News

Leading through a Rough Spring in the Recruitment Cycle

by W. Kent Barnds

April is a torturous month, certainly the cruelest, for admissions leaders across the country. It’s especially hard on those who work in extremely competitive markets and endeavor to finish the recruitment cycle by early May. Directors, deans and vice presidents receive calls, office visits and notes from presidents, provosts, trustees, CEOs, any number of colleagues, all asking the same thing: “How are the numbers?” Sometimes that age-old question is replaced by an inquiry about the discount rate or the more ominous “Do you think we’ll make it?” Most admissions professionals I know put their best foot forward and gracefully answer the questions. But the pressure does take a toll, and I know because I’ve been there. These queries have a trickledown effect that can result in a less than ideal working environment for admissions counselors, the very people who need to stay energized during this important time of year. Given these circumstances, I have found a few ways to keep admissions staff members motivated and focused through this difficult period: 1. Regularly update people across campus. I’ve found it helpful to provide recruitment updates periodically throughout the enrollment cycle. Forecasting bad or good news in a clear way is always […]

Metrics for Corporate Engagement: Evaluate Impact, Not Quantity

by Lisa Cook

Multiple offices on a campus may establish corporate partnerships, which can make the issue of metrics for corporate engagement a complicated one. For example, the engineering school might track metrics of a company that partners with them to offer student internships and recruiting opportunities. But if that same company also funds research through that institution’s business school, and supports the institution’s philanthropic goals through a third office, just looking at the recruitment data alone may not reveal the true impact of the partnership — to the detriment of the relationship. Keeping track of a company’s partnership impact allows institutions to be more strategic in cultivating those relationships. Metrics that measure impact may show strong partnerships with philanthropy and recruitment, and also highlight a potential for additional partnerships related to research funding, technology transfer, or student mentorship opportunities. Impact data can focus on the quality of existing partnerships and the potential for new engagement opportunities to strengthen and expand already-successful relationships. Reinventing Partnership Metrics Here is an example. Over the years, Aquinas College has cultivated 1,400 corporate partnerships; now, Kathy Kremer, the dean of curriculum, explains that the challenge is to focus on impact rather than just the quantity of corporate […]

FT/PT Faculty Ratio: How Maricopa Plans to Improve Student Success by Increasing Full-Time Faculty

by Lisa Cook

RELATED ARTICLE: How Maricopa is Improving Student Success through Comprehensive Support for Adjunct Faculty During the recent recession, the Maricopa Community College District shifted more classes to part-time adjunct faculty as a cost-cutting measure -– a trend that was mirrored nationwide. Unfortunately, that move typically has a negative effect on student retention and completion rates, according to the Center for Community College Student Engagement. Now Maricopa is working to reverse that trend and move to a 60:40 model in order to improve student success outcomes. We talked with Chancellor Rufus Glasper, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Maria Harper-Marinick, Faculty Association President Keith Heffner, and Eddie Genna, who served as Faculty Association president as the initiative was being debated, to understand how and why Maricopa is making this transformative change and what they need to prioritize to accomplish it successfully. Changing the FT/PT Faculty Ratio from 90:10 to 60:40 Maricopa originally established a 90:10 full-time/part-time faculty ratio when the community college district was created in 1962. According to the ratio, 90 percent of daytime courses would be taught by full-time professors, and the remaining 10 percent by part-time adjuncts. Evening classes would also be taught primarily by part-time adjuncts. By 2012 […]

Spotlight on Innovation: A New Take on Developmental Education at Gateway Community and Technical College

by Lisa Cook

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. There has been no shortage of research documenting the extent to which developmental education courses under-serve academically under-prepared students; traditional dev-ed curriculums typically award no college credit yet cost students time and money, while showing dismal persistence rates. In the past couple of years, we have seen a number of colleges and universities undertake innovative and impactful reforms of their developmental education. Gateway Community and Technical College in Florence, KY, is currently engaging in such a reform through its Flexible Learning and Exploration space (FLEXspace) project, which is funded by a $3.4 million First in the World grant. We reached out to Kristen Smitherman, project director; Kerri McKenna, division chair of developmental education and orientation and assistant professor of developmental writing; and Doug Penix, director of learning […]

Preparing Faculty For Effective Corporate Partnerships

by Lisa Cook

In January, we shared three effective models for more holistic corporate engagement. This is the second article in our series on corporate engagement in higher education. While partnering faculty members with companies seeking research partnerships is increasingly attractive to colleges and universities, faculty may approach the new partnerships cautiously. Building effective corporate and faculty partnerships requires you to address potential challenges early — ideally before a contract is in place! We spent time interviewing institutions with successful corporate engagement strategies. Here is a review of the challenges, steps to take in addressing them, and key considerations for aligning corporate and faculty interests proactively and responsibly. 3 Critical Challenges 1. Building Faculty Trust and Buy-in At Kansas State’s Office of Corporate Engagement, Director Richard Potter explains that one of their biggest challenges has been to change how faculty partner with corporations, and to build trust in the university’s vision for a holistic approach to corporate relations. They have been asking faculty and departments to share information about existing partnerships with companies, but some have been reluctant to compromise those relationships. At California State University Fullerton, the challenge has been to build faculty relationships with the CSU Foundation, which was established in […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Delta State’s Okra Scholars Program Hopes to Provide Systematic Intervention for the Most At-Risk Students

