A presidential code of conduct is needed more today than ever before. College and university presidents are being required to do more without the proper training to succeed. Presidents from outside the academy enter academia with normative patterns and codes of conduct that served them well in their previous occupations but now have the potential…

Postsecondary educators have expressed concerns for many years about how prepared high school students are for college. As a result, states and organizations have launched a variety of initiatives designed to increase high school students' readiness for college, including increased access to college-level courses. One of the most promising…

The primary objective of the concierge service at the University of Nevada, Reno is to keep students on track to graduate in four years. The Concierge is charged with helping students enroll in the classes they need, not necessarily want, to graduate. This one charge defines the operational criteria. The service is available to all students,…

Although most universities emphasize study abroad as the primary vehicle to internationalize the campus, in reality only a small percentage of students actually participate in this endeavor. The internationally themed semesters at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) reach virtually every student, and provide a global perspective and cultural…

To be successful in navigating the waters of American higher education, international students need to demonstrate proficiency in the English language and an understanding of the educational expectations of American academia. Unlike Americans who apply to a US university, international students must demonstrate that they understand enough English…

When Kansas changed the admission requirements for resident high school students to attend one of the six public institutions in the state, Pittsburg State University (PSU) and Fort Scott Community College (FSCC) saw an opportunity. Although cooperative programs between four-year and two-year institutions in Kansas had been rare because of…

Indiana University (IU) provides great support for the technology the community needs to teach, learn, and conduct research. Rather than limiting support by defining a rigid support matrix, IU has chosen instead to utilize knowledge management technology to provide self-service for repetitive information technology (IT) questions, and focus…

An innovative position, a Student Success Coach, was created in response to a newly developed undergraduate-degree program on the recently established University of Minnesota Rochester campus. Student Success Coaches serve as the link between the academic and student affairs sides of the campus. They interact closely with students and faculty to…

With the introduction of the Post 9/11 GI Bill in August 2009, Veterans Affairs anticipated a 25% increase in the number of service members who would enroll in higher education (Student Affairs Leadership Council, 2009). Between fall 2005 and spring 2010 semesters, Western Michigan University (WMU; Kalamazoo, MI) experienced a 43% boom, from just…

As colleges and universities around the country face extreme financial pressures, they also face mounting public expectations to improve and increase the quality and number of services they provide to their students. Some of these expectations include the presumption that the institutions will offer quality health care, fitness, and wellness…

In 2002, Brinckerhoff, McGuire, and Shaw observed that the field of postsecondary education and disability services had "moved through its adolescence and was embarking on adulthood" (xiii). Indeed, the field had undergone rapid expansion nationwide in the prior 30 years and grew into a full-fledged profession within higher education (Jarrow…

Disability service (DS) offices today need to be resourceful, creative, and forward-thinking in order to meet the needs of college students with disabilities. A key strategy to meeting these needs is to develop relationships with colleagues across the campus, in both Student and Academic Affairs (Whitt et al. 2008). The Center for Students with…

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are often the starting places for conversations about students with disabilities in higher education. Section 504 and the ADA provide mandates for protection from discrimination and provision of reasonable disability accommodations (e.g., sign language…

Whereas campus administrators are faced with relentless demands to acquire new technologies as a means of keeping up with all that the marketplace has to offer, it is necessary to align technology acquisition with institutional goals and activities for enhancing retention, reducing time to degree completion, and raising graduation rates. Universal…

This chapter provides an overview of UReturn, the Disability Services (DS) unit providing services to University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (UMN) faculty and staff with disabilities and health conditions. The physical layout of DS, case management policies, and collaborative work with other UMN departments all emphasize three key ideas: (1)…