Category: Uncategorized

When Conflicts of Interest Involve the Board

The Chronicle notes that one fourth of private institutions do business with their trustees’ companies. Further emphasizing the extent of possible conflicts of interest involving high-ranking officials at private institutions, another study (login required) notes that many presidents at US institutions with the largest endowments supplement their salaries with lucrative posts on corporate boards. We asked Lucie Lapovsky, president of Lapovsky Consulting and past president of Mercy College, for her advice on how institutional presidents can best manage institution/board relationships to either prevent a conflict of interest or minimize the negative impact if there are already existing conflicts. If Possible, Avoid the Conflict in the First Place “You’re far better off not having business relationships with your board members.”Lucie Lapovsky, Lapovsky Consulting Even if the relationship is entered into with the best of intentions, it is very difficult to terminate it if needed. Lapovsky cites the example of a construction contract with a board member’s company. It is rare in any case for a major capital project to stay on time and on budget. When the time comes for your institution to engage in difficult mid-project negotiations with the contractor, the decision of how hard to push the contractor will […]

Communicating Conflicts of Interest to the Public

According to the Chronicle, one-fourth of private institutions do business with their trustees’ companies. Potential conflicts of interest involving board members or high-ranking officials certainly are not limited to private colleges, however; North Carolina State University’s termination of Mary Easley and the uncovering of the University of Illinois’ previous board’s interference in the admissions process each represent highly publicized examples. We asked Cindy Lawson, media relations expert and vice president for public relations and communications at DePaul University, for practical tips on what and how to communicate to the public when a conflict of interest involves a member of the board, in order to manage the impact on the institution’s reputation. Be Forthright and Specific “From my experience, the chances of an institution’s reputation remaining intact are far better when that institution is forthright and admits the conflict, shares as much information as it possibly can, and most importantly, describes the measures it is taking to ensure it doesn’t happen again, as opposed to trying to hide it, hoping that no one finds out, or worse — trying to deny it or cover it up once it is exposed.”Cindy Lawson, DePaul University In a case involving an unintentional conflict of […]

Reaching out to the Town During Campus Expansion

There have been several stories in the news lately about colleges with growing enrollments that are planning for campus expansion (including Loyola and New York University), and these stories have highlighted both the importance and challenges of strong town-gown relations during the capital planning process. We asked Mark Beck, director of capital planning at the University System of Maryland for insights into how institutions can more effectively invite town participation in a campus expansion planning effort. Engage Your Community Early and Often “It’s not so much what you do to engage your community, but how you do it.”Mark Beck, U System of Maryland The most important investment you can make is to engage your community as often as possible. Beck suggests that you can’t simply go through the motion of holding meetings and communicating via the web and newsletters. You have to actually listen and engage your community in the planning process. He points to examples of public meetings that he convened early in his career that weren’t successful because the university approached the discussion as an announcement of their plans rather than as a listening opportunity. Beck suggests making the meetings more regular, less formal, and more focused on dialogue. Equally […]

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 […]

Resource Allocation for IT in a Time of Lean Budgets

Recent news has been rife with stories of information technology budgets slashed, and of chief information officers needing to make quick decisions around cuts and resource reallocation. Most recently, Campus Technology reported — in a dramatically titled article, “Campus IT Under the Knife” — that the University of Illinois, owed $431 million by the state government, has asked its chief information officer to cut $30 million from an IT budget that has already been frozen for the past 5 years. In a climate of such urgent cost containment, IT expenditures are frequently one place that institutional leaders look to for savings. We asked Shah Ardalan, vice chancellor of technology services and CIO for the Lone Star College System, who has built a reputation for savvy IT budget management, for his advice on how IT leaders can take a strategic look at costs and resource allocation during an ongoing budget crisis. Interview with Shah Ardalan AI: How can the CIO best revisit resource allocation and determine the right “blend” of cuts? Ardalan: These are the best times to recheck priorities against the organization’s values and strategies.  Based on the current economic challenges, many strategies changed which should result in project reprioritization.  Protecting true […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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