by Lisa Cook

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. At Delta State University in Cleveland, MS, students who score between 17 to 21 on the ACT, are Pell-eligible, and are first-generation college students or residents of the Mississippi Delta face additional challenges to stay in college. These students accounted for more than half of DSU’s Fall 2012 freshmen class. This range represents a student cohort for whom timely and consistent intervention can have the greatest impact. To help those students finish their degree and do so in four to five years, DSU has established the Okra Scholars program, which will use a $1.6 million First in the World grant to establish a holistic, integrated student support approach for this targeted group of at-risk students. We reached out to project director Christy Riddle to learn more. A […]

Spotlight on Innovation: LaGuardia Community College Pilots Project COMPLETA to Support First-Gen, Low-Income Students

by Lisa Cook, Daniel Fusch

SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 24 colleges and universities that are innovating to solve critical challenges with access, recruitment, retention, and student success. At AI, we have interviewed each of the recipients to learn more about the projects these institutions are pursuing, how their approaches are unique, and what other colleges and universities can learn from these new efforts. by Lisa Cook and Daniel Fusch, Academic Impressions LaGuardia Community College’s students in Queens, NY face a bevy of obstacles to their academic success. The college serves a mix of first-generation, low-income, and minority students, more than 70 percent of them from families who earn less than $25,000 annually. LaGuardia also offers GED programs; many students who complete the GED then successfully apply and are admitted to LaGuardia, but unfortunately many of these students fall away in “summer melt.” LaGuardia hopes to get those students back on track and help other low-income and underrepresented students succeed through Project COMPLETA, Comprehensive Support for Student Success, which will be funded by a $2.9 million First in the World grant. We reached out to Bret Eynon, associate dean for teaching […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Bay Path University is Improving Accelerated Online Learning through a Social Learning Platform

by Lisa Cook

Bay Path University is already breaking ground after establishing the only all-women’s fully online degree program, The American Women’s College Online (AWC), in the U.S. in 2014. The AWC offers over 20 degree programs, including business, criminal justice, cybersecurity, health services administration, leadership and organization, and psychology in an accelerated format. But Bay Path recognizes that online learning in an accelerated environment can present a number of challenges – particularly if students begin falling behind. Their newest innovation, the Social Online Universal Learning Platform (SOUL), funded by a $3.5 million First in the World grant, seeks to address those challenges by making student progress more immediately visible to both faculty and students. We talked to David Demers, chief operating officer of the American Women’s College Online, to learn more about this innovative program. Demers highlighted three key components of the new program: Here’s what Bay Path is doing. 1. Leveraging Data and Learning Analytics While the AWC provides a number of student support services to address the challenges working women frequently face while working on a degree, access to those services is typically reactive, after a student has started to fall behind. With SOUL, the AWC plans to leverage data […]

“No One Ever Told Me”: How Advisors Can Maximize Service and Minimize Risk through Effective Documentation

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Electronic documentation has become an integral part of an academic advisor’s daily life. Student records and notes are often maintained electronically, and email has been established as a preferred method of communication among students, faculty, and staff. No longer are advisor records locked securely in a file cabinet within the department; our records and communications are more transparent and accessible to a broader audience than ever before — as colleagues within the department rely on accurate, timely notes for consistency in service, and departments throughout the institution may access these records to develop an historical perspective on a student. “No one ever told me”: five words that are sure to make an academic advisor cringe, yet are uttered all too frequently in higher education. The implications behind those words may range from mild frustration on the part of the student to the basis for a lawsuit. It is crucial for academic advisors, as well as all university personnel, to maintain accurate, timely student records and documentation. By ensuring that your documentation is clear, concise, and accurate, you can maximize the delivery […]

Strategies to Promote Student Resiliency: What to Do When Adult Students Blame Life Circumstances for their Lack of Success

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Ask anyone who has worked with adult students the major challenges that adult students face and they will tell you work, family, health, and finances. Each of these challenge areas poses a threat to student persistence, especially if the student has low resiliency. Academic advisors have the opportunity to help strengthen student resiliency by providing students options and tools for success. Work As employers respond to changes in the economy, they are often faced with doing more with less. The impact on employees can result in increased workload due to workforce reduction, unemployment, or reassignment of duties. Our adult students are not immune to experiencing these significant life challenges. These challenges can lead students to decide to drop out, stop out, or reduce their course load. When a Student Has a New Job with Increased Responsibilities Ask the student to consider and articulate exactly how the change has impacted her life. If she’s taken on a new job with increased responsibilities, what will that look like? If she usually works 8:30 – 5:00, will she now be working until […]

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