Category: Blog

Representing Your Institution Overseas – Like an International Travel Rockstar

Academic Impressions recently released the new International Travel Handbook: Engaging Constituents Abroad by leading global alumni relations consultant Gretchen Dobson of Gretchen Dobson, LLC. Dobson is based in Chengdu, China and has been recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the leading “Innovators in Internationalization” for her work at Tufts University. To introduce you to her new handbook for higher-ed professionals traveling abroad — and to learn more about the impact she hopes this resource will have — we reached out to Gretchen Dobson for this interview. AI. Gretchen, why is this book so needed? What drove you to write it? Gretchen Dobson. Traveling domestically for work requires advance planning in research, logistics and coordination with both those with whom you travel and with whom you meet at your destination. Traveling internationally requires all of the above and more: more resources and an understanding about working within and across different cultures and with various constituencies (including prospective international students or the VIP alum who once attended your university) that require a different approach. I’ve been a road-warrior in international higher education for over twelve years and have shared my stories with the person sitting next to me in the […]

Practical Advice for Dealing with Difficult Faculty Colleagues

by Barbara A. Lee

Most college faculty behave in a professional manner, take their responsibilities seriously, work hard at their jobs, and value their relationships with colleagues.  In fact, a recent survey found that college professors are the fifth most satisfied group of employees in the U.S, following pediatricians, singers, aircraft assemblers, and professional fire fighters.  The flexibility and ability to control one’s time and tasks makes the career very rewarding. Unfortunately, a few faculty members don’t fit this profile.  They may treat colleagues, staff or students with rudeness or harassment, may shirk their teaching, research or service obligations, and may make life generally difficult for their department chairs, deans, and departmental colleagues.  If such a “difficult colleague” has tenure, many academics shrug and say there is nothing to be done.  That could not be farther from the truth! Tenure is designed to protect academic freedom, not bad behavior. Academic freedom clearly gives faculty members the right to conduct research and teach as they choose, within the bounds of professionalism and institutional requirements for curricular content.  But academic freedom also brings responsibilities—to behave with respect toward colleagues and students, to refrain from harassment or discrimination, and to use care in speaking out as a […]

Title IX and Mandatory Reporting: 3 Reasons Why Your Faculty MUST be Trained

by Rabia Khan Harvey (Loyola University Chicago) and Lisa LaPoint (Academic Impressions) Faculty often serve as confidants for students who are victims of sexual misconduct. However, many do not understand their role to notify the designated Title IX coordinator and the appropriate procedures to follow under the Office of Civil Rights’ (OCR) guidelines. Also, there has been confusion over who on campus is designated a “responsible employee” according to those guidelines, and over how to train these employees to follow their duty to comply with the law. To help your institution support faculty with their role in Title IX, we interviewed an expert on mandatory reporting: Rabia Khan Harvey, assistant dean of students and Title IX deputy coordinator at Loyola University Chicago. Rabia has worked closely with Title IX experts to establish new model Title IX reporting protocols and internal investigation procedures at Loyola. Interview with Rabia Khan Harvey Lisa LaPoint: Rabia, thank you for this conversation. What are some reasons why colleges and universities must train their faculty about their responsibility to report incidents of sexual misconduct? Rabia Khan Harvey: There are three reasons that are especially important: ROLE AS FIRST RESPONDER Research shows that how a faculty member […]

10 Critical Lessons I’ve Learned About Implementing a Strategic Plan

I have been involved with over one hundred planning efforts on a variety of campuses (including DePaul University, Central Community College, Tarleton State University, Stephen F. Austin State University, The University of the West Indies, Saint Joseph’s University, The University of California, Santa Cruz, Cornell University, Anoka Ramsey Community College). I have had my share of successes and failures with implementation efforts. Both the failures and the successes leave important clues. The success rate for the implementation of strategic plans is dismal, with the percentage of failed implementations ranging anywhere from 63% to 90%. In fact, Robert Kaplan of the Balanced Scorecard fame (1996, 2000, 2008) estimates that 90% of strategies fail due to poor execution. Actually creating strategies and inspiring strategic plans is not hard work. We have many intelligent, dedicated people throughout our campuses who have powerful hopes and aspirations.  But having beautiful pictures of the future is not enough; we must be able to produce them.  That’s the hard, difficult part of strategic planning. We must become world-class at actually executing our strategic plans. This will not be easy. I want to talk about some practices I’ve learned that work. Here are 10 of the most critical. 1. Always […]

4 Items Often Overlooked in Evacuation Planning for Study Abroad Programs

by Margaret Wiedenhoeft, Lisa LaPoint

Evacuations for study abroad programs are often unpredictable, but can occur during any program at any time due to a variety of reasons. No region or student is immune from natural disasters, political unrest, and unforeseen medical issues. Therefore, institutions must be proactive to manage evacuations and reduce risks to all students, staff, and faculty involved. To help your institution enhance support for students while remaining in compliance with the law, we interviewed an expert on this issue: Margaret Wiedenhoeft, Associate Director of the Center for International Programs at Kalamazoo College. Margaret has worked in the Center for International Programs for over ten years in a variety of positions and currently manages study abroad programs in China, France, India, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Thailand. Interview with Margaret Wiedenhoeft Lisa LaPoint: Margaret, thank you for this conversation. What are potential factors often overlooked when institutions undertake evacuation planning for study abroad? Margaret Wiedenhoeft: There are four that are especially common: 1. CLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES The first is assigning responsibilities ahead of time to different “jobs” in the evacuation process. Evacuation is really a team effort. In order not to overwhelm any one individual, it is important to create roles as part of […]

