business side of he

Growing Enrollment, Shrinking Future — from insidehighered.com by Liam Knox
Undergraduate enrollment rose for the first time since 2020, stoking hopes for a long-awaited recovery. But surprising areas of decline may dampen that optimism.

There is good news and bad news in the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center’s latest enrollment report.

First, the good news: undergraduate enrollment climbed by 2.1 percent this fall, its first total increase since 2020. Enrollment increases for Black, Latino and Asian students—by 2.2 percent, 4.4 percent and 4 percent, respectively—were especially notable after last year’s declines.

The bad news is that freshman enrollment declined by 3.6 percent, nearly undoing last year’s gain of 4.6 percent and leaving first-year enrollment less than a percentage point higher than it was in fall 2021, during the thick of the pandemic. Those declines were most pronounced for white students—and, perhaps most surprisingly, at four-year institutions with lower acceptance rates, reversing years of growth trends for the most selective colleges and universities.

An Army of Temps: AFT Contingent Faculty Quality of Work/Life Report 2022 — from aft.org (American Federation of Teachers) by Randi Weingarten, Fedrick C. Ingram, and Evelyn DeJesus

This recent survey adds to our understanding of how contingency plays out in the lives of millions of college and university faculty.

More than one-quarter of respondents earn less than $26,500 annually. The percentage of faculty respondents earning below the federal poverty line has remained unchanged through all three reports, which is not surprising with real wages falling behind inflation throughout the academy.2
Only 22.5 percent of respondents report having a contract that provides them with continuing employment, even assuming adequate enrollment and satisfactory job performance.
For 3 out of 4 respondents, employment is only guaranteed for a term or semester at a time.
Two-thirds of part-time respondents want to work full time but are offered only part-time work.
Twenty-two percent of those responding report having anxiety about accessing adequate food, with another 6 percent reporting reduced food intake due to lack of resources.
Only 45 percent of respondents have access to employer-provided health insurance, and nearly 19 percent rely on Medicare/Medicaid.
Nearly half of faculty members surveyed have put off getting needed healthcare, including mental health services, and 68 percent have forgone dental care.
Fewer than half of faculty surveyed have received the training they need to help students in crisis.
Only 45 percent of respondents believe that their college administration guarantees academic freedom in the classroom at a time when right-wing legislators are passing laws removing control of the curriculum from educators.

From DSC:
A college or university’s adjunct faculty members — if they are out there practicing what they are teaching about — are some of the most valuable people within higher education. They have real-life, current experience. They know which skills are necessary to thrive in their fields. They know their sections of the marketplace.

Some parts of rural America are changing fast. Can higher education keep up? — from usatoday.com by Nick Fouriezos (Open Campus)
More states have started directly tying academic programming to in-demand careers.

Across rural America, both income inequality and a lack of affordable housing are on the rise. Remote communities like the Tetons are facing not just an economic challenge, but also an educational one, as changing workforce needs meet a critical skills and training gap.
…
Earlier this month, Montana announced that 12 of its colleges would establish more than a dozen “micro-pathways” – stackable credential programs that can be completed in less than a year – to put people on a path to either earning an associate degree or immediately getting hired in industries such as health, construction, manufacturing and agriculture.

“Despite unemployment hitting record lows in Montana, rural communities continue to struggle economically, and many low-income families lack the time and resources to invest in full-time education and training,” the Montana University System announced in a statement with its partner on the project, the national nonprofit Education Design Lab.

Colleges Must Respond to America’s Skill-Based Economy — from edsurge.com by Mordecai I. Brownlee (Columnist)

To address our children’s hunger and our communities’ poverty, our educational system must be redesigned to remove the boundaries between high school, college and careers so that more Americans can train for and secure employment that will sustain them.

In 2021, Jobs for the Future outlined a pathway toward realizing such a revolution in The Big Blur report, which argues for a radical restructuring of education for grades 11 through 14 by erasing the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college. Ideas for accomplishing this include courses and work experiences for students designed for career preparation.

