1 in 6 Companies Are Hesitant To Hire Recent College Graduates - Intelligent

In August, Intelligent.com surveyed 966 business leaders involved in hiring decisions at their company to explore attitudes toward hiring recent Gen Z college graduates. What we found:

75% of companies report that some or all of the recent college graduates they hired this year were unsatisfactory

6 in 10 companies fired a recent college graduate they hired this year

1 in 6 hiring managers say they are hesitant to hire from this cohort

Hiring managers say recent college grads are unprepared for the workforce, can’t handle the workload, and are unprofessional

1 in 7 companies may refrain from hiring recent college graduates next year

9 in 10 hiring managers say recent college graduates should undergo etiquette training

https://www.intelligent.com/1-in-6-companies-are-hesitant-to-hire-recent-college-graduates/

The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory - Bob Sternfels, et al; McKinsey

In this article, we explore what it will take to be a leader for this century and how organizations can build a leadership factory that shapes, develops, and mentors the next generation of managers. The organizations that treat leadership development as a core capability and proactively address the needs of both existing and aspiring leaders can raise their overall resilience and substantially improve the odds that they will be able to withstand disruption—whatever it is, and whenever it appears next.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-art-of-21st-century-leadership-from-succession-planning-to-building-a-leadership-factory

Are colleges really facing an enrollment cliff? - Dick Startz, Brookings

A large number of colleges have very low student enrollment and few or no endowment resources, and these are the institutions most at risk now and in the coming years. Additionally, college enrollments in some states are likely to drop drastically over the next few years, putting some colleges in those states at risk. The real story is likely to be program elimination within colleges rather than full college closures. There is significant anecdotal evidence pointing in this direction, but little comprehensive data.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-colleges-really-facing-an-enrollment-cliff/

Black women on the academic tightrope: four scholars weigh in - Malika Jeffries-EL, Monica R. McLemore, Ruby Zelzer & Tiara Moore, Nature

Black women have long flagged an insidious issue they have to contend with: misogynoir, a combination of sexism and anti-Black racism that often manifests as a lack of respect and impedes their prospects. The data are clear, the problem is pervasive, including in academia. Here, four scholars discuss their anti-racism work. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03342-0

Harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence in New Jersey: The time is now - written by ChatGPT, edited by Andrew Zwicker, NJ.com

By investing in AI education for all students, from K-12 through higher education, the state will cultivate a workforce prepared to engage with and build on these new technologies. By fostering AI research and development in our four-year universities, New Jersey will create a talent pipeline with the skills and creativity to invent the next generation of problem-solving AI tools and fill high-demand roles across the industry spectrum. Similarly, we must invest in our community colleges, ensuring equitable access to the AI education and training that will be needed to fill jobs that don’t require an advanced degree. Community colleges will also be vital to quickly and nimbly providing opportunities for all workers to obtain new AI skills as they emerge, and to retrain workers whose jobs do disappear.

https://www.nj.com/opinion/2024/10/harnessing-the-potential-of-artificial-intelligence-in-new-jersey-the-time-is-now-opinion.html

NotebookLM - Google Blog

NotebookLM is a tool for understanding, built with Gemini 1.5. When you upload your sources, it instantly becomes an expert, grounding its responses in your material and giving you powerful ways to transform information. And since it’s your notebook, your personal data is never used to train NotebookLM. Millions of people are already using NotebookLM to understand and engage with complex information, and today we’re removing the product’s “Experimental” label and releasing another round of features.

https://blog.google/technology/ai/notebooklm-update-october-2024/

Using Collaborative Learning to Elevate Students' Educational Experiences - Faculty Focus

Collaborative learning is an educational environment where students work together in smaller groups to achieve a common goal. Collaborative learning is analogous to the traditional learning model, in which teachers impact knowledge on students. Bruffee (1999), the most prominent name in collaborate learning, describes collaborative learning as “creates conditions in which students can negotiate the boundaries between the knowledge communities they belong to and the one that the professor belongs to” (p. 144). Collaborative learning and e-learning have been gaining momentum over many decades as research has proven how beneficial it is for students’ development and learning. It has become a focus of significant learning institutions (Gao, 2020; Gutierrez, Sanchez, Castaneda, & Prendas, 2017). 