The Case for Placing Marketing within Enrollment Management

by W. Kent Barnds

Is there a “right” place and reporting structure for admissions marketing? Recently I received a message from a colleague at another institution asking for resources “illustrating the benefits and drawbacks of a dedicated admissions marketing position within a university’s organizational structure.” This colleague, who currently works within a marketing division that reports to advancement and serves a whole host of campus constituents, was seeking advice about how to make a case that the university needs a recruitment marketing position that devotes full-time energy, thought and creativity to recruitment marketing. This question struck a nerve with me.  Given the contemporary challenges faced by recruitment operations nationwide, I have strong feelings about this. In an article I wrote for AACRAO a few years ago, I presented the case for marketing and communications to report to the vice president for enrollment. Today, I think the same case applies and may indeed be even stronger, especially for tuition-driven colleges. I want to make it absolutely clear that there are plenty of institutions where it works very effectively for admissions marketing to be coordinated and directed by a VP for Communications and Marketing or through advancement or sometimes even the president’s office. There are institutions […]

Why You Need to Approach Donors with a Blended Ask

January 2015. More development offices that are shifting to a blended ask model, integrating planned giving into major giving. Alumni with a philanthropic mindset and a propensity to give are concerned about their legacy, and studies show that they are increasingly concerned at a younger age — in their thirties and forties. And making a blended ask helps invite donors immediately into a long-term relationship with the institution, not just a one-time gift. Planned giving has traditionally been an afterthought, but the weather is shifting; our recent survey of 335 chief advancement officers revealed that planned giving is the effort that most advancement vice presidents in higher education expect to yield the most significant long-term impact for their institution, and many are reallocating budgetary resources toward planned giving efforts. This makes understanding a blended ask model especially timely. Meghan Saenz, our assistant conference director who has been looking into this, reached out recently to Marianne Blackwell, executive director of the Office of Estate and Gift Planning at the University of the Pacific, and Richard C. Peck, director of individual giving and gift planning at the Office of Development and Alumni Relations at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Geisel School of Medicine, to learn how they have been […]

Bridging the Gap Between Advancement and Academic Research: The 3 “C” Strategy

by Ed Mason

A SERIES ON INNOVATIONS IN FUNDING ACADEMIC RESEARCH We hope you will join us for this innovative series: The “3C” Strategy for More Effective Fundraising Advancement and research offices can optimize their strategies to compete successfully for external funds by utilizing the “3C” approach. The “3C” approach is: Strategies for Enhanced Communication Over several decades, advancement and research offices have developed distinctly different approaches for fundraising. Advancement’s role is to procure gifts from donors who have very specific interests in funding priorities. Research works with faculty to compete for grants for specific scientific, outreach and training programs. Also, there are distinct “global” perspectives on each office role in working with their constituencies. Planning, facilitation and open discussions are vital to creating enhanced communication between the two offices. This is a new endeavor for many institutions, so take the time — whether it is 3 months or 1 year — to develop good rapport between your offices. To bridge this gap: Effective Collaboration Strategies Improved communication between advancement and research offices creates opportunities to pursue new funding sources. An effective collaborative model is composed of: Coordination Strategies for Advancement and Research The goal of successfully coordinating grants and gifts is to […]

Special Edition: Missed Opportunities for Funding Academic Research

by Ed Mason

Does your advancement office partner with your academic researchers and grant writers to identify sources of private support for academic research? Is this a missed opportunity for your institution? In this member exclusive, review 4 groundbreaking articles on optimizing these partnerships: See Upcoming Advancement Events

Keys to Redesigning Gateway Courses: Faculty Buy-in, Pitfalls to Avoid, and Critical Steps that Deserve More Attention

Gateway courses essential to student degree paths continue to be a barrier for institutional, faculty, and student goals. However, the large number of students enrolled in these courses often leads to lower student completion rates and the decision to redesign the course. While many institutions choose to redesign each course section independently, the most successful redesign teams improve student learning and lower costs by implementing a coordinated and scalable approach. To learn more, we interviewed several key experts in this area: Here are some key strategies they shared with us… What is the most successful strategy you have implemented to gain faculty buy-in for a full course redesign? Danae Hudson: I think it is important to clearly define the challenges you are facing in your course and propose a well thought-out plan on how to address those challenges. Different faculty members have different strengths and finding a way they can meaningfully contribute to the team helps everyone to feel that their role is valued. Prior to undertaking our course redesign, I spoke with all of the faculty members who taught Introductory Psychology and asked them to be part of the team. I told them we would not proceed with the redesign […]