The New Arms Race in Higher Ed — from jeffselingo.com by Jeff Selingo

Bottom line: Given all the discussion about the value of a college education, if you’re looking for “amenities” on campuses these days be sure to find out how faculty are engaging students (both in person and with tools like AR/VR), whether they’re teaching students about using AI, and ways institutions are certifying learning with credentials that have currency in the job market.

In that same newsletter, also see Jeff’s section entitled, “Where Canada leads the U.S. in higher ed.”

College Uncovered — from hechingerreport.org

Thinking of going to college? Sending your kid? You may already be caught up in the needless complexity of the admissions process, with its never-ending stress and that “you’ll-be-lucky-to-get-in” attitude from colleges that nonetheless pretend to have your interests at heart.

What aren’t they telling you? A lot, as it turns out — beginning with how much they actually cost, how long it will take to finish, the likelihood that graduates get jobs and the myriad advantages that wealthy applicants enjoy. They don’t want you to know that transfer credits often aren’t accepted, or that they pay testing companies for the names of prospects to recruit and sketchy advice websites for the contact information of unwitting students. And they don’t reveal tricks such as how to get admitted even if you’re turned down as a freshman.

But we will. In College Uncovered, from The Hechinger Report and GBH News, two experienced higher education journalists pull back the ivy on how colleges and universities really work, providing information students and their parents need to have before they make one of the most expensive decisions in their lives: whether and where to go to college. We expose the problems, pitfalls and risks, with inside information you won’t hear on other podcasts, including disconcerting facts that they’ve sometimes pried from unwilling universities.
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Fall 2023 enrollment trends in 5 charts — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
We’re breaking down some of the biggest developments this term, based on preliminary figures from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Short-term credentials continued to prove popular among undergraduate and graduate students. In fall 2023, enrollment in undergraduate certificate programs shot up 9.9% compared to the year before, while graduate certificate enrollment rose 5.7%.

Degree programs didn’t fare as well. Master’s programs saw the smallest enrollment increase, of 0.2%, followed by bachelor’s degree programs, which saw headcounts rise 0.9%.

President Speaks: Colleges need an overhaul to meet the future head on — from highereddive.com by Beth Martin
Higher education faces an existential threat from forces like rapidly changing technology and generational shifts, one university leader argues.

Higher education must increasingly equip students with the skills and mindset to become lifelong learners — to learn how to learn, essentially — so that no matter what the future looks like, they will have the skills, mindset and wherewithal to learn whatever it is that they need and by whatever means. That spans from the commitment of a graduate program or something as quick as a microcredential.

Having survived the pandemic, university administrators, faculty, and staff no longer have their backs against the wall. Now is the time to take on these challenges and meet the future head on.

“Colleges are wasting valuable time. They can’t keep AI out of the classroom.” [Gulya] + other items re: AI in our Learning Ecosystems

On 10/30/2023, in adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, education technology, emerging technologies, expectations, experimentation, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, law schools, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, personalized/customized learning, platforms, strategy, student-related, teachers, technology (general), tools, United States, universities, writing, by Daniel Christian

Teaching writing in the age of AI — from the Future of Learning (a Hechinger Report newsletter) by Javeria Salman

ChatGPT can produce a perfectly serviceable writing “product,” she said. But writing isn’t a product per se — it’s a tool for thinking, for organizing ideas, she said.

“ChatGPT and other text-based tools can’t think for us,” she said. “There’s still things to learn when it comes to writing because writing is a form of figuring out what you think.”

When students could contrast their own writing to ChatGPT’s more generic version, Levine said, they were able to “understand what their own voice is and what it does.”

Grammarly’s new generative AI feature learns your style — and applies it to any text — from techcrunch.com by Kyle Wiggers; via Tom Barrett

But what about text? Should — and if so, how should — writers be recognized and remunerated for AI-generated works that mimic their voices?

