Jack's musings on human nature, science, higher education, cooking, photography, and life...

Let me start by saying that this is not a blog entry for those not interested interested on how educational institutions select their ERP software solutions.  Do yourself a favor and return to where you came from as reading this will be as exciting as watching paint dry... However, I think members of my Higher Education network will find this interesting. Campus Management was recently invited to participate in an ERP procurement process by a consortium composed of three institutions located in the same geographic region.  Consortium procurement is not as rare as it once was, but what made this unique was the lack of similarity between the member institutions.  Normally the institutions in a consortium ERP procurement have some common characteristics that drive common requirements.  That was not the case here as the institutions were fundamentally different, yet they saw the collaborative value of coming together for a strategic decision like this.  Exce...

"College should be hard.  Going to college should not be." Those words, spoken by Dr. Michael Moore, the Chief Academic and Operational Officer at eVersity (also pictured above) will forever be emblazoned in my memory.  I first heard them during a customer panel discussion I was moderating at Ellucian Live 2016.  The concept is so simple, yet so incredibly profound.  College academics should challenge a student's mind but the act of going to college should be straightforwardly simple! eVersity  is a part of the University of Arkansas system and is a 100% accredited online university. It was just starting to operate when I met Michael in early 2016, but its driving purpose was firmly established: to help working adults who started college, but did not complete, get a high quality undergraduate degree.   The  Lumina Foundation  estimates that over 30 million individuals fall into this category of starting college, but not earning a degree...

I visited my first Campus Management customer recently and it reminded me of how exhilarating it is to experience an institution that “get’s it right”. What do I mean by “gets it right?”. Well, it’s not just one thing. I’ll suggest it’s a combination of the following: There’s a unifying institutional vision and culture that’s real. One you can sense. It's palpable...  It manifests itself in how the faculty, students, and staff interact with each other. There's a mutual respect that comes from the understanding that all are part of a greater purpose. There’s an undeniable focus on the student. Everything is built to foster their success. The right people, excellent academic programs, efficient processes, and supportive technology are all in place to help the student achieve their objective. Institutional leadership is naturally inspirational, but they understand that’s not enough. They realize their institution is a complex enterprise that ne...

I’ve spent the last few months contemplating the next chapter of my career. I use "career" metaphorically as I’ve been very fortunate and have had a full and rewarding formal business career. My motivations are somewhat different at this stage of my life as I’m more interested in adding value and making a difference versus position, title, or rank. My seven-month assignment in Dubai last year proved to me that I was not quite ready to retire. I enjoyed the experience even though it was over 6000 miles from home and required enduring 45C (115F) temperatures coupled with oppressive humidity. I enjoyed it because it was very rewarding professionally. I felt my presence had a positive impact on the customers and employees in the Middle East.  I realized that feeling of meaningful accomplishment was missing from my retired life and that I needed to fill that gap. The experience also reaffirmed my passion for Higher Education's mission.  I had engaged with ...