By Boyd Knosp - EvoLLLution. Learning analytics, active learning pedagogies, MOOCs and digital content of all kinds are catalyzing educational transformation. Institutional leaders are finding that managing change is an essential skill for leveraging these transformations. Effective change management efforts depend heavily on leaderships’ abilities to create campus buy-in and consensus, and all of this must be done in the context of the already complex environments in higher education. More...
Creating Operational Efficiencies and Democratizing Access
By Vas Vasiliadis - EvoLLLution. A survey of over 13,000 researchers, conducted by the National Academies in 2012, found that they spend less than 60 percent of their research time actually engaged in research. The remainder of their time is spent on administrative and operational activities. More...
Three Ways Institutions Are Using Technology to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness
By David Dodd - EvoLLLution. The socioeconomic ecosystem in which colleges and universities exist today is highly dynamic and extraordinarily competitive. It is widely noted that the scope and scale of forces confronting institutions have increased dramatically over the past decades, with many suggesting that the challenges are of a level not previously seen. More...
Moving Communication Management Into the 21st-Century
By Paige Francis - EvoLLLution. Higher education is on a continuous path of improvement as we all clamor to meet the educational needs of an ever-evolving student base. Fairfield University is no exception. We’ve embarked on a high-energy, campus-wide strategic planning initiative titled “Fairfield 2020: Building a More Sustainable Future.” Like #Fairfield2020, improvement efforts assume all are working as a cohesive unit with a goal of formalizing best practice via strong collaboration. More...
Significant Milestone: First national study of OER adoption
By Phil Hill. The Babson Survey Research Group (BSRG) – the same one that administers the annual Survey of Online Learning – has released a survey of faculty titled “Opening the Curriculum” on the decision process and criteria for choosing teaching resources with an emphasis on Open Educational Resources (OER). While their funding from the Hewlett Foundation and from Pearson[1] is for the current survey only, there are proposals to continue the Faculty OER surveys annually to get the same type of longitudinal study that they provide for online learning. More...
Flipped Classrooms: Annotated list of resources
By Phil Hill. I was recently asked by a colleague if I knew of a useful article or two on flipped classrooms – what they are, what they aren’t, and when did they start. I was not looking for any simple advocacy or rejection posts, but explainers that can allow other people to understand the subject and make up their own mind on the value of flipping. More...
The Rise of Private Universities in the US
By Felix von Wendorff. his article will try to summarize the rise of private universities in the US, and particularly the growing number of for-profit education providers, a key factor in the issue of why college education is so expensive – and getting even more so.
For those of you who have been looking at the recent developments among universities in the US, it could easily be compared to a libertarian’s wet dream: the private sector has finally been allowed to enter the higher education industry (yes, “industry”) – a “sector” which was previously successfully dominated by the government. More...
Why are US Universities so Expensive?
By Felix von Wendorff. Only a couple of decades ago, attending a US university as noble as UC Berkley cost $540 a year (US$2,756 in 2010 dollars). Now the pages have turned, and attending this fine public institution will set a family back more than $30,000 a year. At the uber-elite quasi-for-profit schools like Harvard and Stanford, the annual price tag can be upwards of $60,000. I say quasi-for-profit because they are not actually for-profits; they are research universities that use their profits to finance research. More...
Best Places to Study in Europe: Student Satisfaction Survey
By Laura Bridgestock. According to a newly released student satisfaction survey from online platform StudyPortals, Scandinavian countries are the best places to study in Europe. The study, based on more than 16,000 comments made by almost 7,000 students during the 2013/14 academic year, sees Finland take the top spot among the best places to study in Europe, in the StudyPortals Student Satisfaction Awards 2014. More...
Certaines démarches ne seront pas soumises à la nouvelle règle du "silence vaut accord"
Trois décrets concernant les exceptions à la règle du « silence vaut accord » pour le ministère de l’Education nationale, de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche ont été publiés au J.O. du 1er novembre 2014.
Démarches pour lesquelles le « silence vaut accord » ne s’applique pas
Le premier décret présente les démarches pour lesquelles le silence gardé par l’administration pendant 2 mois vaudra toujours rejet « pour des motifs tenant à l’objet de la décision ou de bonne administration ». Voir l'article...
