Although the COVID-19 situation was stressful for all faculty, staff, and students at Mercyhurst University, it provided a much-needed opportunity to improve assessment practices across the institution. Changing assessment reporting procedures for the 2019-2020 academic year to a more reflective, collaborative model is helping to shift faculty…

Research libraries have been engaged in discussions of the functionalist approach versus the liaison model. While some have adopted a hybrid model that overlays functionalists with liaisons, few have abandoned the liaison structure. This article demonstrates a successful nonliaison approach that prioritizes teaching and focuses on building…

This article describes a concept called the "blue ocean thinking strategy," developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD, an international graduate school of business in France. The "blue ocean" thinking strategy considers opportunities to create new markets for services, rather than focusing solely on…

Postsecondary institutions are under increasing scrutiny to provide evidence of student learning. Despite efforts to increase the number and frequency of assessments of student learning, many colleges and universities need help to make good use of assessment results for the improvement of teaching and learning. To address this need, in February…

In a time of transformation in higher education, "Leading Change: How Boards and Presidents Build Exceptional Institutions" fills a significant void in leadership literature and focuses on the changing level of board engagement. This book examines 18 institutions, across the spectrum of higher education, at which the board played a…

A baccalaureate degree is essential to success in the contemporary United States. The degree offers improved economic security and the development of capabilities such as critical thinking, effective communication, quantitative reasoning, creativity, problem solving, personal and social responsibility, and social and cultural capital. Failure to…

Is there anything that screams "College!" more than the local pizza joint? As a high school college counselor, the author has been on too many campus tours and sat in on too many information sessions to keep count. Honestly, they all tend to morph together. All good colleges have passionate, engaged students immersed in learning,…

Three times during the past decade, the Pittsburgh campus of Kaplan Career Institute was named "school of the year" by Kaplan Higher Education, a for-profit higher-education company with more than 70 campuses nationwide. The award recognized the college for its rapid growth and high graduation and job-placement rates. But some former…

This paper presents how minorities break color barriers in top administrative positions at Pennsylvania institutions. Pennsylvania, the state with the sixth-largest population in the country with more than 12 million people, reportedly has more than 450 public and private colleges, universities and career and technical training schools.…

In this article we present two programs we have developed at Bryn Mawr College designed to effect socially just change on our campus and beyond. Both programs create forums for dialogue across differently positioned community members and ensure that students assume leadership roles in these efforts. In our discussion we describe the programs,…

When high school seniors begin searching for the best school to fit their higher education goals, they may need a road map, tour guide and interpreter to help them sort through Pennsylvania's higher education universe. For sure there are seemingly endless choices--public, private, large, small, urban and rural. The Keystone State boasts nearly 200…

Annually, ACT provides each state with "The Condition of College & Career Readiness," a report that details the college readiness of students who took the ACT[R] test. This report is a companion to "The Condition of College & Career Readiness." This paper traces the college enrollment, retention, re-enrollment, and…

Founded in 1821, Widener University is a two-state (Pennsylvania and Delaware), four-campus, eight-college private institution serving approximately 6,700 students. Following arrival of the new senior vice president and provost in 2004 and subsequent reorganization of vice presidential responsibilities, Student Affairs is now led by a dean of…

Research has shown that the level of respect in the workplace directly correlates with the contentment, production and loyalty of employees. If you were asked to help foster a more respectful environment, where would you begin? What initiatives would you introduce? Carnegie Mellon University has crafted a model for fostering respect at the…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the nation, the states, and colleges and universities began to grapple with the challenges of globalization, changing demography, the implications of the digital era, and of a less expansive public sector. Although not a transformative period for higher education, the decade saw significant innovations in…