Laura Zimmermann

#FacultyFriday - Dr. Claire Costin, PhD is the star of our “Faculty Research Spotlight “series today! Dr. Costin’s current research is focused on the diversity space across the accounting profession and integrating equitable, trauma-informed safe spaces for students. (Article spotlight in comments below). #facultyfriday #DiversityInAccounting #DEIinAccounting #facultyresearch #BusinessOnTheBluff #accounting #research #EthicsInTheRealWorld

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…And this is a reason, among a few others, that the traditional model needs to be more flexible if higher education wants to be sustainable for a changing economic model. The current perception that American higher education isn’t worth the expense and time isn’t a totally false narrative for many students who have a variety of entry barriers: “ The prevailing national narrative revolves around the debt students often take on to pursue higher education, in an era in which entry-level wages have risen three times faster for high school graduates than their college-educated peers.10 ‘I look forward to a future where fewer students are forced to choose between earning a degree and earning a wage because they’re able to do both at the same time’ says Andrew Kelly, senior vice president of Strategy for the University of North Carolina System.”

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Great time delivering the virtual opening keynote panel at AI & Libraries with Helen Wong Smith and Raymond Pun today. Some remarks below! Q1: What are you both seeing when it comes to AI and archives in the professional landscape? A fair amount of senior leader engagement - recent ARL/CNI Taskforce comes to mind. High level, future oriented thinking. Activity needs to be joined from multiple levels of an organization. More front-line experience needs to be centered. ACRL AI Competencies Task Force shows promise. I am somewhat concerned about additional for-profit capture of library work. We don’t benefit from constantly referencing product names and associated marketing language when talking about the future of the profession. I don’t believe that “prompt engineering” for XYZ product is a particularly generative path for us. In the past, we didn’t hire “Google Librarians” or “search engine librarians” en masse and I think we are better for it. Q2: We may not always agree on what is or is not ethical and I wonder about your thoughts on using AI tools for archival processing ...? It is a challenging moment for ethics and “doing the right thing”. I came into this work being particularly inspired by Safiya Noble’s work on algorithms of oppression. Critics of her work will sometimes say, "what do you expect, throw society into an algorithm and it expresses biases". Critics typically end the argument there, feeling safe in the comfort of whatever privilege they have in the world to basically say, “it is what it is”. Many of us know that “it is what it is” is a condition that is not equally experienced depending on identity and structural conditions. We must proactively respond to inequity and our potential role in exacerbating it. In Responsible Operations, I suggested that we should invest time into an activity called “managing bias”. The thinking was that no matter what choice you are making, say in archival description, you are making a choice to implement a kind of subjectivity. Subjectivity is not bad in of itself, so long as it is anchored in a consistent set of values that center human rights and advance historical understanding. I am hopeful that regulation will provide further backing. Q3: ... How do you see AI making these born-digital collections more accessible and usable? What are the barriers to implement them? One area that I’m particularly interested in is addressing access issues for backlogs of materials that staff don’t have the resources to describe. When I worked at the Center for Research Libraries, representatives from member libraries described significant backlogs of materials in languages they could not describe. The result being a sort of violation of a preservation maxim, “there’s no preservation without use”. Increasingly AI is being developed to support transcription and description of materials in many world languages. I think there is potential there to address fundamental access issues. 

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In a world demanding a highly skilled workforce, Dr. Greenstein, Chancellor of PASSHE, ensures that graduates are prepared. Discover how PASSHE is tackling the challenges of 21st-century #HigherEducation and empowering students to thrive in their careers. Watch the full video for Dr. Greenstein's insights!

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Selecting a new SIS has several dimensions...

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Check this resource out!!

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I increasingly believe that this sort of intentionality around technology planning will be tightly interwoven with strategies for institutions to take advantage of emerging #AI capabilities. Leveraging AI will be about optimizing the capabilities in your emerging technology environment, as well as developing your own capabilities. This is one example of how a modernization plan is not about new systems or new enterprise tools, but those systems/tools tend to be centerpieces because of the plan because they are the foundation or backbone for efforts that more directly enable and touch end users. #highered

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Interesting read for all educators.

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Instruction in the science of reading tenets makes a difference! Happy to see impact in IA because of state investment in professional learning through LETRS! https://lnkd.in/gASZ73xh

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Western Governors University and WGU Labs remain iSchoolConnect's closest partner. Kudos to WGU Labs for launching the Solutions Lab! This innovative initiative is set to revolutionize higher education by driving student success through cutting-edge solutions. It's inspiring to see such a strong commitment to unlocking the potential of education and fostering a brighter future for students everywhere. Keep up the incredible work, WGU! #EducationInnovation #StudentSuccess #HigherEducation #WGU #Inspiration #FutureOfEducation For more details, check out the full article