Those are questions that are likely to be raised by a feature in Grammarly, the cloud-based typing assistant, that’s scheduled to launch by the end of the year for subscribers to Grammarly’s business tier. Called “Personalized voice detection and application,” the feature automatically detects a person’s unique writing style and creates a “voice profile” that can rewrite any text in the person’s style.

Is AI Quietly Weaving the Fabric of a Global Classroom Renaissance? — from medium.com by Robert the Robot
In a world constantly buzzing with innovation, a silent revolution is unfolding within the sanctuaries of learning—our classrooms.

From bustling metropolises to serene hamlets, schools across the globe are greeting a new companion—Artificial Intelligence (AI). This companion promises to redefine the essence of education, making learning a journey tailored to each child’s unique abilities.

The advent of AI in education is akin to a gentle breeze, subtly transforming the academic landscape. Picture a classroom where each child, with their distinct capabilities and pace, embarks on a personalized learning path. AI morphs this vision into reality, crafting a personalized educational landscape that celebrates the unique potential harbored within every learner.

AI Books for Educators — from aiadvisoryboards.wordpress.com by Barbara Anna Zielonka

Books have always held a special place in my heart. As an avid reader and AI enthusiast, I have curated a list of books on artificial intelligence specifically tailored for educators. These books delve into the realms of AI, exploring its applications, ethical considerations, and its impact on education. Share your suggestions and let me know which books you would like to see included on this list.

SAIL: ELAI recordings, AI Safety, Near term AI/learning — by George Siemens

We held our fourth online Empowering Learners for the Age of AI conference last week. We sold out at 1500 people (a Whova and budget limit). The recordings/playlist from the conference can now be accessed here.

More colleges are resetting tuition. Does the strategy work? [McLean]

On 10/18/2023, in business side of he, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, funding / grants, higher education, new business models, parents/guardians, student-related, surviving, by Daniel Christian

More colleges are resetting tuition. Does the strategy work? — from highereddive.com by Danielle McLean
Some institutions have seen short-term enrollment gains from slashing their sticker prices, but the strategy doesn’t guarantee a turnaround.

But as more colleges take the tuition reset plunge, questions around the effectiveness of strategy remain. Some colleges have seen immediate and long-term benefits from the practice, with surging enrollments and applications. However, for many colleges, that growth tapered off over the next few years. And the resets were not enough to turn around the financial fortunes of every college.

“For some schools, they did it and maybe they were too far gone,” said Lucie Lapovsky, an economist and higher education consultant who’s worked with colleges on tuition resets. “Most of our private colleges in this country are challenged right now. It’s not easy.”

Student loan repayments have resumed. Here’s 4 charts that break down American educational debt — from cnn.com by Alex Leeds

As student loan payments resume this month, more than 43 million Americans carrying that debt saw the end of more than three years of relief from monthly payments. But the financial landscape in which they resume payments has shifted.

Researchers are still working to understand the impact that the pause had on borrowers’ finances, said Jonathan Glater, a professor at Berkeley Law and co-founder of the Student Loan Law Initiative.

“People who are precarious at the outset…will also be financially more precarious when the payment obligations resume,” Glater said.

Since 2003, student debt has been the fastest-growing form of household debt, increasing more than 500% over the two decades, far more than increases in mortgage and auto debt that occurred over the same period, according to data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

2024 EDUCAUSE Top 10: Institutional Resilience

On 10/17/2023, in adjunct faculty, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business side of he, colleges, community colleges, faculty, higher education, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

2024 EDUCAUSE Top 10: Institutional Resilience — from educause.edu
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Regional Colleges Saw Biggest Application Gains After Tuition Resets — from insidehighered.com by Kathryn Palmer
A new report compared post-reset application growth at nationally known and regional institutions.

