Category: Blog

Panel: How Peer Mentoring Can Assist Students in Niche Programs or at Niche Institutions

At Academic Impressions, we have offered a number of articles and other resources on peer mentoring, and our readers and participants at our events have asked, “Is peer mentoring effective in a niche academic program — such as nursing or aviation — or at a niche institution?” We forwarded this question to a panel of experts on peer mentor programs. This article provides their answers. Included on the panel: Should Niche Programs/Institutions Consider Peer Mentoring? Margie Bader: Students coming into niche institutions or programs have no prior experience to draw on to help them cope with this very new material and practicum. Niche programs are rich in specialized content, which makes them stressful and overwhelming to some students. Mentors can help simplify the process, give tips on how to handle the material, the evaluation process and the needs of the professors. Mentors can also help to give a big picture view of where the students are headed as well as details of how to manage the program in the upcoming semesters. Niche programs also often have a practical component or an internship. Mentors who have successfully completed this part of the program can give valuable tips on how to find […]

Special Edition: Developing and Evaluating Adjunct Faculty

Recently, Academic Impressions conducted an informal poll asking academics how their institutions develop and evaluate adjunct faculty. When we asked academics about methods for supporting and developing contingent faculty, we learned: And when asked about evaluation methods, we learned: Yet experts in the field suggest that effectively measuring the teaching competencies of adjunct faculty requires going beyond the traditional norms for faculty evaluation. You need a balance of structured and informal assessment processes. If your evaluation strategy is to lead to improved teaching practices, it needs to entail more than student evaluations and class observations—though these can certainly offer value as part of a more comprehensive evaluation plan. Developing Adjunct Faculty A 2010 US Department of Education study found that adjunct instructors teach 60% of the college courses in the US. They represent a critical first line of instruction for many students, yet often receive minimal faculty development and minimal institutional support for serving students. Yet Jennifer Strickland, the interim director for Mesa Community College’s Center for Teaching and Learning, suggests that faculty development for adjuncts should be a priority because it amounts to a concentrated investment in student success. In November 2012, we interviewed Strickland on the support that […]

Selecting the Right LMS: 2 Critical Decisions

A recent Academic Impressions survey found that one third of academics are unhappy with their current learning management system (LMS), and over a third are unhappy with their institution’s process for selecting an LMS. In September, we asked Thomas Cavanagh to respond to the findings; he offered two brief checklists (which you can review here) for selecting the right LMS. In a recent online training, Cavanagh expanded on these checklists and walked through the crucial steps in selecting the right LMS for your institution. As the University of Central Florida’s associate vice president of distributed learning, Cavanagh and his team recently underwent a rigorous LMS review and selection process, including external consultations, vendor demos, comparative feature checklists, pricing, etc. Here is a little of what he had to say about weighing the merits of two key decisions early in the process. Decision 1: Commercial vs. Open Source Here is Cavanagh’s quick list of pros and cons for both options. OPEN SOURCE When considering the open source route, here are the advantages: Here are the disadvantages: COMMERCIAL The advantages: The disadvantages: Decision 2: Self-Hosted vs. Vendor-Hosted Each option entails several critical considerations, and you will want to give thought to these […]

A Roadmap for Successful Academic Coaching

In a new training with Academic Impressions, Jennifer Bloom, director of the University of South Carolina’s Higher Education & Student Affairs (HESA) master’s degree program and co-author of The Appreciative Advising Revolution (2008) and Increasing Persistence: Research-based Strategies for College Student Success (2012), offers an overview of how she has applied an appreciative inquiry model to academic advising and success coaching for college students, and then provides in-depth examples and suggestions for putting it into practice. We wanted to share her overview with our subscribers. What follows is a written version of it. The Philosophy Behind Appreciative Inquiry – in 2 Quotes Early in the training, Bloom offers two quotes as context for her approach. “Others believe that there are many ways to succeed. They believe it is not better to be Picasso than to be Rembrandt, to be Mozart rather than Beethoven… We each have something unique to offer. To develop it, to offer it clearly, fully, and powerfully—is to succeed. Beethoven did not fail to become another Mozart; he succeeded at becoming Beethoven. Seen this way, success comes from developing your uniqueness. It is rare but not scarce. Every one, potentially, can succeed.” Doug Lipman. The Storytelling Coach. […]

