grow. By the same token, sometimes we miss the big picture of higher education by not connecting the dots that reveal the whole ecosystem. And sometimes we rely on old dots that give us an outdated and inaccurate account of what the sector looks like. In this episode I’ll conside...

Higher ed is very concerned, if not obsessed, with the effects of Artificial Intelligence on the education experience.  Worries abound about how it will reshape the student-faculty interface. Will it make it easier for students to cheat?  Will it usurp faculty roles? A recent article asked “Will AI Make Things Better or Worse?” But couching the question in these terms makes it seem like AI is a li...

A recent study revisits the now decades-old struggle of higher education to keep up with the march of technology.  This analysis updates the print vs. digital resources debate, with predictable conclusions. In this episode I’ll discuss what progress is being made or impeded, where faculty stand on the issue, and why the current state of affairs is both heartening and disappointing. EdUp Insights i...

Higher education has traditionally sought to homogenize the student experience, from intake to outcomes.  The assumption is that students should be uniformly prepared to achieve a uniform set of outcomes in order to be prepared for a post education world experience.  The problem with this is that students are diverse coming in, and the real world on the other side of education is also diverse. Thi...

In a bold and insightful move, The University of Dayton is taking preemptive action to safeguard its future.   In this episode I’ll discuss the wisdom of taking a reasoned, proactive approach to dealing with the future, as opposed to the conventional, reactive posture that characterizes much of higher education. Dayton is in no imminent peril. And it wants to stay that way. Change is both inevitab...

In this inaugural episode for the academic year, I’ll reveal my prophecies for the coming year.  I’ll predict the effect of the Presidential election on the state of higher education and foretell the fates of FAFSA, and loan forgiveness.  I’ll also look at the future of entrance exams and remediation (again) as they deal with DEI. What will happen with the flight of university presidents, and how...

As I head off for summer vacation, this episode will leave you with a short list of things I hope we won’t have to revisit again (and again) during the fall semester. There are two parts to the list.  The first contains issues that are rehashed on a regular basis with lots of words and comparatively little action, things like competency-based education, reducing time to degree, workforce demands,...

We all tend to accept reports that are grounded in numerical data and statistics as accurate accounts. We also know that numbers don’t lie.  But what the numbers tell us depends on what question we ask them. And on what story we want them to tell.  In this episode I’ll look at how economic indicators are subject to interpretation, and how apparent trends in higher education may not indicate exactl...

There has been a lot of harsh criticism of leadership in our colleges and universities lately, and a  notable increase in turnover. The explanation lies in the expectations of the traditional model of higher education, and how the shift of higher ed from an observer to a participant in current social and political trends has altered these expectations. In this episode I’ll consider why some curren...

In the last episode I discussed what makes leaders successful, or not, from my perspective. In this episode I’ll look at the relationship of leadership theory to practice from my own experience at the University of Phoenix. I’ll explore the chicken-and-egg conundrum of whether theory informs practice or is derived from it. Then I’ll look at what transpires when theory is carried onto the field of...

A lot has been written about success and failure.  In this episode I will discuss my own take on what the terms mean and how they have played out in some significant advances in science, business, and education. It is often said that you learn from failing.  I disagree. I say you learn from NOT failing. But not failing is not the same as succeeding.  What you learn from not failing is not how to s...

We all enjoy discounts at our favorite stores and restaurants.  But how about higher education?  Yep, there too.  In this episode I’ll discuss what higher ed discounts are all about and how they affect the consumer’s ability to determine the true cost of college. I’ll also speak to how discounts impact the higher ed business model.  As a bonus, I’ll tack on an analysis of the Department of Ed’s la...

This threat has struck terror in the hearts of students and employees since time immemorial. The humiliation of an indelible blemish on our formal record as a result of some transgression was a strong motivation to play by the rules.  And the name of the game was accountability. Actions had consequences, and you broke the rules at your own peril. But this does not seem to be what we are witnessing...

Recently, Lumina and Gallup conducted a nationally representative survey of adults without a college degree and shared the results with a group of higher education leaders and experts. In this episode I’ll compare the findings of this survey to a similar report that Lumina issued in 2017. Both examine concerns facing nontraditional learners and how to deal with them. I’ll also look at the reaction...

There’s a lot of labelling, or more accurately name-calling, permeating the vocabulary of higher education, and society in general today.  In this episode I’ll ask the question, “Do people know what they are talking about?” Specifically, I’ll look at some of the terms being freely bandied about that reveal what people understand—or don’t—about how they use the terms.  I’ll look at some of the basi...

A recent study of the higher education business model landscape offers some interesting insights, and a few suggestions, about what works and doesn’t work as higher ed struggles to develop a simple, consistent, transparent funding structure. In particular, it looks at the traditional base-adjusted funding model as compared to the recent focus on performance-based funding.  In this episode I’ll lay...

With all of the craziness in higher education today, there is a glimpse of the past that gives hope for the future. As we see students and administrators on our campuses begin to push back against disruptive demonstrations, there are strong signals that the heart of higher education still beats, from the front lines to the C-Suite. Higher ed has played a major role in fostering the fundamental pri...

Higher education was once a comfortable cocoon where students were incubated until they emerged as fully-formed beings ready to participate in the real world.  There were external social and political influences, to be sure, but they did not generally impact the education gestation process.  Today, the metamorphosis from student to citizen has been supplanted by a chaotic barrage of external force...

As higher education leaders look for solutions to remedy current woes besetting the sector, they scour the traditional paradigm for clues. So far, uneven progress has been made.  This could be attributed to the fact that leaders are searching for solutions to problems inside the same system that caused them. Some commentators, notably Gordon Gee, have suggested that answers might be better sought...

Americans today are acutely aware of current social issues and trends, and there are plenty of them. But there is some disturbing evidence that we tend to watch events passively until they begin to impact us personally.  In this episode I’ll look at how social and political problems have crept up on the public and bitten us when we weren’t paying enough attention.  As I’ll opine, the same is true...

As a person of a certain age, many of my favorite films growing up have been remade at least once.  In this episode I’ll get into what crafts a good remake of a classic film, and why some recent attempts have missed the mark.  And why do we call them “classics,” anyway?  Then I’ll look at how this applies to higher education. Having grown up in the classic higher education paradigm, I will examine...

There is an abundance of analyses on the value of a college degree and the expectations of graduates and employers as individuals enter the workforce. A look at some of these studies shows a puzzling misalignment that is frustrating for all involved.  In this episode I’ll look at things from both sides. First, what are the expected returns from a college degree, both in terms of affluence and pers...

Gordon Gee has drawn a lot of attention recently for his major overhaul of the University of West Virginia. But a closer look at his decades-long journey—some would say foray—through higher education reveals a dedication to evolving and improving the paradigm wherever he has served. Working from inside the traditional model, Gee has steadfastly done what he thinks is the right thing. On the other...