Category: Blog

Dear Small College President

by Amit Mrig

Moody’s just released a report predicting that the rate of small college closings will triple by 2017. This has caused some consternation and backlash from small college presidents. I don’t plan to contest or affirm Moody’s prediction; I think what’s more critical to be aware of is that for you and other presidents of small colleges, there is not only a threat but a window of opportunity. Significant and sustained change is needed, but the change you need is within your own control. I have spoken with a number of small college boards and with many of your peers in the president’s seat. And there are five key messages that I want to share. 1. You have to differentiate.  Small, student-focused, and a beautiful campus are not differentiators. How will you compete for students in an oversaturated market? When I ask administrators and board members at small colleges what sets their college apart, they point to their tight-knit community, their close faculty/student relationships, their beautiful campus, or their culture focused on student learning. Hundreds of small liberal arts colleges also have these characteristics. These aren’t truly distinctive—they aren’t competitive advantages. You need to be talking about: 2. You don’t have […]

How to Start a Foundation Stewardship Program from Scratch

by Steven G. de Polo

What does effective private foundation stewardship look like? Grand Valley State has a tightly-knit community – and here’s how they got there. Based on their experience, read 5 steps to get started, 5 steps to get your house in order, 4 ways to learn about the community, and 4 ways to make it personal. Attending Academic Impressions’ “Corporate Stewardship: Demonstrating ROI” webcast recently, I was provoked to think more deeply about what private foundation stewardship would look like. This question has been critical to my work at Grand Valley State. After eight years, I’ve built a significant network, but that didn’t happen immediately; this is a tightly-knit community, and coming in from outside and forming that network took concentrated work. Here is what I’ve learned along the way. From Scratch to Steward: 5 Steps to Get Started Here is how you get started in foundation giving: 5 Steps to Get Your House in Order 4 Ways to Learn About the Community 4 Ways to Make it Personal Above all, listen. If you ever have the chance to hear what family foundations have to say about their work, try to go. While at Grand Valley, I have attended a couple family […]

Fundraising Planning: Taking a Longer-Term Approach

by Carolyn J. Whitehead

Experienced chief development officers know that budgeting and staff planning must take into consideration agreed-upon fundraising priorities and goals. We also know that fundraising plays a role in achieving the campus leader’s overall strategic vision. Since most campaigns or projects require more than one year to complete, budgeting and planning beyond a year at a time makes sense. Why don’t we actually do this? So, if we believe this works best, then why don’t we do it? Or, if we try, what gets in the way of following through on a longer-term approach? Has any of the following ever happened to you? You secured input from your team of fundraisers and written approval from the campus leader on your five-year plan and then: Given these common pitfalls, can we really commit to longer-term planning? I believe we can. But I have found that doing so requires communication, execution, focus and flexibility. Communication and relationship-building are the keys to the success of any development operation. We know this to be true when relating to our donors and other external constituents. Do we value it and demonstrate it internally within our organizations, especially during our planning process and execution? Ask yourself the following questions: […]

Infographic: Reaching 4 Generations of Alumni

by Luanne M. Lawrence, Senior Consultant, LML Marketing & Communications It is a complex task to reach alumni today: they fall into four generational categories, each with its own expectations around communication. Alumni staff are working hard – but often using the techniques that resonate most with Traditionals: print magazines; reunions; e-newsletters; direct mail. The ways to reach and engage alumni differ by their life experiences. Here are examples of how alumni offices need to rethink how they approach and engage four different generations of alumni: (Click to see fullsize version.) Alumni budgets are tight, and staffing is never ample, but reconstituting programming and rebuilding skills sets of staff to differentiate communications and engagement pays off. Most alumni want to engage and share their talent and knowledge. Now more than ever, alumni can actually help alumni staff extend their skills and can assist in maintaining social media, programming and other tools. Think of your community as your extended staff. Let them lead you sometimes; they carry the authentic voice and strengths of their generations.   See Upcoming Advancement Events

Donor Relations: What You “Should” Do and What You “Must” Do

by Lynne Wester

In donor relations, it’s easy to split ourselves too many ways, pursuing too many initiatives at once. Often, we begin our work brainstorming about what we must do in order to build your program? To prioritize your efforts wisely, refer to the Four Pillars of Donor Relations (covered in full in my book): In this updated version of the Four Pillars, start your journey to successful donor relations by tackling the acknowledgement. They are non-negotiables. Acknowledgement You must provide proper acknowledgement and receipting of the donor’s gift. This includes: Receipt first, acknowledgement second. The receipt is for the transaction; the acknowledgment builds the relationship and expresses gratitude. Stewardship Donors have three needs in exchange for their gifts: A proper receipt and acknowledgment are the building blocks of transparency and gratitude. But next the donor needs more transparency around their impact. Regardless of the amount of the gift or the designation of where it went, you must report to the donor how it was spent and the impact of that gift on your institution. Again, this is not negotiable. It is no longer good enough to say “we used it and it went to the area of greatest need.” Donors can see through […]