Dozens of colleges and universities have dropped their sticker prices for tuition over the past decade, even as research has shown that tuition resets have a nominal influence on long-term enrollment increases. But a report released this week shows that regional colleges were more likely than nationally known institutions to see increases in applications after a reset.

“Students are more focused now on return on investment than they used to be,” said Devon McGee, a principal at Kennedy & Company, the higher education consulting firm that produced the report. Compared to bigger-name colleges, “A lot of these regional institutions are great liberal arts–type institutions, but they are less associated—fairly or unfairly—with preparing students for a job.”

Why hybrid learning needs hybrid faculties — from timeshighereducation.com by An Jacobs & Norma Rossi
Online courses should be integrated into everyday faculty functions to improve remote and in-person classes as well as the overall student experience

DC: Sounds like a team-based appt to me; something I’ve long advocated for. https://t.co/qkQhl98bQI

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) October 13, 2023

The Public Is Giving Up on Higher Ed — from chronicle.com by Michael D. Smith
Our current system isn’t working for society. Digital alternatives can change that.

Excerpts:

I fear that we in the academy are willfully ignoring this problem. Bring up student-loan debt and you’ll hear that it’s the government’s fault. Bring up online learning and you’ll hear that it is — and always will be — inferior to in-person education. Bring up exclusionary admissions practices and you’ll hear something close to, “Well, the poor can attend community colleges.”

On one hand, our defensiveness is natural. Change is hard, and technological change that risks making traditional parts of our sector obsolete is even harder. “A professor must have an incentive to adopt new technology,” a tenured colleague recently told me regarding online learning. “Innovation adoption will occur one funeral at a time.”

But while our defense of the status quo is understandable, maybe we should ask whether it’s ethical, given what we know about the injustice inherent in our current system. I believe a happier future for all involved — faculty, administrators, and students — is within reach, but requires we stop reflexively protecting our deeply flawed system. How can we do that? We could start by embracing three fundamental principles.

1. Digitization will change higher education.
…
2. We should want to embrace this change.
…
3. We have a way to embrace this change.

I fear that we in the academy are willfully ignoring this problem. Bring up student-loan debt and you’ll hear that it’s the government’s fault. Bring up online learning and you’ll hear that it is — and always will be — inferior to in-person education. Bring up exclusionary admissions practices and you’ll hear something close to, “Well, the poor can attend community colleges.”

Citing Significant Budget Deficits, Several Colleges Face Cuts [Lederman] + other HE-related items

On 10/09/2023, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, funding / grants, future of higher education, higher education, parents/guardians, student-related, trends, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

US Higher Education Needs a Revolution. What’s Holding It Back? — from bloomberg.com by Tyler Cowen
Not only do professors need to change how they teach, but universities need to change how they evaluate them.

When the revolution in higher education finally arrives, how will we know? I have a simple metric: When universities change how they measure faculty work time. Using this yardstick, the US system remains very far from a fundamental transformation.

But today’s education system is dynamic, and needs to become even more so. There is already the internet, YouTube, and a flurry of potential innovations coming from AI. If professors really are a society’s best minds, shouldn’t they be working to improve the entire educational process, not just punching the equivalent of a time clock at a university?

Such a change would require giving them credit for innovations, which in turn would require a broader conception of their responsibilities.

Citing Significant Budget Deficits, Several Colleges Face Cuts — from insidehighered.com by Doug Lederman
The affected institutions include Christian Brothers, Delta State, Lane Community College, Miami University, St. Norbert and Shepherd.

Numerous colleges and universities, public and private, announced in recent days that they face significant budget deficits that will require cuts to programs and employees.

Many of the institutions appear to have been motivated by fall enrollment numbers that did not meet their expectations, in most cases representing a failure to recover from record low enrollments during the pandemic. Others cited the lingering effects on enrollment and budgets from COVID-19, exacerbated by the end of federal relief funds.

