As we prepare for an upcoming year, I have to stop and think about the future of higher education. The pandemic changed our students, faculty, staff, and our campus as a whole. The Education Advisory Board (EAB) provides colleges and universities across the country with resources and ideas to help the students of the future.
I confess, I have been a complete fan of EAB and their resources for the past ten years. Their resources are at the forefront of higher education innovation.
🏛 – Dining Halls and Food Spaces
🏛 – Modern Student Housing
🏛 – Hybrid and Flexible Office Spaces
🏛 – Tech-Enabled Classrooms
🏛 – Libraries and Learning Commons
🏛 – Interdisciplinary Research Facilities
Higher education institutions should also focus on the faculty and staff as well. When I ask most of my peers if they are comfortable with the numerous changes happening across their institution, most of them are uncomfortable. We need to prepare our teams for the future of higher education.
Here’s the Millennial Professor’s Call the Action Statements for the Higher Education Industry
🌎 – Higher Education Conferences and Summits Need to Provide Trainings Focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Their Attendees
🌎 – Higher Education Institutions Need to Include Faculty and Staff as Part of Their Planning Process (an Important Part)
🌎 – Higher Education Institutions Provide Wellness and Holistic Support for Faculty and Staff Who are Having Problems With Change (You Need Us and We Need Help)
🌎 – Higher Education Institutions Need to Be Comfortable with Uncommon Spaces (Flexible Office Spaces)
🌎 – Faculty Need to Embrace Collaboration Opportunities with Faculty at Their Institutions and Other Institutions
Here are some additional articles about the future of higher education:
Higher education will continue to transition in an effort to meet the needs of our current and incoming students.
For our particular university, we are striving to modify all of these items simultaneously. It is a challenge, but the changes are well worth the journey.
Here’s the challenge for this post: “In your opinion, which one of the items on the list is MOST important for your institution?”
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Check out my book – Retaining College Students Using Technology: A Guidebook for Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Professionals.
Remember to order copies for your team as well!
Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication
Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute