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Meeting expectations is passé. Today, it's all about exceeding expectations. Most colleges and universities understand that IT is integral to their function; however, few administrators truly understand the value of IT. This lack of understanding holds many universities back from capitalizing on information technology and the expertise of IT professionals. Technology pervades and facilitates nearly every university activity, from the library to the classroom to the administration buildings.

The Rutgers (N.J.) spying case and the Penn State abuse scandal, among others, highlight the liability risks of all types facing colleges and universities. From the other end of the risk spectrum, Tulane University’s (La.) long struggle to rebuild and recoup losses stemming from Hurricane Katrina illustrates the complexity of property damage risk management.

Just imagine the scene: It’s deadline day for mid-term papers to be turned in. Students are anxiously working on campus to submit their papers, thankful to be done with them and enjoy the holidays. Suddenly, the IT director gets the dreaded message that the network has crashed. Too many students at once working to upload voluminous documents. That’s all it takes and this IT director’s holidays are on hold.

As a consultant to schools on programming for students with autism, I’m used to proposing ideas and hearing, “Sounds great, but sorry, we can’t do that.” Good intentions sometimes can’t overcome limitations in resources. But when I proposed the development of a bachelor’s degree designed to meet the specific needs of students with autism to The Sage Colleges (N.Y.), the response was very different. From the president on down, the prevailing attitude was, “How can we make this happen?”

Universities and colleges are struggling to compete for high quality senior administrative leaders. Tight budgets compound the challenge, since recruiting, selecting, and relocating candidates require significant investments.

It’s really no surprise that today’s technology-savvy generation is challenging elements of the traditional college recruitment process. The conventional approaches of marketing, recruitment and admissions are all being called into question, in part, due to two driving factors—external influences and the changing needs of today’s student. This article explores these factors and offers ideas on what can be done to reach, and connect, with more students.

Business school is a laboratory for problem solving where aspiring executives are trained to make organizations more efficient, manage risk, and develop new ways to meet society’s needs. They are trained to manage a wide variety of business tasks such as introducing better detergents or MP3 players, running a theme park, bringing life-saving medicines to market, or establishing micro-lending to improve living standards in the third world.

While voters across the nation were glued to their screens last night counting electoral votes, the higher education community was holding its breath awaiting the answers on a number of important ballot initiatives, proving this year’s election was truly about more than blue and red for higher ed.

From sources of funding to student engagement models, from the use of mobile technology to social media, multiple disruptive forces create surprises for administrators, frustrations for academics and bewilderment for students. Uncertainty threatens to incapacitate institutions as they choose for change to be thrust upon them, or attempt to avoid or ignore the strategic importance of the changes taking place around them.

For almost three years, Globe University (Minn.) has used video conferencing to connect classrooms, provide training to our admissions professionals, and even facilitate business meetings. Our success in implementing video conferencing has led to 18 video conferencing systems set up across 11 campuses. As a result, our operations are streamlined, our costs are better managed and our student body is better served with classes they may not otherwise have been able to take.