Micro-Credentials vs. The College Degree: The Case for “And” Instead of “Or”
As I study higher education and pay attention to the news media, I’ve been intrigued by comparisons of what some might consider two competing products: the micro-credential and the college degree. Popular narratives could lead some to believe that they’re competing for the future of postsecondary education, and it’s easy to get caught up in […]
Beyond Spreadsheets: It’s Time to Rethink Budget and Planning Tools
Over the last three years, pandemic-induced stresses on higher education have uncovered the impacts of an outdated budget planning process that’s still prevalent throughout higher education. While most colleges and universities quickly pivoted to offer new learning modalities and ensure the continuation of operations remotely in response to COVID-19, financial planning analysts had a more […]
The Use of ChatGPT in Higher Education Advancement
ChatGPT buzz has recently extended to advancement with debates about the pros and cons of using the public chatbot to support higher education advancement efforts. As many of you already know, ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI, leverages a machine language learning model to converse with humans, answer complex questions, and even write content and application code. […]
ChatGPT on Campus: How AI Tools Are Changing Teaching and Learning
It’s no secret that the adoption of AI tools in higher education is growing by the day, and ChatGPT is leading the pack. Our Top of Mind guest this month, Dr. Lin Lin Lipsmeyer, Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University, […]
Remove the Taboo from Centrally Managed Visualization Tools – Free the Data!
Do institutions provide centrally supported visualization platforms? Our work with higher education tells us that most institutions that have been successful in democratizing data analysis have made this move by using modern toolsets. (What are the modern toolsets? Check out our research!) Even as recently as five years ago, visualization tools that were easy to […]
Women in Tech: Melanie Boynton, Director of Enterprise Systems and Data Intelligence, J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Melanie Boynton knew she had always wanted to work in government. When her supervisor asked her to work on a data project for the state of Virginia, it surprised her how much she enjoyed it, and from that one small step, a career in IT began. Hear more about Melanie’s excitement for data and analytics […]
Application Migration to the Cloud: Know Your Purpose
Institutions have moved commercial, on-premises applications to the cloud with significant success over the last several years. As I’ve spoken to CIOs about this shift, I’ve discovered a variety of drivers for their initiatives, with various pathways, but generally with solid success. The most important common factor in their successes was defining their strategy based […]
Thesis Receives Solid Financial Backing with SilverTree Equity Acquisition
On February 2, 2023, Thesis announced that SilverTree Equity, a leading private equity firm focused on technology, completed the acquisition of the company from Advent International. Thesis is a provider of higher education student systems in North America and Europe. Advent International retained its ownership of the student business when it sold Unit4 (now focused […]
Student Analytics: Focusing on a Critical Issue as a Catalyst for Creating a Data Culture
Institutions have been using terms such as “data driven” and “data informed” with regard to decision making for decades, but, as Tambellini research noted in a recent blog post, the issue of poor data hygiene impedes any meaningful progress for many institutions. So, while many aspire to create a data-informed culture, significantly fewer have the […]
Identity and Access Management: Products Won’t Save You, but They’ll Help
Higher education is facing a pivotal moment where institutions must protect themselves from constantly evolving cybersecurity threats with limited budgets and staffing. Compounding the problem even further, higher education is especially susceptible to marketing that portrays products as the solution to their problems. As with every discipline, technology alone is not the answer. It’s the […]
