Category: Blog

What if an Alum Generated $200,000 for Your Institution, Without Writing a Check?

by Ron Cohen

Most alumni have far greater value to give their alma mater than the checks they write, or what wealth screenings might find. The value comes via the lives they lead, the talents they’ve acquired, the enthusiasm they maintain for their own undergraduate experiences, and their strong inclination to pass along what they know. Their powerful, personal stories can generate a larger network for an institution — or, as you will see in the scenario below, tuition dollars — in ways other than a direct financial gift from that alum. Advancement staff can and should be harvesting this type of value. The following is a true story. The Michael Scenario “Michael” graduated from a liberal arts college in the Midwest. His college runs a terrific volunteer program in which alumni contact prospective students as part of the recruitment process. Michael signed up pretty much as he was walking across the commencement stage a few years ago. He then moved to the West Coast to start a job – and in his spare time, he began talking to a lot of prospective students interested in his college. The college publishes an annual report that thanks program volunteers and shows how they interacted […]

A Competency-Based Approach to Career Services in Higher Ed

We had the opportunity recently to connect with several innovators in career services whom we met through a recent CAPA conference; one of these was Dr. Audrey Murrell, the associate dean of the College of Business Administration and director of the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Business. Audrey Murrell has developed a unique, competency-based career development curriculum at Pitt Business. We asked her about that program — its key components, what other institutions can learn from it, and how it is responding to critical trends in career services. Here is what she shared with us. How Career Development is Changing Academic Impressions. Audrey, thank you for this conversation. First, can you tell us a little about how you see career services changing today? What are the trends that career services professionals need to be paying the most attention to? Audrey Murrell. Previously, universities have tended to take a very centralized approach to career development, where career services functions as a one-stop shop to meet the broad needs of students on campus. What I’ve seen is the need for more specialization. Some schools of business have a separate but complimentary career services office or […]

Developing a High-Performing and Productive Advising Department, Part 2: Assessing and Meeting Employee Needs

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.

READ THE WHOLE SERIES: Academic advising staff, comprised of both administrative support staff and advisors, may experience a great deal of stress and frustration as they work to manage the expectations of both students and administration. As frontline personnel, they are the first to be confronted when students experience problems and express dissatisfaction, yet they have little authority or control. By including these constituents in decision-making and planning, advising administrators are able to benefit from their diverse perspectives and maximize on the skills that each staff member brings to the department. This is particularly important because when we establish systems and procedures in response to student needs, there is frequently a risk that advising personnel will view these changes in a negative light. Advisors may anticipate that their own needs will be deprioritized as we work to meet the needs of students. For example, an edict such as “Advisors have 24-48 hours to respond to students” may cause additional stress on advisors who are already facing challenges in managing their workload. I recommend examining practices and procedures regularly, observing the impact on advising staff, and soliciting staff feedback proactively, so that you can begin to address employee needs while also […]

The $10,000 Bachelor’s Degree That Works

by Daniel Fusch

A few years ago, National Louis University in Chicago, which has historically served adult working students, has launched the new Harrison Professional Pathways Program, which provides access to bachelor’s degrees for traditional-aged high school graduates from all socioeconomic and academic backgrounds, but aims in particular to increase college access and success for first-generation, often low-income students. Priced at only $10,000 per year, the program is remarkable both in its outcomes and in the intentionality of its design. The curriculum, student support, and the financial model were all designed deliberately to meet the needs of this student demographic. The program was launched in response to a low (14%) four-year college completion rate for Chicago Public high school freshmen. This caught our attention; here in Denver, CO, where Academic Impressions is based, the four-year college graduation rate for Denver Public Schools graduates is just 9%. These low percentages are red flags, and when colleges can innovate to answer this societal need, that is a clear win. It takes courage on the part of the institution’s leadership to create the space needed for that innovation and to dedicate institutional resources toward it, and it takes intentionality to do so in a way that […]

Developing a High-Performing and Productive Advising Department, Part 1: Assessing and Meeting Student Needs

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.

READ THE WHOLE SERIES: Ask academic advising professionals what they perceive to be the primary role of academic advising, and you’ll most likely hear responses such as “to help students,” “to serve students,” or “to facilitate student growth and development.” All are appropriate responses which get to the most basic reason that advising departments exist; however, these objectives often remain ambiguous and ill-defined. What does “help” or “serve” look like? How is it achieved? Advising administrators need to assess the specific needs of the students whom they serve and implement a specific plan for meeting those needs. Here are three strategies for assessing student needs and three strategies for meeting student needs. 3 Strategies for Assessing Student Needs 1. Student Feedback: Formal Assessment Formal instruments, such as student satisfaction surveys, can be used to solicit feedback from students regarding their advising experience. When selecting or developing such an instrument, it is important to consider what it is that you most wish to learn. For example, surveys of this type are often designed to collect feedback on the advisor’s behaviors and characteristics. However, it is equally important to examine processes and student expectations in order to obtain a big picture view […]

3 Ways to Address the Cost/Quality Challenge Facing Higher Ed: Lessons from the Healthcare Sector

by James E. “Cid” Seidelman, Ph.D.

