Innovation in Higher Education

If anything has become clear for college and university leaders over the past decade, it’s that the status quo is no longer enough for higher education institutions to stand out and succeed. Student demand has evolved, technology has changed the game and expectations from external stakeholders (like government leaders and employers) are sky-high.

In order to succeed in this new marketplace, institutions need to find innovative ways of developing programming, delivering on key student outcomes and improving processes and efficiency. This Feature highlights some of those innovative ideas and provides a platform for leaders with innovative programs in the works to share their approaches.

Joining Forces With The Disruptors: SNHU’s Partnership With Flatiron School

Michelle R. Weise | Executive Director of the Innovation Lab, Southern New Hampshire University

By partnering with the Flatiron School bootcamp, Southern New Hampshire University is creating new pathways for its students to gain the critical skills needed by employers and putting them on the road to long-term career success.

Unifying Statewide Education to Create a Credential Ladder

Jan Yoshiwara | Deputy Executive Director of Education, Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges

Creating a unified postsecondary system that allows students to use past credentials to build towards advanced credentials is critical to meeting the educational demands of an advanced, knowledge-based workforce.

Coding Bootcamps: Filling the Void Left by Colleges and Universities

Alfredo Soeiro | EUCEN Representative, Universidade do Porto

As the global demand for coders continues to grow astronomically, private businesses and bootcamps have stepped in to fill the training void left by colleges and universities.

We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges… Or Do We?

Edward Abeyta | Assistant Dean for Community Engagement, UC San Diego

Micro-credentials offer institutions a new and exciting way to certify student learning, creating innovative pathways into the university for new students and providing valuable outcomes that employers are looking for.

Shifting From Recognizing to Verifying Non-Credit Education: The Movement to Diplomas

Dennis Di Lorenzo | Dean of the School of Professional Studies, New York University

Designing and offering creative and effective micro-credentials helps to put value back into non-credit education when it comes to workforce development.

Retaining A Diverse Student Population with Creative Technology Use

Jennifer Spielvogel | Vice President of Evidence and Inquiry, Cuyahoga Community College

The diversity of students enrolled at community colleges is enormous, and it’s critical for college leaders to maximize the use of technology to ensure that each student receives the personalized attention they need to stay enrolled and succeed.

Driving Engagement and Experience Through Strategic Technology Use

Kate Tornatore | CRM Project Manager, The Pennsylvania State University

Hammering out a clear CRM strategy and taking advantage of systems available in the marketplace creates an opportunity for institutions to ratchet up student engagement and offer a great experience to their students.

A User-Centered Approach to Drive Business Intelligence Solution in Higher Education

Sasanka Prabhala | Executive Director for Strategic Information and Business Intelligence, Wright State University

Business intelligence tools provide institutional leaders with the capacity to make informed decisions more quickly than ever before.

Quality and Scalability: Key Drivers to the Success of Open SUNY

Kim Scalzo | Executive Director of Open SUNY, State University of New York

The Open SUNY model has allowed the State University of New York to create an access hub to the range of online programs that are already created and available, offered by their 64 campuses across the state.

Navigating the CBE Frontier: At the Educational Crossroads

Aaron Brower | Provost, University of Wisconsin-Extension

Given the size of today’s non-traditional student demographic, institutions and regulatory bodies need to find ways to ensure postsecondary programming can be packaged and delivered in such a way that meets their unique needs, rather than trying to push these students into the traditional model.

MOOC Providers Bringing An Innovative Approach to Corporate Education

Darren Shimkus | General Manager and Vice President of Udemy for Business, Udemy

More than ever before, employers are looking for low-cost, highly-effective pathways to deliver learning opportunities to their employees and MOOC providers are emerging as a front-runner in this highly-competitive but lucrative space.