Category: Research & Reports

Research Brief: The Blockchain – A Review of the Opportunities for Higher Ed

by Alicia Miranda

What the blockchain does is get rid of the notion that institutions operate as siloed entities, involving them instead as part of a larger system of data transactions. An exclusive report for our members by Alicia Miranda, Senior Research Analyst, Academic Impressions On average, college students will now attend three or more institutions before receiving a degree. Yet the current system for storing student data is designed and operates on the assumption that students will stay at one place for four years, that they will learn all the qualifications they hope to present as potential future job candidate from that one institution, and that this institution will always be in existence. There are several flaws in that assumption: All three of these circumstances can make it quite difficult for a student to gather their own data when they need it. The current model of higher education is both resilient and persistent; many of the same structures have endured since the middle ages. But as we move through the digital revolution, existing systems are proving inadequate to meet students’ (and others’) needs. Current data sharing causes friction because of the need of an intermediary (in this case, a higher-ed institution). It […]

The Words We Use: How Higher Ed is Responding to Calls for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

by Ashvina Patel

Increasingly, faculty leaders are responding seriously to the call for more “culturally relevant pedagogy,” referring to more inclusive classrooms and pedagogical styles. This article draws on findings from a recent inquiry into how institutions are thinking about equity within pedagogy. In late 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), I conducted 28 phone interviews with both administrators and academics in higher education, from distinct universities. I spoke with leaders of Centers for Teaching and Learning, leaders in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and faculty in leadership positions. My research also included a review of timely literature on this topic. In this article, I share a quick snapshot of how institutions are responding to the call for culturally relevant pedagogy. by Ashvina Patel, Ph.D., Research Analyst, Academic Impressions Want more articles and reports like this one delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Pulse on higher education. The Words We Use What do we call the effort? “Decolonizing curriculum,” “decolonizing the classroom,” “culturally relevant curriculum,” “culturally responsive materials,” “inclusive pedagogy,” “inclusive teaching content,” “diversity in curriculum,” “hidden curriculum,” and “uncovering implicit bias” are just some of the words higher education institutions are using to describe a change that is both […]

Why Professional Development is a Strategic Priority During a Time of Rapid Change

During a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the academic workforce is distributed and opportunities for collaborative learning, networking, and sharing of ideas and successes are more limited, leadership support for professional development in higher education is more critical than ever. To come out of the crisis thriving, colleges and universities have to invest in their people. Research Report | Academic Impressions, May 2020 Historically, institutions have often frozen or cut professional development (PD) budgets during periods of financial distress, limiting their capacity for learning and identifying solutions at the very moment that capacity is most needed. Today, more than ever, institutions need to take the opposite course. Investing in PD—in your people, in their capacity and their growth—also sends a powerful leadership message. This message provides stability amid uncertainty; offers a way to move forward, keep connected and engaged, and take action; and encourages a growth mindset, even and especially in the midst of crisis. The institutions that will emerge from a time of crisis in a position to thrive will be those whose leaders and staff are empowered and equipped to think opportunistically, creatively, and with a growth mindset. During such a time, existing mindsets and […]

Finding the Leaders We Don’t Know We Have

by Patrick Sanaghan

To meet the challenges facing higher education, we need to start finding leaders who don’t fit the charismatic stereotype. A recent program developed in the for-profit sector may provide a model for finding our colleagues who have enormous potential for leadership but who frequently remain invisible to us. Patrick Sanaghan explains. Several years ago, a corporate client with whom I had a long working relationship contacted me with an unusual request. He said, “I want you to find the leaders in my organization that we don’t know we have.” I was immediately drawn in by this counter-intuitive notion. This leader had built a robust and successful organization over twenty years and was smart enough to know that leadership didn’t reside only at the senior levels of his company. He had invested his money, time, and attention to developing distributed leadership throughout the organization, but he wanted to dig deeper. He told me, “I know we have really good leaders here, but they aren’t enough. We need more and better ones if we are going to stay competitive. I want you to help me find those leaders who are hidden from us.” Finding the “Stylistic Invisibles” I agreed to help with […]

Why So Many Abrupt Exits for University Presidents? And How Can We Prevent Them?

by Patrick Sanaghan, Steven E. Titus, J.D., Ph.D., Karen M. Whitney, EdD

At four institutions, a university president exited abruptly – in a single week in June. What causes such abrupt departures? And how can they be prevented? On June 24, 2019, campus leaders and stakeholders awoke to find out that four campus presidents (Auburn, Bennett, Marist, Mullenberg) “were out, without notice or explanation”—to quote the headline Inside Higher Ed ran that day. Each president was in office less than three years.  This was startling news. Thursday that week, a fifth president “resigned,” from Hollins University. That’s a lot of exits and resignations in a single week. We believe we will continue to see more of these unexplained departures. Unfortunately, we can no longer afford them. A sudden and unexplained exit creates havoc for a campus, leaving stakeholders left in the dark, wondering what happened and plagued with unanswered questions: Why didn’t they see the warning signs? Could they have helped prevent the departure? Why did the board dismiss the president? Who will be the next president, and will they be successful under these difficult circumstances? Who would want to step in after such a sudden departure? (Will we get anyone good?) This atmosphere of instability, confusion, and even fear is not […]

Creative Destruction: The New Economic Reality in Higher Education

by Marcel J. Dumestre, Ed.D.

