Comments on: Break The System To Remake the System http://thesabloggers.org/2010/01/break-the-system-to-remake-the-system/ Know-how from peers and professionals Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:42:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: kevinprentiss http://thesabloggers.org/2010/01/break-the-system-to-remake-the-system/comment-page-1/#comment-428 kevinprentiss Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:00:16 +0000 http://jefflail.com/?p=797#comment-428 Exactly - CollegiateLink as well. Both make it less work to <br>centralize control. They both do this well. They've signed up lots of <br>schools to three year contracts. If you think students have amazing <br>Free tools for organizing (facebook, google groups, blogs, twitter, <br>etc. etc.) just wait for three years from now.<br><br>Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have <br>said faster horses.”<br><br>Easier control (paperless bureaucracy!) is a faster horse. Exactly – CollegiateLink as well. Both make it less work to
centralize control. They both do this well. They've signed up lots of
schools to three year contracts. If you think students have amazing
Free tools for organizing (facebook, google groups, blogs, twitter,
etc. etc.) just wait for three years from now.

Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have
said faster horses.”

Easier control (paperless bureaucracy!) is a faster horse.

]]> By: jefflail http://thesabloggers.org/2010/01/break-the-system-to-remake-the-system/comment-page-1/#comment-425 jefflail Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:07:36 +0000 http://jefflail.com/?p=797#comment-425 Kevin, I just cringed a little bit when reading your comments about student organization paperwork. I think the current answer is programs like Orgsync to streamline this process a little bit, but I'll admit that I'm not completely sure why these processes exist to begin with. It's obviously about control, but I think it's delusional to think we can control it.<br><br>Good question about the rest of the institution. I think the correct answer is "sometimes" or "depends on who's asking". I think you know what I mean. Kevin, I just cringed a little bit when reading your comments about student organization paperwork. I think the current answer is programs like Orgsync to streamline this process a little bit, but I'll admit that I'm not completely sure why these processes exist to begin with. It's obviously about control, but I think it's delusional to think we can control it.

Good question about the rest of the institution. I think the correct answer is “sometimes” or “depends on who's asking”. I think you know what I mean.

]]> By: tomkrieglstein http://thesabloggers.org/2010/01/break-the-system-to-remake-the-system/comment-page-1/#comment-423 tomkrieglstein Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:01:09 +0000 http://jefflail.com/?p=797#comment-423 Shelley,<br><br>To share a personal example - my alma mater spend millions on 3 new buildings that the president really wanted, but in doing so they had to cut all the student services due to lack of funding. Shelley,

To share a personal example – my alma mater spend millions on 3 new buildings that the president really wanted, but in doing so they had to cut all the student services due to lack of funding.

]]> By: kevinprentiss http://thesabloggers.org/2010/01/break-the-system-to-remake-the-system/comment-page-1/#comment-422 kevinprentiss Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:16:25 +0000 http://jefflail.com/?p=797#comment-422 It's hard to start a new paradigm. One specific vector:<br><br>I have conversations all the time about paperwork and bureaucracy around student groups. Where schools are spending extra money to go paperless with the same level of bureaucracy as a way to save staff time. <br><br>What's really hard is moving the institution past the idea of needing all of those hoops - online or paper - in the first place. It's just always been done that way. "We need these seven forms and a charter, well, because . . . something about liability and teaching students to fill out stuff. "<br><br>How much budget pressure will it take before colleges are exhausted and just let go of trying to "officialize" student groups? (To save money? To focus staff on more important things? )<br><br>Multiply the friction of student group change from the old way (the college can and should control it) to the new way (the college should support what the students can do anyway) and you have the basic crux of the technological disruption for higher education.<br><br>This disruption would have been available with or without an economic crisis or demographic shift. Typically some competitive threat (the stick) would push change . The carrot of "more with less" usually doesn't work. Look at newspapers and the american auto industry. <br><br>It's a rare organization that can embrace the challenges. You have the perfect attitude. What about the rest of your institution? It's hard to start a new paradigm. One specific vector:

I have conversations all the time about paperwork and bureaucracy around student groups. Where schools are spending extra money to go paperless with the same level of bureaucracy as a way to save staff time.

What's really hard is moving the institution past the idea of needing all of those hoops – online or paper – in the first place. It's just always been done that way. “We need these seven forms and a charter, well, because . . . something about liability and teaching students to fill out stuff. “

How much budget pressure will it take before colleges are exhausted and just let go of trying to “officialize” student groups? (To save money? To focus staff on more important things? )

Multiply the friction of student group change from the old way (the college can and should control it) to the new way (the college should support what the students can do anyway) and you have the basic crux of the technological disruption for higher education.

This disruption would have been available with or without an economic crisis or demographic shift. Typically some competitive threat (the stick) would push change . The carrot of “more with less” usually doesn't work. Look at newspapers and the american auto industry.

It's a rare organization that can embrace the challenges. You have the perfect attitude. What about the rest of your institution?

]]> By: Shelley Keith http://thesabloggers.org/2010/01/break-the-system-to-remake-the-system/comment-page-1/#comment-421 Shelley Keith Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:32:36 +0000 http://jefflail.com/?p=797#comment-421 I hope your analysis here plays out for you, I really do, but I think the reality for a lot of us will be continued cutting of budgets from overworked/understaffed departments and an administrative choke hold on "mad money" that still gets spent however they see fit. We constantly see random funding of off the wall (read not critical) initiatives/pet projects while our student worker and travel/training budgets have been completely drained. My expectation...it'll get broker (in more ways than one) and the "before it gets better" is nowhere to be seen. I hope your analysis here plays out for you, I really do, but I think the reality for a lot of us will be continued cutting of budgets from overworked/understaffed departments and an administrative choke hold on “mad money” that still gets spent however they see fit. We constantly see random funding of off the wall (read not critical) initiatives/pet projects while our student worker and travel/training budgets have been completely drained. My expectation…it'll get broker (in more ways than one) and the “before it gets better” is nowhere to be seen.

]]>