Series: Costs Down, Quality Up Historically, initiatives to improve quality have also meant added cost—smaller class sizes, more faculty who conduct research, etc.—but this is no longer a sustainable model for all institutions. What are the innovations that can actually drive the cost to educate a student lower while driving critical outcomes like student success and completion higher? This series offers provocative questions that challenge the cost-quality paradigm and the old ways of managing institutional strategy and growth. Also in this series: 3 Ways to Address the Cost/Quality Challenge Facing Higher Ed: Lessons from the Healthcare Sector In a previous article in this series, I noted that many colleges and universities are trapped in the thinking that quality can only be increased if costs are increased. This is a paradigm we have to challenge if we are to find a sustainable business model for our colleges and universities. At the end of that article, I issued this call to action: “Let’s empower our colleges and universities to learn from the success of other organizations and other industries.” Healthcare, for example, has a number of success stories where unnecessary procedures have been eliminated, clinical outcomes have improved, patient engagement has increased, and costs have been […]

Why Fundraisers Need to Be Excellent Beat Reporters

by Jim M. Langley

Series: Creating the Conditions for Support Everyone is trying to raise more money. Rather than simply suggest the next tactic that can boost giving in the short-term, this series offers a more intensive look at the strategic thinking that drives philanthropic support: Why do donors give? How do institutions strengthen their core and emphasize initiatives worthy of support? How do we align strategic plans, strengths, and advancement strategy to create the conditions for ongoing and sustained support? In this series, distinguished current and past chief advancement officers apply their most innovative and creative thinking to this question. Previously in this series:Why Donors Give: It’s Not What You ThinkMore than Dollars: How Many Opportunities are You Missing with Your Alumni?Engaging Women in Philanthropy: Practical Ways to Shift Our ApproachChecklist: Questions the Governing Board Must Ask Before Launching a Fundraising Campaign If you were running a college or university and had the resources to hire only one person in advancement, what skills would you look for and why? I’d look for someone with the skills of an outstanding “beat reporter,” – a naturally curious person with a nose for good human interest stories. I would ask him or her to circulate throughout […]

Chief Advancement Officers: What Do You Wish You’d Known When You Started?

by Erin Swietlik

Turnover is an issue across almost every advancement shop — and movement at the leadership level is no exception. Besides movement between institutions, every year many fundraising professionals enter their first year as vice president of advancement or chief advancement officer. As we start off a new fiscal year and prepare for the start of a new academic year, we asked the speakers at our conference, Essential Leadership Skills for VPs of Advancement, for one piece of advice for new advancement leaders. “What do you wish you had known when you first took the chief advancement officer position?” we asked. Here’s what they had to say: KELLY GAGAN, Nazareth College“When I realized that the true power of the position came from asking the right questions of your staff as well as your campus colleagues, it was a seminal moment. While the team obviously looks for visionary leadership, they are much more invested if you have asked the questions that allow them to share the vision with you when you explore answers together. The ability to ask open-ended questions is one that needs to be practiced but once perfected can yield pivotal results. The key to coaching is to stay curious […]

Donor Conversations: What’s Often Missing (and Needn’t Be)

by Kathy Drucquer Duff, CFRE

“We are responsible for building meaningful relationships and for moving those relationships towards transformative, impactful, or participatory philanthropy. Simply visiting with someone is not enough.” Here’s what we need to be doing. AN AUTHENTIC APPROACH TO DONOR CONVERSATIONSThe following article is an excerpt from Kathy Drucquer Duff’s popular new book Productive Conversations with Donors: A Handbook for Frontline Fundraisers. Watch a video interview with the author at the end of this article. You can also learn more from Kathy Drucquer Duff at our upcoming conference Frontline Fundraising: Essentials of Gift Solicitation. As fundraisers, we have many responsibilities that, when allowed, will get in the way of our primary function: building authentic relationships with an aim of enhancing philanthropic support for our organization. When staff members walk into my office and share that they are experiencing a lack of enthusiasm for our work, are burned out, or are getting caught up in the smaller details of their jobs, I always ask the same question: “When was the last time you were on a donor visit?” The answer usually lists all of the other things that they have on their desks. And yet, I know that when we are inspired by our philanthropic […]

11 Things You Can Do Right Now to Set Your Phonathon Up for Success

by Jessica Neno Cloud, CFRE

MORE RESOURCES FROM THIS AUTHOR Jessica Cloud, CFRE, is the author of Successful Fundraising Calls: A Phonathon Scripting Workshop, in which she critiques and revises 6 real phonathon scripts submitted by institutions across North America. In this book, you will learn the pillars of writing effective scripts; review sample LYBUNT, SYBUNT, young alumni, and future donor scripts; explore Cloud’s in-depth critique of the samples; and view revisions of the sample scripts. You can also read more of Cloud’s advice for phonathon managers in these complimentary articles: A Quick Assessment for Your Phonathon ScriptsHow Data Mining Can Increase Direct Mail AcquisitionHow Data Mining Can Increase Phonathon AcquisitionScripting for Acquisition Calls Here are 11 things you can do right now to set your phonathon up for success this fiscal year: 1. Cultivate your relationship with Advancement Services. The database folks are crucial allies for any fundraising professionals, but as a phonathon manager you are even more dependent than most other fundraisers upon the cooperation of this group for your success. Good data gives you a head start in phonathon. Bad data can hold you back all year. I recommend reaching out to gift processing and other advancement services staff now. Start by asking them […]