How universities can adopt a lifelong learning mindset: Lifelong learning that will last — from timeshighereducation.com by various authors
How the traditional university degree can be reimagined as a lifelong educational journey, enabling students to upskill and reskill throughout their lives

The rapid evolution of the workplace and changing skills demands are driving calls for better lifelong learning provision. For universities, this means re-examining traditional teaching practices and course design to ensure that students can benefit from continuing education throughout their careers. It requires more flexible, accessible, bite-sized learning that can be completed in tandem with other professional and personal commitments. But how can this be offered in a coherent, joined-up way without sacrificing quality? From Moocs to microcredentials, these resources offer advice and insight into how lifelong learning opportunities can be developed and improved for future generations.

The College Backlash Is Going Too Far — from theatlantic.com by David Deming; via Matthew Tower who also expresses his concerns re: this article from The Chronicle
Getting a four-year degree is still a good investment.

American higher education certainly has its problems. But the bad vibes around college threaten to obscure an important economic reality: Most young people are still far better off with a four-year college degree than without one.

Historically, analysis of higher education’s value tends to focus on the so-called college wage premium. That premium has always been massive—college graduates earn much more than people without a degree, on average—but it doesn’t take into account the cost of getting a degree. So the St. Louis Fed researchers devised a new metric, the college wealth premium, to try to get a more complete picture.

But the long-term value of a bachelor’s degree is much greater than it initially appears. If a college professor or pundit tries to convince you otherwise, ask them what they would choose for their own children.

From DSC:
David’s last quote here is powerful and likely true. But that doesn’t mean that we should disregard trying to get the cost of obtaining a degree down by 50% or more. There are still way too many people struggling with student loans — and they have been for DECADES. And others will be joining these same financial struggles — again, for DECADES to come.

Johns Hopkins aims to address teacher shortage with new master’s residency option — from hub.jhu.edu ; via Matthew Tower

The School of Education’s TeachingWell program will provide professional, financial support for applicants looking to start long-term careers in teaching

Students in TeachingWell will earn the Master of Education for Teaching Professionals in four semesters at Johns Hopkins and gain Maryland state teacher certification along with real-world teaching experience—all made stronger by ongoing mentoring, life design, and teacher wellness programs through the university.

“We will focus on teacher well-being and life-design skills that address burnout and mental health concerns that are forcing too many teachers out of the profession,” says Mary Ellen Beaty-O’Ferrall, associate professor at the School of Education and faculty director of TeachingWell. “We want teachers with staying power—effective and financially stable educators with strong personal well-being.”

How to Build Stackable Credentials — from insidehighered.com by Lindsay Daugherty , Peter Nguyen , Jonah Kushner and Peter Riley Bahr
Five actions states and colleges are taking.

Stackable credentials are a top priority for many states and colleges these days. The term can be used to mean different things, from college efforts to embed short-term credentials into their degree programs to larger-scale efforts to rethink the way credentialing is done through alternative approaches, like skills badges. The goals of these initiatives are twofold: (1) to ensure individuals can get credit for a range of different learning experiences and better integrate these different types of learning, and (2) to better align our education and training systems with workforce needs, which often require reskilling through training and credentials below the bachelor’s degree level.S

College Cost Transparency Press Release

On 10/07/2023, in Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), business side of he, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, higher education, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

College Cost Transparency Press Release — from collegeprice.org
Hundreds of Colleges and Universities Commit to Student Cost Transparency

WASHINGTON, D.C, SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 — The College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT) — a task force composed of the leaders of 10 higher education associations representing college presidents, financial aid offices, and admissions and school counselors — today announced that more than 360 institutions of higher education have voluntarily committed to follow a set of principles and standards that ensure transparency, clarity, and understanding around communicating student financial aid offers. Together, these institutions serve more than 3.8 million college students in the United States.

The monumental commitment comes as lawmakers, think tanks, and government entities continue to scrutinize the financial aid offers that colleges and universities present to students. The principles and standards recommended by the CCT respond to the needs of students and families in a nuanced and careful manner.

