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With President Obama's 2020 challenge and recent research estimates indicating that by 2018 U.S. employers will require 22 million additional workers with degrees, more Americans are - and will be - heading back to school. Those colleges and universities that proactively position themselves to take advantage of this increase in student demand will be at a substantial competitive advantage when it comes to maximizing their benefit from this higher education explosion. But where, exactly, should they position themselves?

Striking a balance between an open yet secure network remains a challenge for university IT departments. While universities are often on the cutting edge of innovation, they face complications when it comes to enforcing IT policies. In some cases, this has led to staggering data breaches.

In the higher education world, IT systems and services are more vital than ever for institutions to achieve their goals and satisfy their missions. One vital system in particular is the institutional website. This technology is the online presence for an institution and has become an extraordinary tool for reaching current and prospective students, parents, and alumni and helping them connect with the respective college or university. Without this tool, most institutions would suffer greatly in their efforts to recruit and retain students and build long-term relationships.

Colleges and universities cut food waste by instituting trayless dining, by buying smarter and by other means. But at the end of the day there is still food waste. Increasingly, schools are finding creative ways to deal with it.

"Usually students take as much as they think they can eat," says Nori Yamashita, director of food service operations at the University of Denver (Colo.). "Once they sit down and start to eat, they realize they took too much."

These are challenging times for higher education and the families that engage it. Colleges and universities are trying to preserve access and programming. Additionally, the economic crisis has stretched the budgets of many families, causing them to question more than ever before the possibility of sending their children to a liberal arts college where practicality and return on investment are not as immediately intuitive as they might appear to be at more pre-professionally and vocationally-driven institutions. Without a doubt, these are hard times for many liberal arts colleges.

In the summer of 2004, as athletes from around the world converged in Athens for the Olympic Games, another Olympian venture was taking place half a world away at George Mason University (Va.). Just as the ancient Greeks had formed academies of higher learning, George Mason University's Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering embarked on an ambitious plan to create a world-class curriculum to train the "architects of the networked future."

Campus card technology is a fast-changing world. From the early days of magnetic strips to the RFID tags and "smart chips" of today, cards have evolved into intelligent, multi-purpose tools that make campus life safer and more convenient. Based on current industry trends, here are 10 predictions for the future of campus card technology.

Can design impact student satisfaction, even when the students are working students unaccustomed to being on a college campus? West Coast University (WCU), a private, post-secondary institution offering intense, hands-on education to students interested in healthcare careers, recognized that a better campus experience could be a positive factor in recruitment, retention, and overall student success.

When there's an opportunity to convert a hotel into student housing, should officials pursue it?

A hotel building can be turned into a housing solution due to having similar amenities - including bedrooms, dining rooms, and bathrooms - found in traditional residence halls. It can provide an immediate solution when an institution is in dire need of quick housing due to a sudden spurt in enrollment before the school year starts.

Greening doesn't have to be costly. Working with students and associates who have an interest in sustainability and greening can generate many, many ideas. Any initiative that supports learning or diverts normal waste to innovative channels is a green initiative. Something as simple as creating a collection point for discarded electronics to be sent to a credible recycling location counts. The following are tips from schools managed by Parkhurst Dining on how to keep the green cost low.