Category: Blog

The Urgency of Going Mobile Several recent reports have highlighted a rising rate of adoption for mobile devices: Gartner, this week, released a projection that tablet devices such as Apple’s iPad will see more than 19 million units sold worldwide this year, most of them in the US; Gartner also anticipates that this figure will grow to more than 200 million units in 2014 In September, International Data Corp. (IDC) upgraded its forecast for sales of smartphones, suggesting that the end of 2010 would see a 55.4% increase since 2009 In short, though most universities in the US are only in the earliest stages of implementing mobile marketing initiatives, and though few universities are actively piloting mobile learning, there is growing urgency in the need to do so. “In a short period of time, much of what you do will need to be available on mobile devices. Don’t think of this as just an experiment to try. The majority of your students, even your returning adult students, are using mobile devices to manage a large part of their communication and to access information. So your most critical educational activities and resources need to be delivered on mobile devices.” Lynne O’Brien, […]

This week, the Washington Post highlighted the efforts many smaller colleges are making to add football programs as a strategy to recruit more men — one of several strategies colleges are currently employing to enroll more men (other efforts include adding academic majors that commonly appeal to men). However, recruitment is only the first part of the solution — colleges also need to address the growing gender gap in student retention. We interviewed W. Kent Barnds, vice president for enrollment, communication, and planning at Augustana College, who recently facilitated an Academic Impressions workshop on the issue, to learn more about where colleges have opportunities to engage male underclassmen. Barnds directs attention to the research collected in Why Boys Fail by Richard Whitmire and Teaching the Male Brain by Abigail Norfleet James, and then offers the following tips for applying the findings to practical strategies an institution can undertake to improve retention of men. Engage Men with Career-Oriented Experiences “Take a step back. Adding sports to attract young men is a good step, but beyond that, are you asking the critical questions to learn if your academic environment and your academic support environment will help you keep them?” W. Kent Barnds, […]

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust The vast majority of an institution’s resources are expended on instructionally related and academic support activities. Institutions looking to identify inefficiencies and reallocate resources toward key investments are likely to find the most opportunities to increase efficiency by revisiting their academic programs and units. Lucie Lapovsky, president of Lapovsky Consulting and past president of Mercy College, offers advice on where to look to begin freeing up resources and using existing resources more efficiently. “Many leaders haven’t given enough attention to cutting costs on the academic side of the house.” Lucie Lapovsky, Lapovsky Consulting Audit Your Curriculum Lapovsky recommends asking some hard questions, using your mission or strategic vision as a guide to help you identify what is core and what isn’t: Do you have unnecessary duplication in courses within your own curriculum? Are there opportunities to share resources with neighboring institutions? Do you have many courses that are consistently under-enrolled? “Where do you share curriculum with other schools in your vicinity or with schools you could […]

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust Almost all colleges and universities have already started making cuts, many of which are targeted rather than across-the-board. Yet many institutions have not established inclusive and transparent processes for making and implementing these decisions. Recent faculty outcry against program prioritization at such institutions as Miami University and the University of Toronto has demonstrated that trust can be a resource as critical to steward as dollars. Even if your institution identifies the right programs or units to restructure or downsize, you may lose more than you gain for your institution’s future if the decision-making process is one that damages the trust and morale in your organization. When planning major changes to resource allocation across your institution, it’s critical to approach the effort with a commitment to inviting broad participation and to soliciting input from a wide cross-section of stakeholders both internal and external to your institution. This broad participation is critical to your success in building trust and maintaining transparency as you develop your institution’s plan for prioritization […]

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust It’s vital to recognize that the single greatest source of financial resources will not come from tuition increases, state or federal funding, or alumni support, but rather from the reallocation of your existing resources. Institutions of all sizes, types, and selectivity are currently investing in academic and administrative programs that are not critical to their mission or their market position, and that in fact drain their financial resources and limit their ability to generate more resources. “Strategic plans have become purely additive. … These plans tend to assume several things: (1) the status quo as a given, with all current programs composing the baseline, (2) all programs, goals, and objectives are to be “maintained” or “enhanced,” but rarely diminished or eliminated, (3) if resources are mentioned at all, they are to be enhanced by hiking tuition, increasing enrollment, securing more appropriations or grants, or raising more money, or all of these, and (4) all planning goals are equal in weight and importance and thus lack priority. […]

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust The economic crisis has opened a window of opportunity for institutional leaders. This can be a time to make previously unpopular cuts, and to engage the campus community in a strategic planning and prioritization effort. The economic situation demands that colleges and universities challenge old and long-held assumptions and planning/budgeting scenarios. However, it’s critical that leaders proceed with intentionality and clarity of purpose. It will be difficult to make strategic cuts and identify the right units to invest in if your institution does not have clear, strategic objectives and a defined sense of its mission. “Most institutions are unrealistically striving to be all things to all people in their quest for students, reputation, and support rather than focusing their resources on the mission and programs that they can accomplish with distinction.” Bob Dickeson, in Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services (2nd ed; Jossey Bass, 2010) We interviewed Bob Dickeson (President Emeritus, University of Northern Colorado), Lucie Lapovsky (Principal, Lapovsky Consulting; past president of Mercy College), Larry Goldstein […]