Canada's most trusted higher ed monitor, Ken Steele, counts down the ten biggest trends impacting North American higher education in 2015, from equity and politics to new technologies and new business models.

10) Gender Equity:

From pay equity settlements and campaigns to encourage female enrolment in Engineering, to sexism in social media, and in nominations for the Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, gender can't be ignored when we look back at 2015.

9) Open Textbooks:

Electronic textbooks are being explored, but last year we saw real momentum building for open texts – free, online, peer-reviewed textbooks.

8) Contingent Faculty:

Last year the “new faculty majority,” untenured part-time sessional instructors, joined fast-food workers on the picket line in the US to fight for a $15 minimum wage.

7) Drones:

Consumer drones hit the mainstream last year, about 4.3 million of them worldwide. They’re being used to patrol college entrance exams in China, and have entered the curriculum for programs in journalism, video, agriculture and firefighting, among others. But drones really took over last year in PSE marketing departments, with everybody featuring aerial footage in their videos.

6) Academic Journals:

5 multinational publishing companies control as much as 70% of scholarly publishing. Last year we saw editors and editorial boards quit in protest over pay-to-play peer review, extortionate subscription rates, and extensive peer review fraud.

5) Double-Dipping:

Last year there was also a groundswell of protest against generous executive pensions and administrative leave, at Western, UBC, and elsewhere.

Next time, the 4 biggest trends!