Category: Blog

What a Comprehensive Academic Advising Website Can Do for Faculty Advisors and Students

On many campuses, professional and faculty advisors work separately and with great disparity in their available resources and training. by Vivek Shastry (Appalachian State University)  Vivek Shastry attended our conference “Improving Advising Effectiveness through Interpersonal and Digital Communications” in January 2019. Immediately upon returning to campus, he was able to apply the new strategies and ideas he learned at the event – a testament both to Vivek’s vision and commitment to improving academic advising, and to how actionable and practical Academic Impressions’s conferences are. (See what conferences are coming up next here.) In this article, Vivek shares the actions he and his colleagues took after the event – and some key takeaways for colleagues at other institutions. Why a Comprehensive Advising Website? Developing a comprehensive academic advising website can help you address the disparity that exists when multiple models of advising exist at an institution. This is important because professional advisors and faculty advisors can have very different needs: Sometimes, also, an institution will have split models in advising, where specific groups of students (such as undecided or undeclared majors) are advised by professional advisors, while students who have declared their major are assigned to academic units or to specific […]

Is Your Academic Program Sustainable? 5 Key Indicators

How do you measure academic program demand? The former CFO at Stanford discusses 5 key indicators that can help you gain confidence and clarity in your academic program decisions. by William F. Massy, Consultant to Higher Education, Former CFO at Stanford Universities can no longer take the sustainability of their academic programs for granted. Pressures on institutional finances and disruption and volatility in the student marketplace makes it necessary to perform systematic sustainability analyses across one’s whole portfolio of programs. Sustainability has both academic and financial dimensions. This places it close to the heart of strategic decision-making. Academic Impressions (AI) has been working on how to help people responsible for resource allocation add program sustainability as an area of focus. AI’s upcoming program on Academic Resourcing Models for Evidence-Based Decision-Making will introduce participants to the indicators, concepts, and best practices associated with program sustainability analysis. These can stimulate and inform needed conversations about sustainability among both academics and administrators. There are several reasons why such conversations help leaders get things done: Colleges and universities must deal with the inherent complexity of intellectual work and the needs and expectations of those who perform it. Academic resourcing requires the integration of disciplinary, financial, and […]

What the Chief of Staff Needs to Do on Day One

by Daniel Fusch

In this series, we’ve talked about how the chief of staff can operate as an effective liaison, what qualities presidents desire in the chief of staff, and where new chiefs of staff could look for resources. Now, in our fifth article, we want to ask: What does the new chief of staff need to do, their first day, first week, first month on the job? In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: Contributors to this series include: We hope you will enjoy the series and share each article with your peers. If you find these articles useful, please consider attending and learning from these and other experts at these virtual trainings: Today, here is the fifth installment in our series: 5. What Does the New Chief of Staff Need to Know? Academic Impressions. The four of you have served as chiefs of staff. What is one specific piece of critical advice you would offer to a new COS? Chris Romano, Ramapo College. Relationships are everything in this role. An effective chief of staff must spend his/her time among the campus and […]

What the President Looks for in a Chief of Staff

by Karen M. Whitney, EdD

Here is what a president looks for in a new chief of staff – the three qualities that matter most. In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: How do you make yourself available as a liaison to faculty without appearing as a gatekeeper for the president? What words of wisdom would you want to offer to a chief of staff who has been in the role for a while? We know the chief of staff position can feel isolating at times. Thinking back, what were some of the most helpful resources to you in getting up to speed? When considering hiring a chief of staff, what are some absolutely crucial competencies or traits that presidents look for in a candidate? What does a new chief of staff most need to know, and which relationships do you need to build from the first day of your job as chief of staff? What are key skills that chiefs of staff need to build in order to best handle crises on campus? What are one to two key steps chiefs of […]

Finding Your Feet as Chief of Staff

by Daniel Fusch

The chief of staff can be a lonely role. Here is what experienced chiefs of staff have to say about how to find your feet in the role and identify key resources you’ll need. In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: Contributors to this series include: We hope you will enjoy the series and share each article with your peers. If you find these articles useful, please consider attending and learning from these and other experts at these virtual trainings: For today, here is our third installment in this series: 3. Finding Your Feet as a New (or Relatively New) Chief of Staff Academic Impressions. We know the chief of staff position can feel isolating at times—there is usually only one chief of staff on campus, so you don’t have peers in the role on campus to compare notes with. And not a lot of training and professional development opportunities exist for chiefs of staff. There isn’t a handbook on how to be an effective chief of staff. You have each been in the position. Thinking back, what […]

