Dive Brief:
- A list of the top ten higher education trends to watch in 2017, with cultural tolerance, information integrity and student resources headlining many of the emerging story lines for the industry, was released Monday by the editors of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
- The report offers case studies on campus sanctuaries and diversity efforts, the growing importance of cybersecurity training, and efforts to reduce sexual assault and violence among faculty and students.
- Fake news and alternative facts will also be an emerging story line for the academic enterprise, as students and professors learn new rules on free speech and allowable discourse.
Dive Insight:
Each of these trends is more than a story line which can emerge on campuses across the country; they are sleep-stealing issues facing every college president every day on the job. Collectively, they may seem to be an impossible compilation of PR crises and revenue-draining incidents waiting to happen, but they present tremendous opportunities for leaders to learn the art of delegation.
Presidents must be clear with cabinet and academic staff about these challenges, and the specific ways they impact student enrollment, philanthropy and legislative lobbying. Those serving as vice presidents, deans and directors must have the presidential view of how these issues matter in scholarship and operations and learn to manage their divisions as presidents, working to mitigate or prepare for each of these issues in advance.