Category: Uncategorized

Improving Community College Student Success

Last week, a new study involving 13 participating institutions, Jobs for the Future, and the Delta Cost Project released a report on cost return for student success initiatives; with the report, the researchers made available a cost-return calculator that ties program-level cost data to student outcomes in success programs. With increasing federal and public pressure to increase graduation rates, it is important to adopt a strategic and measured approach to improving student success. Given the limited resources (yet often greater flexibility) of the community college, Joyce Romano, vice president for student affairs at Valencia Community College, and Maureen Pettitt, director of institutional research at Skagit Valley College, suggest these keys for improving student success at two-year institutions: Focus on 2-3 Big Ideas “The main thing is to be very focused on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Have a theory of practice. What is the big idea that you’re trying to accomplish? Why do you believe that will be successful?”Joyce Romano, Valencia Community College Pinpointing the 2-3 outcomes that will have the most significant impact on student success is critical; each outcome becomes an “organizing idea” that can help you prioritize new programs and efforts to revise policies […]

Community College Finance: Maintaining Liquidity

2010. A report from Moody’s Investors Service stresses that as community colleges experience enrollment surges during this down economy, many will issue bonds as a means of raising the capital needed to provide the new construction, renovation, and technological infrastructure projects needed to meet the growing demand. As community colleges take on more debt to fund capital projects, it is going to be critical for business officers to ensure that they can maintain liquidity. We asked Cynthia Gilliam, the vice chancellor of administration and finance for the Lone Star College System and a past president of the Texas Association of Community College Business Officers, for advice on financial planning. Long-Range Financial Planning Gilliam notes that the Lone Star College System is unique in that the system is in a very strong financial position (and has just received an AAA rating from S&P), but also remarks that this didn’t happen by accident or by luck. It is the outcome of a long history of solid debt planning. “The key for us has been to have our financial advisers extremely involved in our debt planning from the get-go,” Gilliam comments. “We use them to assist us in strategy. How are we going […]

Marketing the Value of the Education You Offer

In October after the release of the College Board’s Trends reports, we interviewed Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, for tips on marketing the value and affordability of your institution. This week, we have asked Bob Sevier, senior vice president of strategy at STAMATS, for practical strategies toward publicizing the value of your academic programs. Rethinking Value First, Sevier suggests moving away from talking about value. “When students hear ‘value,’ they hear that you’re justifying a high cost. The key is to talk about outcomes.” “Colleges define academic quality in terms of their curriculum and their faculty. Students define academic quality in terms of what happens after their graduation.” Bob Sevier, STAMATS This can mean more than just tracking and promoting the percentage of graduates who are employed in their field or enrolled in a graduate program within six months after graduation. Sevier recommends promoting: What type of jobs your graduates are finding (are they finding career positions?) The path from particular majors to particular careers “Students define a good job not just in terms of income, but in terms of security, benefits, and opportunity,” Sevier notes. It is important to show the level of opportunity that an education […]

Recruiting Military Students

Even though this market is largely dominated by the for-profits, the past year has seen many non-profit universities make initial investments in services for military students, especially since the passing of the post-9/11 GI Bill. We asked Jim Paskill, principal and creative director for Paskill Stapleton & Lord; Eric Craver, director of marketing and recruitment for the office of adult degree programs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; and David Hoftiezer, director of admissions at Thomas Edison State College, for advice on first steps in reaching out to military students, whether veteran or active duty. Be Realistic Paskill recommends proceeding with “both eyes open.” Most active duty military — and many veterans — are going to be looking for online offerings. “The for-profits are the 2000 pound gorilla in that arena, and institutions like the University of Phoenix and DeVry are investing significant funds to generate leads. You will probably not be able to compete on a dollar-for-dollar basis.” Also, whether you are thinking of an active duty, deployed population or veteran students, remember that you are competing for a relatively small market.  If you are looking at the military market as a revenue source, you are not likely to see a […]

Making it Easier for Students to Graduate Sooner

Encouraging students to graduate on time (or early) is a priority for many higher ed institutions. However, many students find speedy degree completion difficult due to obstacles in securing the courses they need to complete degree requirements. Lucie Lapovsky, president of Lapovsky Consulting and past president of Mercy College, offers some advice on correcting curriculum inefficiencies that can prevent students from graduating quickly. Look for Inefficiency in Academic Advising “It needs to be very clear to students what courses count toward their major and what courses do not. Their degree audit needs to happen quarter by quarter or semester by semester.”Lucie Lapovsky, Lapovsky Consulting “Students can so easily be misadvised,” Lapovsky warns. “They may take the wrong courses, and they may complete the credit hour requirement without having completed the required courses.” Getting false information to students is a risk both because academic advisors often have a high load and because catalogs and requirements are updated frequently. This can make it difficult for either students or advisers to keep track. Lapovsky suggests letting students do their own degree audits regularly. “Make the degree audit available online.” An online audit can keep both students and advisers up to date. Many registrars already […]