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Meet Chapter Author Janet Simon Schreck at The Johns Hopkins University!   In Janet’s chapter, she shares her accreditation expertise in Leading with Data and Collaborating with Academics on Assessment. When executed authentically and rigorously, accreditation also provides an evaluative tool that campuses can use to identify areas for improvement and gaps in capacity that, if filled, will enhance the student educational experience and improve teaching and learning. Most, if not all, of the data included in a self-study for accreditation should pre-exist the self-study process, and much of that data will reside in the office(s) of institutional research/effectiveness (IR/IE). This chapter focuses on IR/IE offices using data to proactively partner with faculty and academic administrators to advance the academic missions of their institutions.   Learn more -- coming summer 2024.    About the book: In today's fast-paced and ever-changing higher education landscape, institutions face increasing demands for excellence, innovation, and improved outcomes. Accreditation is a widely recognized benchmark that institutions strive to achieve, but its potential benefits are often not fully realized. The Power of Strategic Accreditation: Driving Institutional Impact aims to bridge this gap by providing educational leaders with a comprehensive resource on strategically leveraging accreditation as a catalyst for institutional improvement and success.   Stay tuned for more updates about this book by following or connecting. #highereducationleadership #highered #accreditation #Powerofstrategicaccreditation

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I have a serious question and I'm seeking input from my K12 community. While I've explored theories and researched staff retention, I'm eager to hear about what strategies are actually effective from your own experiences. Leave your thoughts below!

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Today’s blog begins a series focusing on equipping Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education with the necessary tools to stabilize its finances and enhance credentialing productivity. This was a crucial step in the system's redesign and fundamental for major organizational transformation. The first blog delves into system governance, the second into accountability, the third into data. These tools were not developed overnight. Nor did they materialize initially in working order—they are both still evolving. We are constantly learning and course-correcting. This is a work in progress. Last thought. For most of my career, I have worked in “systems” (specifically in systems’ central offices) in and around higher education. Two were collaboratives comprising independent organizations participating by choice (in one case assisted by a funding incentive). The rest involved operating entities integrated into a single governing structure with stronger and looser ties to the system office. All had a mission to improve higher education outcomes (for students and, in a few cases, for research). Unsurprisingly, I’ve been thinking for a long time about how, whether, and to what extent systems (and I am not thinking top down here and referring to system offices) can drive rapid change in education, research, and related business and administrative practices in a way that has positive impacts.  Can they act as “scaling agents for positive change”? This is not an academic issue. US higher education is in trouble (I hope that isn’t news to anyone). Addressing its challenges in retail fashion - one institution at a time - is a very slow-burning fuse. More than 4,000 universities and colleges are eligible for federal Title IV funding, and I’m not certain time is on our side. Moving more quickly requires leverage points that scale practices that have a positive impact. Examples might include federal and state governments (which contribute significantly to operating funds), university and college systems (because of their regional reach), and voluntary associations (because of their regional and national breadth). I think I’ve been asking the wrong question where systems are concerned. It isn’t: “Can systems act as scaling agents”? Systems are too different in composition, governance, and business models. The question should be: “Do systems have the tools they need—the governance, accountabilities, and navigational aids—to act effectively and credibly in a scaling capacity”? These next few blogs offer more than lessons learned about transformation in higher education. They take a stab at reframing this question. https://lnkd.in/eVtnWSTD

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If you’re an #educator or a parent, you know teaching #technology in the classroom is essential to learning, but just what to teach and how to implement it is an ongoing discussion that The AI Journal discusses with thought leaders, including my Wipfli colleague and Nonprofit, Government and Education leader Kathleen DuBois, in this future-focused article. #AI #Education

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Our report on AI adoption in higher education marketing and enrollment management is now available! Thanks to UPCEA, and particularly Bruce Etter and Emily West, for collaborating with Katie Tomlinson, Nancy Kim and me on this report. There is a huge gap between perceived value and actual use of AI among the higher education marketing experts that we surveyed. The reasons given varied from budget constraints to quality concerns. But, I think it goes much deeper than the reasons given. I see two primary challenges that are holding back the adoption of AI - skills training and a lack of understanding into HOW to leverage AI tools effectively and efficiently. Fortunately, both can be fixed and neither are unique to higher education or the professionals we surveyed. If you are a marketing professional at any level today, it is critical that you gain a full understanding of how AI can and is impacting your work. Then, develop the skills and expertise necessary to leverage these tools to improve your own work. If you are a marketing leader, invest in your staff's development, hire curious team members that are open to exploring, and make time for your team to learn, integrate and iterate. I encourage you to read the report. Then tell me what you think. EducationDynamics #higheredmarketing #MarketingAI #artificialintelligence #AIinHigherEd #marketingstrategy #artificialintelligencemarketing

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This is a great interview about the evolving landscape of continuing education and its growing importance within higher education institutions. Absolutely senior leadership support is crucial for CE units to innovate and adapt; many challenges from changing perceptions, slow shared governance models, and limited resources. Best practices include creating industry partnerships, flexible program design, and a clear pathway between education and employment.  The future of CE will require finding a balance between investing in innovation and maintaining operational efficiency, as well as providing quality online learning experiences and articulated pathways from college to the workforce. https://lnkd.in/eggG6KGu #continuingeducation #highereducation #workforcedevelopment

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