Category: Blog

Energy Efficiency: Partnering Successfully with an ESCO

A recent feature in The Chronicle detailed how as funds for facilities decrease, more colleges are signing performance contracts with energy services companies (ESCOs); often, an experienced ESCO can implement much needed infrastructure improvements and efficiency projects that are then paid for by energy savings. However, the Chronicle notes several cases in which poorly structured partnerships led to long negotiations late in the project or even litigation, and quotes one expert, the president of Synchronous Energy Solutions, as remarking, “If you’re going to try to fix everything at the end, it’s a lost cause for everyone — the ESCO and the owner.” We turned to Bruce Colburn, chief operating officer at EPS Capital Corp., who has both taken part on many college review committees selecting ESCOs and served at an ESCO, for advice on how colleges can set up a successful partnership from the beginning — including what to consider in the RFP, the selection process, and the contract. The Right RFP “Don’t write an RFP asking for a book or a three-ring binder full of information. Too much information is as bad as too little.”Bruce Colburn, EPS Capital Corp Nor will it be useful to review an overwhelming list […]

Keeping Faculty Mentoring Meaningful

A study just released by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at Harvard University highlights various attitudes, preferences, and professional desires of young (Generation X) faculty. Among the findings: Most Gen X faculty desire more mentoring and feel that they were inadequately mentored upon first entering their current position Nearly all Gen X faculty desire to participate as mentors Mary Coussons-Read, professor of psychology and acting chair of the department of physics at the University of Colorado Denver, suggests these best practices for structuring faculty mentoring to be effective and meaningful. Be Deliberate “Develop your mentoring program up front, and keep it pro-active and preventive rather than reactive. There is a difference between mentoring and remediation.” Mary Coussons-Read, UC Denver Coussons-Read suggests, Ensure that the goals of the mentoring are clear Identify where vertical mentoring is most useful, and where peer mentoring is, and encourage each accordingly Set a clear framework for mentor and mentee accountability First, the goals of mentoring at your department or institution need to be specific and explicit. Will mentorships be focused on the tenure and promotion process? On assisting faculty in achieving specific goals in getting their research progressing? On how to serve as a good faculty citizen or university citizen? Second, define the structure of […]

Practomime: An Innovation in Learning Games

The Chronicle‘s Wired Campus blog featured the work of Roger Travis, associate professor of classics and director of the video games and human values initiative at the University of Connecticut, in developing the learning games he has dubbed “practomime.” Relying on roleplaying and narrative storytelling, practomime requires students to complete course tasks and fulfill course objectives by playing characters within an alternate reality classroom. The advantages of adding practomime as a component of a course are: We interviewed Travis this week to learn more about how practomime works and how interested faculty can get started. What is Practomime and How Does it Work? Practomime leverages the advantages of role-playing games for immersive learning. Role-playing games (including popular MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft or The Lord of the Rings Online) rely on a player’s investment in a created character or avatar and require the player to complete difficult tasks (quests) and problem-solve to overcome obstacles, in order to progress through the “levels” of the game. “As has been pointed out, role-playing games are the perfect assessment machines: you can’t get to the next level without mastering the previous one, and you get constant feedback.”Roger Travis, U of Connecticut Travis suggests that this type […]

Making a Compelling Case for Scholarship Endowments

In this week’s news, Hamilton College (Clinton, NY) is adopting a “need blind” admissions policy; Hamilton expects over the next four years to add about $2 million to its annual financial aid budget. Initially, that additional expense will be borne by six trustees, who have each pledged $500,000 to seed the need-blind effort, and then from an anticipated $40 million supplied by capital campaign. While most institutions are not considering something on the scale of need blind admissions, many colleges are working to establish endowed scholarships or other financial aid through donor support. We asked Jim Langley, founder and president of Langley Innovations, and past vice president of advancement at Georgetown University, for advice on how to make the most compelling case possible to donors. A Sense of Shared Enterprise “Make sure that your donors and prospective donors know that this has to be a shared enterprise. You can’t reach the goal without their support.”Jim Langley, Langley Innovations Langley recommends framing your message to donors in terms of a shared enterprise. This entails a shift from “bucket-oriented fundraising” to “project-oriented fundraising.” In bucket-oriented fundraising, you set a dollar goal for a particular “bucket” (perhaps student aid) and ask donors who are giving to […]

PLA: Outreach to Faculty

CAEL just released a study of the impact of prior learning assessment (PLA) on student learning and academic success, based on findings from 48 colleges and universities. The study found significantly higher graduation and persistence rates among students who earned prior learning credit when compared to non-PLA students, as well as shorter time-to-degree and higher GPA. You can read the findings here. Also, for an article in Higher Ed Impact offering practical advice on how to move beyond offering challenge exams to more rigorous tools for PLA, read Techniques For Assessing Prior Learning. One of the most significant challenges in adopting prior learning assessment is the lack of awareness among faculty of both the rigor and the results of PLA (when done well), and resistance to awarding credit for learning achieved outside the classroom. This week, we asked Denise Hart, director of adult education and creator of the Success Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and author of a landmark study of prior learning assessment portfolios; and Tracy Cosker, associate vice president for transfer students at the American Public University System, for tactics for establishing buy-in with the academic side of the house to assess prior learning. Making the Case “Often,” Cosker notes, […]