Revamping the Computer Lab

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted a trend in which many US colleges and universities are either phasing out the traditional computer lab or revamping that space to provide more effective opportunities for collaborative learning and group study. The trend is a response to pervasive research on the impact of collaborative learning spaces on student success, and to the pedagogical shift toward more group-based learning. There are an abundance of models for state-of-the-art, forward-looking, revamped lab spaces. However, now more than ever most colleges and universities are needing to repurpose space while operating under tight budget constraints. We asked Andrew Milne, CEO of Tidebreak, Inc. and a leading expert on learning space design, for tips on finding relatively small but impactful investments toward transforming the traditional computer lab into a collaborative learning space. Making a Big Impact on a Small Budget “As you look to upgrade machines,” Milne suggests, “rather than buying the same amount of CPUs, think about having fewer workstations, and then using the saved money to purchase large, movable displays.” Milne recommends providing group stations where students can connect their laptops and engage in collaborative exercises. Whiteboard is also a relatively inexpensive investment. […]

Creating a Crisis-Ready Emergency Notification Policy

Virginia Tech had two contradictory emergency notification policies, which stalled efforts the day of the massacre. What does your emergency notification policy need to include? When the state of Virginia provided its update on the official report on the Virginia Tech massacre, correcting factual errors and revealing details about breakdowns in emergency communications on the day of the crisis, the report found that the campus had two contradictory emergency notification policies, which stalled efforts the day of the crisis. We asked Cindy Lawson — assistant to the chancellor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and one of the leading experts on crisis communications — to speak to what lessons could be learned from the updated report. “Hindsight is great,” Lawson cautions, “and when crises happen at other institutions, it’s important for all of us to learn not just from real or perceived mistakes but also from their successes.” That said, the Virginia Tech incident offers an effective lesson in the importance of having a clear emergency notification policy. What’s Absolutely Critical to Include “I really believe that it’s the “obvious” that is, more often than not, overlooked.”Cindy Lawson, University of North Carolina Wilmington In crafting an emergency notification policy, Lawson notes […]

Campaigns, This Side of the Recession

A Marts & Lundy report recently highlighted the drop in major gifts to colleges and universities this year, and made recommendations that institutions embarking on a campaign expect to rely on fewer multimillion-dollar gifts and concentrate on securing more contributions of under a million. This report came quickly on the heels of statistics from The Chronicle of Philanthropy showing that 2009 to date has seen six gifts over $50 million, compared to 31 in 2008 and 43 in 2007. Given these numbers, we asked Bruce Flessner, principal at Bentz Whaley Flessner and a leading consultant on institutional advancement, to offer his insights on the best decisions development officers can make right now in positioning their shops for the climb out of the recession. Despite the reports on a slow 2009, Flessner emphasizes the need to focus on pursuing major gifts again. Look 6 Months Ahead, Not 6 Months Back “First,” Flessner suggests, “you need to understand that the recession is coming to an end, so focus on the next six months, not the past six months.” The slew of reports coming in about the slack in major gifts in 2009 may be frightening, but the focus needs to be on […]

Greening the Campus Fleet: Tips from Dave Newport

In this week’s news, the University of South Carolina announced its “Genesis 2015 Initiative,” promising a 90% drop in carbon-dioxide emissions from its campus fleet in the next five years. This is the latest in several recent commitments by colleges and universities to green their campus fleets. Other colleges and universities have hesitated to take aggressive steps toward “greening” the campus fleet, but Dave Newport, director of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Environmental Center and co-creator and member of the Steering Committee of AASHE’s new STARS sustainability ratings system for higher education, has some advice on where to find the low-hanging fruit in this effort. Make Decisions Based on Data Many campuses lack either a centralized fleet inventory or a purchase policy. “My sense in talking with fleet managers,” Newport comments, “is that campuses are generally overstocked with vehicles. People get research money and they go to buy a vehicle. Somebody gets a big grant and thinks he needs a big van for the 20 or so trips that research will require.” If vehicles can be purchased without a check against inventory and without lifecycle costing, this will contribute to both carbon waste and high long-term costs for fleet […]

First Steps in Supporting Part-Time Faculty

Among other findings, the recent Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) has highlighted the phenomenon of “part-timerness” prevalent not only among students attending evening and weekend classes but also among adjunct faculty. The survey authors have called upon two-year institutions to take steps to better engage and support part-time faculty. As the percentage of instructors who are part-time grows, supporting adjunct faculty in delivering quality instruction is increasingly important for both two-year and four-year institutions. We asked Richard Lyons, Senior Consultant with Faculty Development Associates and editor of the book Best Practices for Supporting Adjunct Faculty (2007), to comment on the first critical steps in offering effective support and faculty development for your part-time instructors. Training Your Adjuncts Initial training for first-time adjuncts is crucial. Research studies since The Invisible Faculty (1993) consistently show that not all part-time faculty are aspiring academics. Many are specialists and professionals, freelancers, or career enders — passionate individuals who may have little or no formal instructional or pedagogical training. “Consider the 25-year old attorney teaching an evening class. No one ever taught her how to teach. What she knows about instructional design might be what she saw as a student in law school. Maybe […]