“The Enemy Within: Former College Presidents Offer Warnings” [Rosowsky]

On 10/04/2023, in business side of he, change, colleges, community colleges, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, law schools, pace of change, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

The Enemy Within: Former College Presidents Offer Warnings — from forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org by David Rosowsky; via Robert Gibson on LinkedIn

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Brian Mitchell, former president of Bucknell University and Washington & Jefferson College, draws on his experience to offer insight in his newest Forbes contribution. He also offers a stern warning: “Boards, administrators, and faculty must wake up to the new realities they now face… the faculty can no longer live in a world that no longer exists… institutional change will happen at a speed to which they are unaccustomed and potentially unwilling to accept.” President Mitchell then goes on to offer some immediate steps that can be taken. Perhaps the most important is to “abandon the approach to governance where trustees are updated in their periodic board meetings.”

Incremental change is possible, but transformational change may not be.

Therein lies the conundrum about which Rosenberg writes in his new book. Higher ed’s own systems are inhibiting needed transformational change.

Also just published was the book, “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education” by Brian Rosenberg, former president of Macalester College. Articles on Rosenberg’s observations, analysis, and cautions have appeared this month in both The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed, the two leading higher education publications in the US.

Addendum on 10/6/23:

Higher Education as Its Own Worst Enemy — from insidehighered.com/ by Susan H. Greenberg
In a wide-ranging discussion about his new book, Brian Rosenberg explains how shared governance, tenure and other practices stifle change on college campuses.

He argues that the institutions designed to foster critical inquiry and the open exchange of ideas are themselves staunchly resistant to both.

The other would be some serious thinking about pedagogy and how students learn. Because the research is there if people were willing to take it seriously and think about ways of providing an education that is not quite as reliant upon lots of faculty with Ph.D.s. Is that easy to do? No, but it is something that I think there should at least begin to be some serious discussions about.
…
Shared governance is one of those things that if you ask any college president off the record, they’ll probably express their frustration, then they’ll go back to their campus and wax poetic about the wonders of shared governance, because that’s what they have to do to survive.

Can this point be expanded/applied to traditional institutions of HE as a whole? [Christian]

On 09/18/2023, in business side of he, colleges, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, leadership, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
In Rick Seltzer’s Daily Briefing for 9-18-23, he ends the briefing with this important point:

The bigger picture: Culture is exceedingly hard to change, especially after trust evaporates in a crisis. And crises can be particularly wrenching when institutions haven’t established cultures of transparency and accountability during good times. Instead, trust continues to erode in a vicious cycle.

And I thought to myself, the scope of Rick’s conclusion could likely be expanded/applied to institutions of higher education as a whole.

Ask the Chair: Are Great Chairs Born or Made? [Dettmar]

On 09/13/2023, in business side of he, career development, colleges, community colleges, faculty, higher education, leadership, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, quality, skills, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

Ask the Chair: Are Great Chairs Born or Made? — from chronicle.com by Kevin Dettmar (behind a paywall)
Higher education is finally getting serious about training new department heads.

Great chairs aren’t born, but made; “trial and error” isn’t actually a professional-development strategy. The provost and deans should recognize that a confident and competent chair makes their job easier, creates a well-functioning department, and buoys faculty, student, and staff morale.

As someone vitally engaged with the chair’s role, I do think we are experiencing a sea-change when it comes to how institutions are preparing chairs. For too long, colleges have treated the position as simply a minor cog in the chain of command. But more and more institutions are now investing in their chairs.