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/faculty-development/using-collaborative-learning-to-elevate-students-educational-experiences/

Financial pressure grows for colleges, Fitch says - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

Pressure on college finances is intensifying despite modest enrollment growth this fall, slowing inflation and other tailwinds for the sector, according to a recent analysis by Fitch Ratings. In a Friday release, Fitch noted that while most of the colleges it rates have stable financial outlooks, it has increasingly lowered outlooks for colleges in recent quarters — which could portend more credit downgrades ahead. Sectorwide, the ratings agency has a negative outlook for higher education, a now multiyear trend, Fitch senior director Emily Wadhwani noted in a Thursday webinar. “We do expect the sector to yield generally softer operating margins and continue to show some strains on financial flexibility as we head into 2025,” she said.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/financial-pressure-grows-colleges-fitch-enrollment-costs/729791/

Changing of the Guard at ‘Inside Higher Ed’ - Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed

I preface the link to this article by Doug Lederman by joining fellow IHE blogger and education writer, speaker, and consultant, John Warner, in thanking Doug Lederman for his vision and leadership in Higher Education.  Doug announced earlier this month his stepping down from the editor position in Inside Higher Ed.  Over the past two decades, Doug served our field deftly through journalistic leadership in our evollution to where we stand today in higher education. He sums up his contributions in this article by writing "After spending the last 35-plus years analyzing and assessing higher ed, I’m looking forward to a next career chapter, where I can try to fix some of the problems I see in this industry I care so much about." So, it is not good-bye, but with optimism for the future that I encourage you to visit the URL below for Doug's  article.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/10/09/changing-guard-inside-higher-ed

Science Says Being Generous, Thoughtful, and Kind Is a Sign of High Intelligence. Leading Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant Agrees - Jeff Hayden, Inc.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, greater cognitive ability is associated with a higher probability of charitable giving.  A study published in the Journal of Research in Personality found that unconditional altruistic behavior (acting to help someone else at some sort of cost to yourself) is related to general intelligence.  A study published in Social Psychology and Personality Science found that intelligence correlates with personal values; in simple terms (the only terms I understand), the less selfish you are, the smarter you tend to be.

https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/science-says-being-generous-thoughtful-and-kind-is-a-sign-of-high-intelligence-organizational-psychologist-adam-grant-agrees/90985740

Machines of Loving Grace - Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic

In fact I think it is critical to have a genuinely inspiring vision of the future, and not just a plan to fight fires. Many of the implications of powerful AI are adversarial or dangerous, but at the end of it all, there has to be something we’re fighting for, some positive-sum outcome where everyone is better off, something to rally people to rise above their squabbles and confront the challenges ahead. Fear is one kind of motivator, but it’s not enough: we need hope as well. The list of positive applications of powerful AI is extremely long (and includes robotics, manufacturing, energy, and much more), but I’m going to focus on a small number of areas that seem to me to have the greatest potential to directly improve the quality of human life. The five categories I am most excited about are:

Biology and physical health

Neuroscience and mental health

Economic development and poverty

Peace and governance

Work and meaning

https://darioamodei.com/machines-of-loving-grace

Stanford Researchers Use AI to Simulate Clinical Reasoning - Abby Sourwine, GovTech

Researchers at Stanford University are designing Clinical Mind AI to be a customizable chatbot that can function as a virtual patient with which medical students can interact and practice forming diagnoses. A key component of medical education is a skill called clinical reasoning. Thomas Caruso, a professor teaching anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at Stanford University, likens clinical reasoning to an episode of the TV show House. “Clinical reasoning is sort of like a House episode, where we reveal a little bit of information about the patient, they give a differential diagnosis. We reveal a little bit more, they hone their differential diagnosis. Then, they get to a point where they're treating this patient for what they presume to be the diagnosis,” Caruso said.

https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/stanford-researchers-use-ai-to-simulate-clinical-reasoning

