In this essay, John F. Ebersole describes how, during his tours of the higher education conference circuit throughout the spring of 2013, as both a participant and observer, he came away with a good sense of the issues occupying the attention of American higher education during this period. Ebersole shares ten of the most common themes and…

Three concerns were the focusing points for the conference: (1) the impact the continuing change in the student population has on the faculty; (2) the implications for higher education and society in general with respect to increasing demands for the credentialing of professional competency; and (3) the ways in which higher education can respond…