“What’s the right measure of good teaching?” [McMurtrie] + other higher education-related items

On 08/18/2023, in adjunct faculty, business side of he, career development, colleges, community colleges, faculty, higher education, online learning, quality, teaching & learning, United States, universities, vocational / trades, by Daniel Christian

Teaching: What’s the right measure of good teaching? — from chronicle.com by Beth McMurtrie

There are several elements to this challenge. The first is that many campuses depend largely, if not exclusively, on student course evaluations when it comes to measuring instructional quality. And often those evaluations are not particularly well designed or substantive.
…
But even when course evaluations are better designed, I’m not sure any teaching experts would argue that they should be the exclusive measure of whether a faculty member is an effective teacher. That brings us to the second element of the challenge: What else can a college do?

Several readers offered suggestions, such as to include classroom observations, peer evaluation, and teaching portfolios — in which, say, an instructor describes their teaching philosophy and classroom practices, along with evidence that they are working to strengthen their teaching.

Why Labor Shortages on Campus-Building Staffs Are Reaching ‘Crisis Situations’ — from an email newsletter from The Chronicle of Higher Education which eventually links to this article

Who will keep the buildings open?
It’s no secret colleges have struggled to fill staff positions like administrative assistants, information-technology specialists, and admissions officers in today’s tight labor market. But many institutions are grasping for ways to fill key facilities positions that literally keep the doors open, such as custodians, electricians, carpenters, and maintenance workers, our Scott Carlson writes.

Staffing shortages strain the employees and contractors already on the payroll. Facilities-staff members are aging and often juggling project backlogs.

Remember: Building services were the third-most-difficult area to hire in, according to a Chronicle survey conducted earlier this year, behind information technology and dining services. Six in 10 respondents said hiring building-services staff was a serious or moderate problem.

Higher ed may be a victim of its own success. The country has emphasized college after high school over the last four decades, while trades have struggled to attract workers.

An eye-opening stat: Even with a recently renewed emphasis on the trades, the U.S. has only about 600,000 people in apprenticeships, far below the 17 million students enrolled in college.

Which Colleges Pay Off for Low-Income Students? — from edsurge.com by Nadia Tamez-Robledo

Colleges and universities that specialize in health and technology proved to serve low-income students who end up with the highest starting salaries six years after they enrolled. For this earnings data, College Scorecard does not take into account whether students graduated or not.

Hover your cursor over each bar to read details about each institution.

Brave New Classrooms — from Dr. Philippa Hardman
Why 2023-2024 will be remembered as the academic year that education embraced AI

After a rocky start, more and more evidence suggests that the academic year 2023-2024 will likely prove to be a defining year for higher education: the year higher education embraced AI.

Over the course of the next academic year, we will likely see three main changes in the world of education:

More education institutions will embrace AI & develop policies & guidance on its appropriate use at the institution, department & classroom level.
We will see a wave of assessment reform, with a new focus on the assessment of learners’ process and skills, including the effective use of AI.
To enable this chance, we will see a rapid increase in the provision of AI training for leaders, educators and administrators.

While risks and barriers to entry remain real, supported by well-rounded strategic frameworks, the education system has the potential to leverage AI reinvent itself and improve its ability to deliver on the promise to deliver real-world-relevant education.

Two-thirds of colleges are adding online programs, survey finds — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
The annual CHLOE report tracks changing student demand for virtual education and how institutions are adapting their offerings in response.

The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE), 2023
Student Demand Moves Higher Ed Toward a Multi-Modal Future

The majority of survey participants report increased student demand for online and hybrid learning juxtaposed with decreased demand for face-to-face courses and programs. Most participants also say that their institutions are aligning or working to align their strategic priorities to meet this demand. Notable findings from the 50+-page report include:

Face-to-Face enrollment is stagnant or declining.
Online and hybrid enrollment is growing.
Institutions are quickly aligning their strategic priorities to meet online/hybrid student demand.
“Quiet” quality assurance.

