Running a college or university is one tough job. Picture all the constituencies to satisfy: Students. Faculty. Staff. Alumni. Parents. Coaches. Donors. Trustees. The UNC Board of Governors. Legislators. It’s a juggling act even on a normal day – whatever ‘normal’ means these days. Now add a global pandemic involving a highly contagious virus for… READ MORE
Small UNC System campuses keep COVID in check
(Oct. 6, 2020) – Let’s hear it for the little guys. As several of the UNC System’s largest institutions were forced to quickly shift classes online as the coronavirus erupted on their campuses, many of the System’s smaller institutions – including its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – have managed to keep the virus… READ MORE
NC higher ed must adjust
RALEIGH (Sept. 24, 2020) – Adjust – in oh so many ways. That’s what North Carolina higher education must do as it fights through the coronavirus pandemic and shifting demands and attitudes toward higher education, according to speakers in a virtual ReCONNECT to Move Forward meeting hosted by NC State University’s Institute for Emerging Issues…. READ MORE
Pro/Con: COVID testing before a return to campus
By Rachel L. Graham, Ph.D. CHAPEL HILL – The return to campus this fall for undergraduates of the UNC System was not without questions – from students, faculty, staff, support personnel, and the communities surrounding the campuses. At UNC Chapel Hill, along with the other campuses in the UNC System, following the reduction of campus… READ MORE
Reading: Not just about college. “It’s about life.”
CHAPEL HILL (Sept. 3, 2020) – The ability to read by third grade is viewed as critical to college readiness. Through third grade, students learn to read, the saying goes, and after third grade they read to learn. So in a Zoom webinar hosted by Higher Ed Works, we asked our panelists why third-grade reading… READ MORE
Advice for parents in a pandemic
Parents are worried. If their young child is confined to learning from home during the coronavirus pandemic, they worry about what that child is missing without in-person, structured reading instruction. But the panelists at Higher Ed Works’ webinar on third-grade reading – all parents themselves – offered fellow parents words of encouragement and some tips… READ MORE
Special needs for higher ed in a pandemic
RALEIGH (Sept. 2, 2020) – If the last three weeks tell us anything about higher education amid a pandemic, it’s that institutions must be nimble. UNC Chapel Hill, NC State and East Carolina universities have shifted all courses online and asked most students to return home. UNC Charlotte, which had delayed the start of classes… READ MORE
Goldstein: Lessons learned from UNC’s failed reopening
By Buck Goldstein When I wrote earlier that the fall semester at Chapel Hill would be a test case for broader reopening in society, this isn’t quite what I had in mind. UNC has been in the national news as one of the first schools to reopen — and now one of the first to… READ MORE
Schools seek state’s help to deal with COVID-19
RALEIGH (Aug. 25, 2020) – Fluid situations demand flexible funds. That’s what state education leaders asked of a state House committee this week as they sought $350 million to deal with the coronavirus pandemic when the General Assembly returns to session next Wednesday. The state’s own financial picture is fluid, Committee Chair John Fraley said… READ MORE
College grads: Help at the polls!
We often hear that college graduates show greater civic engagement.1 Well they have an opportunity to do just that approaching. Across North Carolina and beyond, local election boards are viewing this year’s election with trepidation. Many – if not most – poll workers are 70 or older and understandably reluctant to spend 16 hours on… READ MORE