It’s no secret that the field of higher education is experiencing significant and sustained disruption. Cuts to government funding, proliferation of lower-cost models, and increasing costs of wooing high-demand students are applying pressure to universities’ top- and bottom-line growth. Accordingly, the expectations of the dean role have also evolved, with…

Many professors are spending less time lecturing and more time assigning collaborative group projects that rely on IT tools as connection points for students. This shift has big implications for classroom design. Higher education institutions are creating active learning classrooms with movable furniture and adaptable workspaces. Interactive touchscreens, large displays,…

In "4 reasons why student success is misdefined in higher ed and how data can fix it," we tackled the mis-definition of student success and the need for more actionable data. Here, we offer a concept of scaling personalized rewards early and often, drawing inspiration and practical lessons from an…

According to the latest report from Babson Survey Research Group, nearly 6.5 million American undergraduates now take at least one course online—representing close to one-third of the postsecondary student body. The rise of online programs is enabling colleges and universities to support a growing population of nontraditional students, many of whom…

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In 1906, Englishman J. J. Thompson challenged the scientific community’s understanding of the atom with his “plum pudding” theory. The model ultimately led to scientific evidence of the first subatomic particle, the electron. Thompson and subsequent pioneers of subatomic theory proved a powerful point: changing the unit of measurement can…