How is higher education changing, and can institutions rise to the challenge of their at-risk status? The answer hinges on how college and university leaders choose to respond. U.S. higher education is now a business enterprise. No longer is it universally considered a unique social institution dedicated to the common good. The recent Great Recession accelerated this transition process, which has been ongoing for at least the past two decades. Complacency will do nothing more than accelerate a troubling change in culture and society, and a call to action is needed in order for higher education to address this new reality. This paper will briefly: I hope this paper will provoke thought and conversation on your campus. Please read and share it with your colleagues. A New Economic Reality Change is constant, both individually and organizationally. But radical change can disrupt an entire economic sector in a relatively short period of time. There are 4 primary reasons that colleges and universities are now being perceived as a commercial industry. 1. Cost-Push InflationThe cost of attending a university has risen by almost 260% since 1980, while the consumer price index increased by only 120%. Compounding the problem is that real average wages (accounting […]

How Bay Path Boosted STEM Success for Underrepresented Women

Establishing a Center of Excellence for Women in STEM has improved academic success, engagement, and retention of underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation undergraduate women in Bay Path University’s STEM majors. Here’s what Bay Path did, and some lessons learned that may be key if you would like to undertake a similar initiative. by Gina Semprebon, PhD, Professor or Biology, Founding Director of the Center of Excellence for Women in STEM, Bay Path University; Christine Bacon, D.HEd, Associate Professor of Biology, Chair of Science, Bay Path University; and Lamis Jarvinen, PhD, Director of Partners for Scientific Inquiry The Challenges We Faced As seen in many other higher education institutions, our female students have become increasingly attracted to pursuing STEM majors over the past several years. At Bay Path University, a women-serving institution at the undergraduate level, we have responded by expanding our STEM offerings and have sought for effective ways to both attract and retain women in our STEM majors, as well as to serve as a networking and educational center for professional women in STEM fields in our region – many of the latter being our own graduates. However, the typical academic challenges faced in gateway, foundational courses within the first two years of […]

How State Funding for Higher Ed is Changing: A Close Look

by Jon Boeckenstedt

How are states responding to a leveling off of demand for higher education from high school graduates? Here is a data dashboard to help you take a close look. When Americans talk about our higher education systems, we point with pride to the wide diversity of offerings in the US. There are 7,000 post-secondary options that include colleges and programs offering certificates, or associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in wildly divergent fields such as auto mechanics, cosmetology, accounting, computer science, history, mortuary science, political science, chemistry, and welding. And these are offered at public, private, not-for-profit, and for profit institutions. When we look at this wide array of offerings, it seems that there is some program, somewhere, for almost everyone who wants to pursue additional education after high school. But it is really the public institutions that carry most of the weight when it comes to educating students in the US.  Just over 70% of the 20.3 million students enrolled in 2015, for instance, attended public institutions, and that percentage rises slightly when you consider only degree-granting institutions. Access to high-quality, low-cost public education has been a hallmark of America since the end of WWII, when the GI Bill encouraged large […]

Presidential Dialogues: Leading in Complex Times

by Daniel Fusch

How do you confront tradition-bound institutions and mobilize campuses to move forward? Recently, we gathered five leaders from very different institutions to discuss this issue in-depth. We know that change on any scale is difficult, so how do these leaders motivate and mobilize their campuses to move forward, especially knowing that change comes slowly? How do they lead in complex times? What inspires them and what makes them nervous? We spoke with: Out of a wide-ranging and robust conversation, a set of five common and core principles emerged. Whether they were in their first year of the presidency or on their third presidency, each leader emphasized the importance of: We hope their insights and experiences will be useful to you! Read the paper Related Paper: The Skills Future Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Succeed

Report: The Skills Future Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Succeed

by Daniel Fusch

How do you lead when there is no map? When the territory is unknown? The swift pace of change and the complexity of the challenges facing our colleges and universities is immense, and is testing the abilities of our institutions’ leaders. The playbook of the past does not offer a sustainable path forward for all institutions. Continually finding new revenue sources, discounting tuition to increase enrollment or improve the academic profile of the student body, investing in new facilities to attract faculty and students, etc.—these will not be enough. Given the prevalence of adaptive challenges facing our institutions, we need a different kind of leader in higher education—leaders who can build bridges from the past to the future, taking the best of our industry and making it more relevant, competitive, and sustainable. The past and current leadership model that prizes vision, academic reputation and track record, communication and charisma, and fundraising expertise is no longer enough to meet our current and future challenges. In the “permanent whitewater” of higher education, we will need leaders who are: Drawing on extensive research and conversations with leaders across higher-ed, this 30-page paper is meant to open the conversation. We invite you to read […]