Some reflections on college sports [Christian]

On 08/14/2023, in business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, Daniel S. Christian, higher education, student-related, surviving, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

College sports is following the money but may not like where it leads — from theathletic.com by Chris Vannini

Excerpts:

College sports long ago hitched its entire wagon to the money train.
…
But college sports is about to learn, if it hasn’t already, that when you’ve sacrificed everything at the altar of money, you no longer control where things go, and you might not like where it ends. The big brands will be fine, but a lot of fans will be left behind, and this isn’t the end of it.

The people who make these decisions won’t deal with the long-term consequences. The Big Ten commissioner who added USC and UCLA last year — the beginning of the end of the Pac-12 — bailed on college sports less than a year later. Most of the commissioners who created the CFP a decade ago have left. More commissioners, athletic directors and other administrators are just passing through to their next job, blowing up the sport to make money and put something on the resume. It’s not their fault. It’s what they were asked to do.
…
As we shrink at the top, the big brands will survive. I fear for everyone else. Nothing in the history of sports has shown that shrinking your product helps it, yet it’s happening to the No. 2 sport in the country. What happens to the fans you leave out? Are they supposed to change school allegiances? Are their kids?

It was fun when college football fans could argue about who was better on the field. Now we spend each offseason arguing about who has the better television deal. I can’t blame fans for that. Because the industry’s leaders have been yelling for years that the only thing that mattered was money. The supposed apocalyptic future they feared for years has arrived by their own hand, and it won’t stop here.

From DSC:
I played tennis at Northwestern University. We had a very solid team. (We finished #2 in the Big 10 my freshman year, losing to Michigan by 1 point. My partner and I won our flight that year in doubles.) So I know what it’s like to travel 8-10 hours in the back of a station wagon or a van to play another Big 10 Team. And then to try and get ready for that midterm on the Monday after being gone all weekend. I know what it’s like to get back from practices almost every day to find others leaving the dining room and I’m just getting there. I know what it’s like to see people getting back from the library when I’m just going there. I know what it’s like to dedicate some serious time and energy to a sport while trying to get a solid degree in — knowing that I wouldn’t be pursuing tennis after college.

So when these enormous decisions are made for football and their lucrative TV contracts, I feel for all of the other athletes who are trying to be STUDENT-ATHLETES and not just pre-NFL players. There are some seriously long weeks/weekends ahead for them, as they have to make their way ***clear across the country*** to play their conference opponents.

Along these lines, see this Tweet:

Several softball players who compete for schools that are leaving the Pac-12 have spoken out against the latest round of conference realignment.

They cited mental health and further distances for their families to travel for road games. pic.twitter.com/jeURfGGqjC

— Andy Wittry (@AndyWittry) August 5, 2023

Also relevant, see the following addendum made on 8/15/23:
Athletes and Grad Students and Higher Ed’s Next Headache — from jeffselingo-14576223.hs-sites.com by Jeff Selingo

“Enrollment is driving everything right now,” said James Sparkman, the founder of Alpha Education…

DC: Enrollment = sales

Welcome to the realization that HE is a business. Welcome to a world & dynamics that other co’s/organizations have known for years. https://t.co/VBbOcWZxPw

— Daniel Christian (he/him/his) (@dchristian5) August 2, 2023

Learning Ecosystems

“Growing Enrollment, Shrinking Future” [Knox] + other items re: what’s happening within higher education

2024 EDUCAUSE Top 10: Institutional Resilience

“Regional Colleges Saw Biggest Application Gains After Tuition Resets” [Palmer] + “Why hybrid learning needs hybrid faculties” [Jacobs & Rossi]

The Public Is Giving Up on Higher Ed [Smith]

College Cost Transparency Press Release

“The Enemy Within: Former College Presidents Offer Warnings” [Rosowsky]

Can this point be expanded/applied to traditional institutions of HE as a whole? [Christian]

Ask the Chair: Are Great Chairs Born or Made? [Dettmar]

“What’s the right measure of good teaching?” [McMurtrie] + other higher education-related items

Higher ed is now experiencing what other organizations/businesses have been going through for years [Christian]

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