Generative AI, the American worker, and the future of work - Molly Kinder, Xavier de Souza Briggs, Mark Muro, and Sifan Liu, Brookings

Existing generative AI technology already has the potential to significantly disrupt a wide range of jobs. We find that more than 30% of all workers could see at least 50% of their occupation’s tasks disrupted by generative AI. Unlike previous automation technologies that primarily affected routine, blue collar work, generative AI is likely to disrupt a different array of “cognitive” and “nonroutine” tasks, especially in middle- to higher-paid professions. 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/generative-ai-the-american-worker-and-the-future-of-work/ 

Report: A Quarter of Those with Graduate Degrees Say They Regret Going to College - Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

The report, which focused on college’s value, was based on the results of a survey of 1,000 Americans with a college degree and 1,000 who do not have a degree. Over all, about three-quarters of respondents with a graduate degree say they do not regret attending college, and 59 percent of those with an associate or bachelor’s degree say the same thing. Cost is a different matter, however; across all types of degrees, 59 percent of respondents say their student loan investment was worth the cost. Arts and humanities majors, perhaps surprisingly, were most likely to say their degree was worth the cost, with 68 percent saying so.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/10/11/report-quarter-grads-say-they-regret-going-college

Commentary: AI detectors don't work, so what's the end game for higher education? - Casper Roe and Mike Perkins, Channel News Asia

AI detectors struggle to keep up with quickly changing AI models, and their reliance on standardised measures of what is considered “human” can unfairly disadvantage people who speak English as a second or third language. The potential of falsely accusing students and damaging their future raises serious concerns about the use of AI detectors in academic settings. Furthermore, this approach is counterintuitive in a world where we should be reaping the benefits of AI. You can’t extoll the advantages of using a calculator and then punish students for not doing math in their heads. Educators shouldn’t rush to punish students based on what AI detectors say. Instead, they should think of better ways to assess students.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/ai-detector-university-school-teacher-student-assess-writing-test-4665366

The fallout: University of the Arts haunted by unanswered questions months after sudden closure - Ben Unglesbee, Inside Higher Ed

This year has seen the winding down of several historic private colleges, including Wells College in New York and Goddard College in Vermont. Announcements of their closures sparked shock, grief and dismay. Arguably, the most dramatic closure came at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. The public releases announcing the closure were conspicuously short on details. A statement from Walk and UArts board Chair Judson Aaron on May 31 alluded, vaguely, to “a cash position that has steadily weakened” that meant the university could “not cover significant, unanticipated expenses.” They added: “The situation came to light very suddenly. Despite swift action, we were unable to bridge the necessary gaps.” 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/fallout-university-of-the-arts-sudden-closure-union/729106/

Developing a GenAI policy for research and innovation - Helen Brownlee and Tracy Mouton, Times Higher Ed / Inside Higher Ed

Establishing a framework to guide AI use in research is vital for ensuring institutions are and remain fully compliant. Research integrity policies, procedures and guidelines should provide a framework to support the highest standards of staff and student personal conduct in research. To achieve this, we created a new policy for the use of GenAI tools in research and innovation at the University of East Anglia (UEA) earlier this year. The policy supports and protects researchers who use GenAI and aims to ensure the university is fully compliant in this developing area. The policy represents a truly collaborative effort involving many colleagues and below we share our experiences of developing the policy focusing on eight key areas.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/developing-genai-policy-research-and-innovation

Should Online Courses Have Less Students, Why? - Samantha Clifford, Faculty Focus

It’s important to consider the unique dynamics of each learning environment when discussing whether class caps for online and in-person courses should be the same. Many institutions are looking at increasing the number of online students through a combination of course availability, carousel offering, sequencing, and timing rather than increasing caps in online courses. It is quite possible to increase the number of seats in a well-designed online class, but for online instructors to build and facilitate student centered courses based on active learning and inclusive pedagogy, there are some important considerations. 

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/should-online-courses-have-less-students-why/

It’s Official: How to Be a Servant Leader Comes Down to 6 Behaviors, Says Research - Marcel Schwantes, Inc.