Marketing with Online Video

Published in 2010. The last week has seen some unorthodox and controversial uses of online video, including Yale’s admissions musical. With more colleges considering the uses of online video in communicating with applicants and other constituents, we turned to Jason Simon, director of marketing and communications for the University of California system, and Mike Barzacchini, director of marketing services for Harper College, for advice on how to use online video effectively. 4 Keys to Effective Video “I’m not a big proponent of gimmickry or the pursuit of different production techniques. The basics are that you need a powerful story.”Jason Simon, U of California Simon and Barzacchini suggest 4 elements you need for an effective online video: First, look for stories that demonstrate what is unique and different about your college, such as particular research efforts or unique approaches to teaching in the classroom. Barzacchini also cautions against taking an ad hoc approach to your storytelling. “You can deliver great content — and save time and money — by planning as much as possible. Fully develop your key messages and storyboard or at least outline the flow of your video content.” Second, make sure that video is in fact the appropriate medium. “As […]

Assault Prevention on Your Campus

Assault prevention programs on campus: What works, and what doesn’t? Here is what two leading experts suggest. A report on campus rape compiled by NPR in collaboration with journalists at the Center for Public Integrity concluded that: Colleges almost never expel men who are found responsible for sexual assault The US Department of Education has failed to monitor and regulate campus response to sexual assault, and has only fined colleges 6 times for violations of the Clery Act Colleges are ill-equipped to handle cases of sexual assault The report also notes that while colleges are rarely equipped to handle the judicial response to an assault, more institutions are investing in prevention measures. But few are doing it well. Dara Raboy-Picciano, who coordinates assault prevention programming at Binghamton University, and Monica Collins, who manages prevention programming at Colorado State University, draw attention to common approaches that are ineffective, and offer their advice on where colleges should be investing their resources in prevention programming. [wcm_restrict] What Doesn’t Work Collins and Raboy-Picciano both suggest that what does not work is: Focusing only on self-defense or risk reduction programs Focusing only on offering awareness programming for women While your college might either offer self-defense […]

Boosting Yield at Private Colleges: Making the Case for Value

There is no question that this is a tough economy. Many colleges are having to consider steep tuition hikes. Two prestigious schools that had adopted no-loan policies have recently canceled them (Williams and Dartmouth), finding them no longer financially tenable. And with the rapid rise in demand for need-based aid and a decline in the ability of many student applicants and their families to pay the costs of college tuition, we are seeing many students who would normally attend private colleges opt for a regional state institution instead. Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, and W. Kent Barnds, vice president of enrollment and communication at Augustana College, offer advice on how private colleges looking to increase yield can make the case for their value to accepted students. Start the Conversation with Value, Not Price Historically, colleges have not made a good case for the value they offer. Barnds cites a 2007 study by Peter Hart Research Associates that identified what businesses are looking for in college graduates — including critical thinking, problem-solving, communications skills, and strong work habits. “For many small private colleges in the $40-50,000 price range,” Barnds notes, “our mission is to develop precisely these attributes.” Focus […]

Crisis Communications: Lessons Learned From Lynn University

The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti left four students and two faculty from Lynn University (Boca Raton, FL) missing, and for several long weeks, no definite information was available about the whereabouts or the security of the missing persons. During the long rescue and recovery, Lynn University kept the campus community, the families of those missing, and more than 900 media professionals informed and current at every stage of the crisis. We asked Jason Hughes, former director of public relations at Lynn University and now director of marketing and communications at Beloit College; Laura Vann, Lynn University’s media relations specialist; and leading crisis communications expert Cindy Lawson, for advice on what best practices institutions can learn from Lynn University’s crisis response. “Lynn University has established a best practices benchmark for future crisis communications. This should be a case study for university media relations professionals. I think it was impeccably done.”Cindy Lawson, DePaul University The Emergency Alert Lynn University’s communications strategy during the recent crisis relied on a well-tested and well-prepared emergency alert system, in which alerts arrived in inboxes and were posted to a separate website that kept a running log of the updates. “We needed to have it easy to […]

Key Components for a Competitive Pricing Strategy

In this difficult economy, higher education has seen a rapid rise in demand for need-based aid and a decline in the ability of many student applicants and their families to pay the costs of college tuition. Institutions have been responding to the economic pressure in a variety of ways — sharp tuition increases, tuition freezes, repackaging financial aid. Two prestigious schools that had adopted no-loan policies have recently canceled them (Williams and Dartmouth), finding them no longer financially tenable. Middlebury College recently opted to limit future tuition increases to 1% above inflation. In this economy, your pricing decisions need to be informed and deliberate. Kathy Kurz, vice president of Scannell & Kurz, Inc., outlines the key components to consider as you frame your pricing strategy in this market. Make Sure You’re Comparing Yourself to the Right Competitors “The first mistake we often see institutions make is comparing themselves to the wrong set of competitors.”Kathy Kurz, Scannell & Kurz, Inc. Most likely you have a set of peer and aspirant institutions that you compare yourself to in terms of student/faculty ratio and other metrics. But is this the right group for comparing sticker price and tuition discounts? Kurz suggests that to […]

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