What Every Experienced Chief of Staff Needs to Hear

by Daniel Fusch

Here are words of wisdom from experienced chiefs of staff to their peers – critical advice for managing the role once you’ve been in it a while. In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: Contributors to this series include: We hope you will enjoy the series and share each article with your peers. If you find these articles useful, please consider attending and learning from these and other experts at these virtual trainings: For today, here is our second installment in this series: 2. Advice for the Experienced Chief of Staff Academic Impressions. What words of wisdom would you want to offer to a Chief of Staff who has been in the role for a while? Josh Jacobs, Marietta College. We can get accustomed to just tackling the next problem that presents itself. Take time to evaluate your last year to see if you leveraged your time purposefully, in a way that added value in the most critical areas for your campus. Put another way, did you let someone else’s “urgent” prevent you from making progress on the most […]

Critical Advice for College and University Chiefs of Staff

by Daniel Fusch

The role of college or university chief of staff looks very different at each institution and requires a unique skill set for continued success. Here is critical advice from current and past chiefs of staff and (one university president). Welcome to this new series of articles, where experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: Contributors to this series include: We hope you will enjoy the series and share each article with your peers. If you find these articles useful, please consider attending and learning from these and other experts at these virtual trainings: Now, let’s start! Here is our first installment in this series: 1. Liaison vs Gatekeeper: Finding Balance as a Chief of Staff Academic Impressions. You’re charged with being the president’s voice and implementing their initiatives, yet you are also the liaison with faculty. The faculty will come to you with disagreements and objections. How do you make yourself available without appearing as a gatekeeper for the president? Josh Jacobs, Marietta College. Whether you intend to be are or not, it is likely that you will be perceived as a gatekeeper. One strategy […]

Why Are Our Academic Advisors Disengaged or Burned Out? And What Can We Do About It?

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.

Without ongoing support and development, advisors may become disengaged. Here is how you can evaluate, energize, and engage experienced academic advisors. There are many resources devoted to the training and development of new advisors. However, once advisors are “up and running,” it is easy to leave them on their own and assume that they are being effective in their role. Without ongoing attention, support, training, and development, advisors may become complacent and disengaged. Regardless of time on the job, these advisors may not be as effective as they could be and may jeopardize the overall success of the advising department. If you are an academic advising administrator, it is important to review the causes of this problem, conduct ongoing evaluation, and actively seek to re-engage your experienced advisors. In this article, I will share: 3 Reasons Why Academic Advisors May Be Un-energized and Disengaged 1. Lack of initial training and ongoing professional developmentAdvisors, like everyone else, don’t know what they don’t know. If they’ve never been exposed to formal training about policies, procedures, resources, and best practices in advising, they may not realize they are lacking skills and knowledge. When onboarding advisors, make sure to include content and activities that will […]

12 Keys to Making Alumni Interviews in College Admissions Effective

An effective alumni interviews in admissions program can be a win-win-win for alumni, admissions, and college applicants, but it takes some real work to set up a program and continue improving it. Here are the key items you need to know and address from the start. by Kathy Edersheim (President, Impactrics LLC)  For many colleges and universities, especially the “elite” ones, alumni interviewing of applicants has a long history that is somewhat fraught with the question of purpose, reliability, and feasibility. Some schools have abandoned the system in favor of on-campus or admissions department interviews, while others strive to reach 100% of applicants interviewed. There are four primary reasons for alumni interviews: Promote the SchoolIn today’s competitive education market, high school seniors apply to 10 or more colleges. How will you make your school stand out? How will you convince the applicant of your institution’s suitability for them? The interview provides an opportunity for the alum to represent the school and convince the applicant of its excellence. In fact, the alumni interview is a great message in and of itself – it shows dedication and support for the school. A good interviewer will both answer the applicant’s questions and showcase the […]

Why (And How) We Need to Improve Faculty Mentoring in Higher Education

by David Kiel

Formally defined, structured faculty mentoring is more critical now than ever – and not only for early career faculty but for faculty throughout their career. Expert David Kiel explains why this is the case and how we can improve faculty mentoring programs. Often faculty members do not learn core skills in their graduate programs. While they may learn how to be good researchers, they often come to campus unequipped for the classroom and have even less experience in community service.  In addition, without thoughtful guidance they may lack the ability to navigate promotion processes. As their careers progress, they may be asked to take on additional tasks for which they also have no preparation. Consequently, it is critical to improve mentoring and faculty development programs at all levels of institutions of higher education. This article summarizes the reasons why this movement has become so widespread and provides directions for academic leaders who want to improve their efforts at retaining and developing their faculty, arguably their most important asset. I will identify five reasons why well-defined faculty mentoring programs are becoming a “must have” feature of campus life. I also offer ten specific precepts that lay out the direction for positive […]

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