Building a strong culture, however, requires visionary leadership. One framework I’ve been using to develop leaders in my coaching and training practice is based on the seminal research of organizational leadership scholar Dr. Jim Laub. Laub identified six key leadership behaviors essential to fostering a thriving culture. These behaviors are rooted in the principles of Servant Leadership, a people-centric approach where leaders prioritize serving others, creating environments of trust, engagement, and productivity. Servant Leadership has been embraced by Fortune 100 companies such as Southwest Airlines and startup founders alike. They realize the importance of putting people ahead of profits for long-term success. To move your company toward a vibrant servant leadership culture, here are the six behaviors found in the research and best practices.

https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/its-official-how-to-be-a-servant-leader-comes-down-to-6-behaviors-says-research/90984161

Women in the Workplace 2024: The 10th-anniversary report - Alexis Krivkovich, Emily Field, Lareina Yee, and Megan McConnell, with Hannah Smith, the McKinsey Report

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Women in the Workplace report. Conducted in partnership with LeanIn.Org, this effort is the largest study of women in corporate America. Over the past decade, more than 1,000 companies have participated in the study, and we have surveyed more than 480,000 people about their workplace experiences. Our tenth-anniversary report analyzes data from the past decade to better understand progress, decline, and stagnation in women’s representation and experiences in the workplace.1 It also highlights key findings from 2024 and identifies the changes companies can make to chart real progress on the path to parity—which we project is nearly 50 years away.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace

The Future Of Learning: How AI Is Revolutionizing Education - Khushi Bhanushali, Youth Incorporated

We have heard about AI in fashion, Gaming, Chatting, Robotics, Agriculture, and Finance but did you know AI has already entered into education world with a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and education is not just a future possibility; it is imminent. Imagine a classroom where each student has a personal tutor—an AI-driven guide that knows their strengths, weaknesses, and learning pace. This tutor adapts lessons in real-time, provides instant feedback, and even offers engaging challenges tailored to individual curiosity, receives personalized, builds stronger connections with teachers for enhanced guidance and receives apt recognition and evaluation of their achievements.  

https://youthincmag.com/the-future-of-learning-how-ai-is-revolutionizing-education

Does AI Have a Place in Higher Education? Academics Say Yes, with a But - Patrick Harbin, Kennesaw State

 Now that artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft’s Copilot allow students to create essays, complex calculations, and discussion posts in seconds, how can colleges and universities guarantee students are learning rather than simply learning to use AI? According to Kai Larsen, a renowned AI researcher and the keynote speaker at Kennesaw State University’s recent “AI in Higher Education” symposium, educators shouldn’t be afraid of AI. Instead, faculty should teach students to use the tools confidently while continuing to measure their ability to perform the same tasks on their own.

https://www.kennesaw.edu/coles/news/stories/2027-09-30-does-ai-have-a-place-in-higher-education-academics-say-yes-wit-a-but.php

Host a competition to foster creativity and innovation at your institution - Times Higher Education

Higher education institutions must constantly seek ways to enhance creativity and encourage innovation. To meet these aims, at Monterrey Institute of Technology, we launched a competition called the Innovation Challenge. The Innovation Challenge encourages staff to propose groundbreaking projects that address institutional needs. It uses design thinking methodology, which fosters collaboration and creativity by involving multidisciplinary work teams in all phases of the process and encourages continuous learning due to its iterative process. We gamify the initiative to boost participants’ motivation, turning staff into agents of change.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/host-competition-foster-creativity-and-innovation-your-institution

The next wave of college cuts is already here - Ben Unglesbee, Inside Higher Ed

Higher education’s season of retrenchment has continued into the fall semester, with public and private institutions around the country shedding programs and employees as they grapple with heavy competition for students, soaring costs and revenue constraints.  The cuts often follow other, less drastic measures to plug budget gaps, such as leaving positions unfilled and reducing nonpersonnel budgets.  In many cases, administrators are looking to trim programs they say are underenrolled and losing money, and instead focus where they see the most student interest. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/next-wave-college-cuts-layoffs-columbia-wittenburg-university/728329/

