Category: Blog

Truly laying the groundwork for long-term private support requires rethinking how your institution manages its relationship with students. From the moment of their transition to your campus, it is critical to treat students as stakeholders, not merely consumers or “kids.” This mindset has implications for how offices across your campus interact with students. Each office — academic advising, admissions, financial aid, residence life, campus safety — has a responsibility to ensure a successful and positive student experience that can lead later to an engaged and positive alumni experience. Inviting students to see themselves as stakeholders also entails informing them (in an open and transparent manner) about key issues the institution is facing and inviting their input and help. We interviewed Raj Bellani, associate provost and dean of students at the Rhode Island School of Design, and Jim Langley, president of Langley Innovations, to learn how institutions can develop students as both short-term and long-term stakeholders in your institution’s success. Bellani and Langley suggest: Audit the services you offer students — solicit student feedback, correct inefficiencies that may drive “wedges” between student and institution Invite students to participate in open dialogue with administrative and academic leaders about the financial challenges faced […]

In 2007, Academic Impressions researched the top student philanthropy programs in the United States and identified a student philanthropy model that highlights three core components shared by the most effective student philanthropy programs:     The Academic Impressions Student Philanthropy Model This model provides a conceptual framework for examining the components of an effective approach to inviting students into your long-term donor pipeline: Creating awareness: Do your students know how their education is funded? Do they understand the importance of private giving to their school? Developing gratitude: Do your students express gratitude for the support they have received? Do your students feel grateful for the role of private support in their educational opportunities? Cultivating giving: Have your students acted on their awareness and gratitude with a philanthropic gesture? “To successfully cultivate committed, lifetime donors, student philanthropy cannot be a series of ad hoc initiatives — it has to be a thoughtfully crafted strategy that spans the student life cycle and has leadership support.” Naomi Nishi, Director of Program Design and Customization, Academic Impressions Awareness Lay out expectations for students regarding their relationship with and responsibility to their alma mater, do so unapologetically, and do so starting at the beginning of freshman […]

Amid the decline of state support for public institutions and a less forgiving fundraising climate (a recent Chronicle of Philanthropy study showed a 12% decline in giving for 2009, the sharpest drop in 50 years), ensuring the future financial health of your institution will require more intentional footwork in establishing a reliable pipeline of invested donors. To develop a stronger donor pipeline, the key is to start earlier. However, institutions attempting to raise giving rates for young alumni are often rebuffed. In a study of the attitudes of young alumni conducted this summer, the Engagement Strategies Group confirmed that the majority of young alumni are reluctant to give due to high tuition costs and a lack of understanding of how institutions of higher education are funded and how institutions do (and don’t) draw on endowment spending to finance their needs. Colleges and universities need to solicit more support from their former students, but what such reports demonstrate is that the best opportunity to create an ambassador for your institution is to cultivate them while they are still students on campus. It is more expensive and much more difficult, if not impossible, for the development office to repair relationships after commencement. […]

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, […]

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, […]

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 […]