Hi everyone, if you have not already done so, PLEASE take a few minutes to complete the 2025 ITC National Survey—we have greatly reduced the number of questions—and will instead conduct several (smaller length) surveys throughout the year. The data generated will help you to compare your program to national trends and practices.  PLEASE participate!!

How can it already be early December??  The terms seem to fly by. Our roles are complicated and demanding. It can be very challenging to keep track of time, and I’ve often found I thought I had more time for a project—and didn’t. 

Time management is a theme of these musings. There is formal training available, and if your campus has a PD coordinator, you can likely arrange for campus-wide training on this topic. If you can add stress management as well as “me-time” training, you will have the trifecta necessary to make your job easier to deal with.

However, I know many of you feel like you are really out there alone—with no PD support and often little compassion and understanding about your workload. The reality is that our institutions have dealt with a lot of challenges and setbacks—the Great Recession, budget cuts and the Pandemic have in many instances devastated staffing. For the rest of us, it has meant an ever-increasing workload, especially as an administrator.  It takes its toll and burnout is inevitable. 

If you have a mentor, I encourage you to maximize that relationship. A mentor is often a good listener—and it can help just to vent on occasion.  A mentor can also provide meaningful advice and guidance. They know you and can provide informed opinions. If you don’t have a mentor, you should try to kindle that relationship with someone on campus that you have a relationship with OR someone from a previous position. The work element helps. Higher education is a very different animal—you need someone that is rooted there to provide relevant guidance. 

I also encourage you to consider any kind of stress reducing activity. Some can even be done while sitting at your desk/in your office. And regularly review your work/life balance. Find ways to help deflect and reduce the stress you deal with.

It’s A Good Time To Be An English Instructor (AI)  (Viewpoint), Inside Higher Ed

Actually, I think our jobs just got a whole lot easier, because our purpose is sharper than ever. Where others see AI as the end of our profession, I see a clarifying opportunity to recommit to who we are.

AI Giants Forge Major Alliance With Multibillion-Dollar Investment And Massive Azure Compute Deal, Campus Technology

Microsoft, Nvidia and Anthropic have formed a partnership that blends new investments with a large multiyear cloud commitment, tightening ties among three major players in artificial intelligence. The agreement expands the model choices available to enterprise customers while deepening the integration of Anthropic's Claude models across Microsoft's ecosystem.

AI Literacy In Higher Education:  Preparing Students For Human And Machine Collaboration, eCampus News

AI literacy goes beyond coding or data science--it means understanding how artificial intelligence functions, how it can be guided, and how it should be questioned

Are Young College Students Losing An Edge In The Job Market?, Higher Ed Dive

College graduates ages 22 to 27 are now spending more time looking for a job than those with only a high school diploma, according to a new analysis.

AI And The Future Of Learning:  Six Levers Transforming Higher Education, The Evolllution

The increasing complexity of knowledge, the accelerating convergence of disciplines and the use of AI to create efficiencies and accelerate tasks in the workplace demand reshaping what it means to learn, teach and discover. The changing nature of the workplace and the workforce also means that a significant number of degree programs aimed at entry-level jobs are either already obsolete or will be obsolete in an AI-enabled workplace.

Workforce Pell:  Here Are Five Big Challenges For Implementation, University Business Magazine

Strict accountability requirements, mixed with intensive data reporting required for implementation, tempered expectations for when most short-term workforce programs will be ready for the new stream of federal funding.

Video Of The Week: New Luggage Carry-On Rules For 2026, YouTube

We all travel – you need to know this!!