School of Public Health Faculty Member Explores Using AI to Enhance Biostatistics Learning - Sam Fahmy, Georgia State University

Using a mini-grant from Georgia State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Online Education, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics Karen Nielsen is developing course materials that seek to prepare students to ethically and effectively use generative artificial intelligence in a range of quantitative subjects. “I have not spoken to a single instructor who has not grappled with generative AI in their teaching,” said Nielsen, of Georgia State's School of Public Health. “Maintaining academic honesty when using generative AI will be one aspect of this project, but I also want students to be able to leverage generative AI for self-guided learning.”

https://news.gsu.edu/2024/09/30/sph-faculty-member-explores-using-ai-to-enhance-biostatistics-learning/

120 IQ AI: Threat or Opportunity? - Peter H. Diamandis, Diamandis.com

Most people you meet are probably average, and a few are extraordinarily smart. Just 2.2 percent have an IQ of 130 or greater. "The classic finding — I would say it is the most replicated finding in psychology — is that people who are good at one type of mental task tend to be good at them all," says Stuart Ritchie, an intelligence researcher at the University of Edinburgh. This is why OpenAI's model o1 achieving an IQ score of 120 is so significant. It's not just outperforming the average human—it's surpassing 91% of the population in a test designed to measure general intelligence.

https://www.diamandis.com/blog/120-iq-ai-threat-or-opportunity

Quantum sensing’s untapped potential: Insights for leaders - Henning Soller and Niko Mohr, McKinsey Digital

Quantum sensing, which allows sensors to collect data at the atomic level, is a tested technology. It has broad applications in commercial products (such as medical devices), in services (such as navigation), and as an enabler of internal processes (such as quality control)—and the technology is already usable. It enables many types of measurements that are currently too difficult to achieve, not precise enough, or simply unfeasible otherwise. Depending on the underlying technology, the size, weight, and power of the sensors enable a variety of use cases in different industries, making further deployment of quantum-computing sensors outside the lab possible.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-sensings-untapped-potential-insights-for-leaders

The 50 colleges and universities making an outsize impact on business and society - Brendan Vaughan, Fast Company

Welcome to the first-ever edition of Ignition Schools, a collaboration between Fast Company and our sibling publication, Inc. The Ignition Schools list honors the top academic institutions that play an enormous role in shaping the businesses that influence society. Innovation and entrepreneurship—the editorial lodestars for Fast Company and Inc., respectively—are also the focus of Ignition Schools. The 50 colleges and universities we’re honoring in our inaugural list don’t just produce elite students and groundbreaking research; they also are economic engines that generate the ideas, businesses, and opportunities that move cities, regions, and countries toward a better future. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91186441/ignition-schools-innovative-colleges-universities-2024

ASU details impact of state cuts to higher ed funding - Arizona State University

Arizona State University will add a tuition surcharge for on-campus students in spring 2025 and the Arizona Teachers Academy faces an uncertain future, the result of recent budget cuts passed by the state Legislature and signed by the governor. More than 2,600 Arizona resident students also could be impacted by the expected decrease in ASU’s allocation for the Arizona Promise Scholarship Program, and the university will stop operations and close its Lake Havasu center in the summer of 2025. “These necessary actions reflect the continuing lack of public investment from state government for higher education in Arizona,’’ ASU President Michael M. Crow said

https://news.asu.edu/20240923-university-news-asu-impacts-state-cuts-higher-education-funding

The transformative power of AI in higher education - Ali al Bimani, Muscat Daily

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping various sectors, and education is no exception. As we enter a new era of teaching, learning, and research, AI’s transformative potential will profoundly impact higher education institutions. One of AI’s most promising applications in education is personalised learning. Adaptive learning systems utilise AI algorithms to analyse student performance in real time, adjusting course content accordingly. These systems identify knowledge gaps, suggest resources, and predict future performance, creating unique and responsive learning paths for each student.

https://www.muscatdaily.com/2024/09/21/the-transformative-power-of-ai-in-higher-education/