The Future of Higher Education: How Colleges Can Adapt to Changing Student Needs
By David Shein, Red Hook, NY Looking at Higher Education Through the Eyes of Students After more than 30 years working in higher education, I have learned that colleges are very good at preserving what they value. That can be a strength. Traditions, academic standards, and institutional identity matter. They create continuity and help define […]
On Student Success: Lessons from 25+ Years in Higher Education Leadership
Looking Back on a campus career When I think about my campus career- 5 years at Lehman College, more than 25 years at Bard College, I do not think first about titles or roles. I think about students. I think about the conversations, the challenges they faced, and the small but important moments where something clicked […]
How Colleges Can Close the Hidden Curriculum Gap for First-Generation Students
Understanding the Hidden Curriculum When college administrators talk about student success, we often focus on grades, retention, and graduation rates. What we do not talk about enough is the hidden curriculum- the unwritten rules of college life. It covers everything from how to read a syllabus to how to address an email to how to […]
Strategies for Supporting First-Generation College Students: Best Practices from Experienced Educators
Understanding First-Generation Students I proudly wear my first-gen cord at commencement each May, and I am so proud of the first-gen students with whom I march. But what does it mean to be first-gen, and how do we help those students get there? To begin to answer these questions, three stories. Story 1: The Small […]
The Future of Online Learning: Lessons from a Global Degree Program
Shifting Paradigms in Education “History,” wrote Thomas Kuhn in “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, “if viewed as a repository for more than anecdote or chronology, could produce a decisive transformation in the image of science by which we are now possessed.” Substitute ‘education’ for ‘science’ and you understand the current state of play with online […]