How One Institution is Forecasting Housing Needs and Costs

Pro forma can be an effective tool in analyzing and forecasting the financial health of any housing operation. However, few housing administrators are well-versed on developing a comprehensive pro forma model and leveraging information to make smarter decisions about: Rate increases Renovations External revenue streams Other capital investments This lack of knowledge often leads to housing projects that cost an institution valuable auxiliary revenue and severely limit future investment opportunity. In this 6-minute recording, Abeer Mustafa, Winston Salem State University’s director of housing and residence life, describes how she is using pro formas to forecast the financial health of student housing at Winston-Salem. Armed with this information, Mustafa has been actively developing thematic housing, living learning communities, and a faculty-in-residence program along with needed facilities improvements and new construction. Study a Pro Forma Model Join us for a prerecorded online training series that will guide you through the development of a comprehensive pro forma model and showcase how to use this as a tool to communicate your housing operations’ most pressing needs. Session one will provide the framework of a strong pro forma, with core data pieces and working formulas. Session two will delve into techniques for identifying and adjusting for […]

Outreach to International Alumni: The Opportunities You May Be Missing

When we asked advancement professionals in a recent, informal 7 Second Survey to note their most effective tactic for outreach to international alumni: As institutions attract a greater number of international students, host more international visits and projects, and as careers become increasingly global, it is vital to meaningfully connect with alumni living abroad and to leverage their time, talent, and treasure effectively. To learn more, we turned to Gretchen Dobson of Gretchen Dobson Consulting, LLC (and formerly of Tufts University) to share with us some of the less obvious but fruitful opportunities for outreach to international alumni. She was gracious enough to let us record the conversation in a 7-minute podcast — see below. “Above all, Inform international alumni of opportunities to become active in the life of the university or college. What they are going to see is their impact, and they will be giving back.”Gretchen Dobson, Gretchen Dobson Consulting, LLC The podcast includes these 4 ideas for cultivating international alumni to help expand your global footprint: For a more in-depth look, review Dobson’s lessons learned from her efforts at Tufts University in our March 2012 article “Engaging International Alumni.” Logistics and Cost Effectiveness Want to review the […]

How One Institution is Monetizing its Physical Assets

The Ohio State University recently monetized their parking operation — which OSU identified as a campus asset that was non-mission critical — and secured $400 million, most of which OSU invested in its endowment. As other institutions seek to counterbalance increasingly depleted revenue streams, OSU provides a key example of how to identify assets that are ideal for monetization. To learn more about the thinking behind OSU’s recent transition, we interviewed Michael Papadakis, Ohio State University’s treasurer, and Sarah Blouch, president of CampusParc LLP, an entity formed to manage university parking concessions—including the transaction recently closed at The Ohio State University. AI: What do institutions need to keep in mind when looking to monetize physical assets? “Typically in the past,” Papadakis notes, “when a service is needed, we have tended to think that we can provide that service better than anyone else. Our instinct is to want everything customized to our particular needs and culture. So the trend in the past was to bring everything in-house. That’s very counter-intuitive; it’s very different from how the corporate world looks at this.” “There are some things that it may not make sense for us to do in-house, and where it may be […]

Speechwriting for Your Institution’s Leaders: Why Speeches Fail

BEFORE WRITING ANY SPEECH FOR AN ACADEMIC LEADER Speechwriter and policy analyst Chuck Toney suggests 2 crucial preparatory steps that can make all the difference between boring and compelling speeches: For specific examples, please listen to this free podcast from Chuck Toney and Academic Impressions: It’s likely that at some point we have all seen a convocation, state-of-the-university, or other speech by an institutional leader fall flat — even when the subject matter of the speech was not itself intrinsically dull. Yet it has rarely been more important for presidents and cabinet members to be able to speak compellingly and directly to a wide array of constituents, as institutions are increasingly called upon in the public sphere to make strong cases for funding, for their impact and outcomes, and even for their relevance. To learn why well-intentioned speeches by campus leaders sometimes fail — and how to help your academic leaders prepare better for them — we turned this week to speechwriter and policy analyst Chuck Toney, who serves as assistant to the president of the University of Georgia. He offers these tips in avoiding two common pitfalls: Research “Know the audience. Know what they know. Know what they expect. Know their […]

Speechwriting for Campus Leaders: 2 Crucial Tips

In this audio supplement to our article “Speechwriting for Your Institution’s Leaders: Why Speeches Fail,” Chuck Toney discusses 2 crucial steps you need to take before writing any speech for your academic leaders: In the audio, Toney also provides specific examples from effective speeches. For practical advice on the nuts and bolts of speechwriting, we hope you’ll consider our prerecorded online training “Speechwriting for Campus Leaders.” See Other Topics in Enrollment Management & Marketing

Conversations That Matter: Approaching the Academic Calendar More Creatively

In one of our recent 7 Second Surveys, we found that: Special sessions are emerging as a key strategy for optimizing enrollment. To learn a little more about the opportunities these calendaring options present, we interviewed Ken Smith, Virginia Tech’s vice provost for resource management and institutional effectiveness, in the following 7 minute podcast. Ken has both chaired and staffed multiple committees charged with overall improvement of special sessions operations at Virginia Tech. See Other Topics in Institutional & Academic Planning