“George”: How RIT is Encouraging Interdisciplinary Collaboration

by Lisa Cook, Daniel Fusch

Institutions seeking to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching are pursuing an array of approaches: hiring faculty into multiple departments based on shared interdisciplinary interests, launching research initiatives that provide additional funding to get interdisciplinary projects off the ground, and providing shared research spaces. One of the challenges that often remains is that faculty often work in a relatively isolated manner, with little awareness of research, faculty work, or even faculty interest outside their own department. “At first, we thought the problem was related to idea sharing. We learned that the problem existed earlier in the collaboration lifecycle − people didn’t really know what other people did across campus.”Deborah Gears, RIT The Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY has struck on a creative and unusual approach to bridging this knowledge and communication gap. RIT’s new project, dubbed “George™,” uses Scholar Trading Cards™ and a searchable faculty database to enhance networking among faculty. It is a deceptively simple idea. Intrigued, we talked with Deborah Gears, RIT associate professor, College of Computing and Information Sciences, to learn more about: George™: Be Inquisitive, Be Inspired RIT’s project begins with Scholar Trading Cards™: physical cards that feature RIT faculty and that can be shared […]

Advising: 3 Ways to Take the Conversation Beyond Registration

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. After an academic year begins, advisors can start to breathe a little easier once most of the fires have been put out, questions have been answered, schedule adjustments have been made, and students are mostly settled into their classes. The anxiety that accompanies long, fast-paced days may begin to dissipate. During this time, advisors are left scratching their heads, asking themselves, “Why can’t these students register themselves?”; “Why does this student continue to check with me even though I already gave her the information?”; and, even, on the worst days, “What is wrong with these students?” As things calm down during this period, I encourage advisors to reflect on the nature of student needs, and reconsider the dynamics involved in the student experience and the role of the academic advisor. As an advisor, there are several factors you can address to reduce a student’s continued reliance on you. These are: 1. Readiness Developmental advising involves taking a holistic approach to advising and forming partnerships with students. Students will most likely not expect to engage in a developmental advising relationship, as they […]

From Student Affairs Professional to Student Affairs Scholar: Taking Charge of the Change You Want to See

by Vicki L. Wise, Lisa S. Hatfield

FOR THE STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONAL:THE CHANGE YOU NEED TO SEE AT YOUR INSTITUTIONS We’re excited to share this article with you because at Academic Impressions, we believe that the change you need to see at your institution is often within your own control, and that your professional development is key to building the skills and identifying the opportunities to lead change at your institution and in your field. In this article by the authors of the book A guide to becoming a scholarly practitioner in student affairs, learn how positioning yourself as a scholar in student affairs can be critical to this process. If you could give voice to those who were marginalized, if you could change the field of student affairs through your voice, if you could create better collaborations across campus with our academic colleagues, and if you could share your insights with parents, students, and other invested stakeholders so that they know what we contribute to student learning and development, then why would you not? Student affairs practitioners need to engage in scholarship to give voice and to inform others about their impact on student lives. Scholarship addresses the concerns of stakeholders, and it is essential for professional […]

Financing and Planning Student Life Facilities

by Patrick Cain, Daniel Fusch

READ THE FULL SERIES This summer, we released an executive summary of the findings from a survey of institutions looking to add new student life facilities in the next year. You can read our executive summary here. Now, we are following up with lead architects and consultants who work with student life facilities in higher education. In this series of interviews, we are asking these lead experts to comment on the survey findings, trends they are noticing with student life facilities, and practical strategies they would recommend for colleges and universities that are seeking to take a more integrated approach to student life on their campuses. In this first interview, we have spoken with Eric Moss, director of the Student Life Studio at Ayers Saint Gross, and Julie Skolnicki on how institutions can adopt forward-thinking approaches to financing and planning student life facilities. 1. What especially struck you about the survey findings? JULIE SKOLNICKI, EdR.The Academic Impressions survey reinforces what we are seeing across the country: More thoughtful and integrated planning of student life facilities, but some ongoing challenges specifically related to funding hurdles. University planning for student life facilities has evolved significantly in the past 15 years: This evolution has led […]

Best Practices in Student Housing Design

READ THE FULL SERIES 1. Executive Summary: The Changing Shape of Student Life Facilities 2. Financing and Planning Student Life Facilities 3. Best Practices in Student Housing Design (this article) by Patrick Cain and Daniel Fusch (Academic Impressions) This summer, we released an executive summary of the findings from a survey of institutions looking to add new student life facilities in the next year. You can read our executive summary here. The survey confirmed that colleges are pushing harder for integration across student life facilities — residential, unions, and recreational facilities. And when asked how important it was to unify the design and placement of student life facilities, 51% believed there should be intentionality in this, and 31% said there must be intentional unity. Only 6% felt it didn’t matter. Now, we are following up with lead architects and consultants who work with student life facilities in higher education. For this article, we reached out to Treanor Architects because they have an extensive student life portfolio encompassing residence halls, dining halls and student unions. For over thirty years, they have served over 80 campuses and completed nearly 200 student life projects. We are excited about the experience and knowledge they bring both to this interview. In this […]