News

How One Institution Took Space Management to the Next Level

by Araceli Fleet

Here’s how the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) completely updated its approach to space management. What We Faced As capital funding becomes more competitive, it is increasingly important that the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) uses spatial data in a strategic fashion to acquire monies for capital projects. Upon creating a spatial database, UTEP recognized the importance of making the data within it robust enough to identify space accurately and understand how to increase utilization and efficiency. In turn, this would help upper-level administrators to make data-driven decisions in order to meet the goals and objectives of the university. What We Did The DatabaseFirst, we created a spatial database that not only addressed the reporting requirements from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, but also addressed the internal university attributes that were deemed important when determining whether a space was being utilized efficiently – such as: When instructors become accustomed to using a certain room, it is useful to be able to list these attributes. Then, we can justify offering them another room that better matches space capacity with course capacity and their teaching needs. The Space PolicySecond, to stress the importance of space management to […]

Checklist: Using LinkedIn to Engage Alumni

During a recent Academic Impressions online training, Keith Hannon of Cornell University asked alumni relations professionals from 81 institutions to share where they have found success in sharing content and starting discussions with alumni via LinkedIn. The lively list of responses provides a quick checklist of content that alumni relations officers are trying across higher education: “All of these represent a good place to start to get the dialogue going,” Hannon remarks. Which of these is your alumni relations office doing? Which could you be doing? The Key to Growing Alumni Engagement on LinkedIn The key, Keith Hannon suggests, is daily engagement. When polled, two thirds of participants in this online training log in to their LInkedIn alumni group on a daily basis; one third do not. “That’s where it starts,” Hannon remarks. “It starts with daily attention to your community. The only way to really get to a thriving community is to give it daily attention and lots of TLC. That can mean: Most institutions understand the value of social media, yet few have a sound strategy across all channels. The barrage of new communities, platforms, and ways to connect can overwhelm even the most savvy social media butterfly. […]

Reforming the Core Curriculum: When You’re Mid-Process

Earlier this fall, Academic Impressions released a study of general education reform in North America, based on a survey of 308 academic leaders and a series of interviews with leading innovators in core curriculum reform. In the weeks since the release of our report, we have continued to interview provosts and deans at a diversity of colleges and universities, asking follow-up questions about their struggles and successes with the process of improving their core. This week, we reached out to Betsy Beaulieu, dean of the core division at Champlain College, to share some of what we were learning with her and to ask her what insights she would offer for her peers at other institutions. (You can read about Champlain College’s thoughtful approach to the core curriculum in our recent report.) Here is what she had to say: See Other Topics in Academic Leadership

Panel: How Peer Mentoring Can Assist Students in Niche Programs or at Niche Institutions

At Academic Impressions, we have offered a number of articles and other resources on peer mentoring, and our readers and participants at our events have asked, “Is peer mentoring effective in a niche academic program — such as nursing or aviation — or at a niche institution?” We forwarded this question to a panel of experts on peer mentor programs. This article provides their answers. Included on the panel: Should Niche Programs/Institutions Consider Peer Mentoring? Margie Bader: Students coming into niche institutions or programs have no prior experience to draw on to help them cope with this very new material and practicum. Niche programs are rich in specialized content, which makes them stressful and overwhelming to some students. Mentors can help simplify the process, give tips on how to handle the material, the evaluation process and the needs of the professors. Mentors can also help to give a big picture view of where the students are headed as well as details of how to manage the program in the upcoming semesters. Niche programs also often have a practical component or an internship. Mentors who have successfully completed this part of the program can give valuable tips on how to find […]

Debunked: Myths About Peer Mentoring

Recently at Academic Impressions, we asked a panel of experts on peer mentor programs if there were any myths or common misconceptions about peer mentoring that they would like to debunk. This article provides their answers. Included on the panel: Myths About Setting up Peer Mentor Programs Bryce Bunting. One of the most common misconceptions about peer mentoring is that it is some kind of remedial program that is meant to serve only those students who are struggling or underprepared. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any student can benefit from having a peer mentor (or being a peer mentor).  In fact, learning how to be mentored is an important skill that students will need regardless of their field of study or career aspirations. Whether they plan to pursue the arts, teach in a classroom, practice law, or engineer bridges, they’ll find themselves with a need to be mentored by those who are more experienced in their chosen field. So, a peer mentoring program is a great way to orient students to this twenty-first century form of learning. Wayne Jackson. One of the misconceptions is that it doesn’t take much to put one together. That is furthest from the […]

Special Edition: Developing and Evaluating Adjunct Faculty

Recently, Academic Impressions conducted an informal poll asking academics how their institutions develop and evaluate adjunct faculty. When we asked academics about methods for supporting and developing contingent faculty, we learned: And when asked about evaluation methods, we learned: Yet experts in the field suggest that effectively measuring the teaching competencies of adjunct faculty requires going beyond the traditional norms for faculty evaluation. You need a balance of structured and informal assessment processes. If your evaluation strategy is to lead to improved teaching practices, it needs to entail more than student evaluations and class observations—though these can certainly offer value as part of a more comprehensive evaluation plan. Developing Adjunct Faculty A 2010 US Department of Education study found that adjunct instructors teach 60% of the college courses in the US. They represent a critical first line of instruction for many students, yet often receive minimal faculty development and minimal institutional support for serving students. Yet Jennifer Strickland, the interim director for Mesa Community College’s Center for Teaching and Learning, suggests that faculty development for adjuncts should be a priority because it amounts to a concentrated investment in student success. In November 2012, we interviewed Strickland on the support that […]

Selecting the Right LMS: 2 Critical Decisions

A recent Academic Impressions survey found that one third of academics are unhappy with their current learning management system (LMS), and over a third are unhappy with their institution’s process for selecting an LMS. In September, we asked Thomas Cavanagh to respond to the findings; he offered two brief checklists (which you can review here) for selecting the right LMS. In a recent online training, Cavanagh expanded on these checklists and walked through the crucial steps in selecting the right LMS for your institution. As the University of Central Florida’s associate vice president of distributed learning, Cavanagh and his team recently underwent a rigorous LMS review and selection process, including external consultations, vendor demos, comparative feature checklists, pricing, etc. Here is a little of what he had to say about weighing the merits of two key decisions early in the process. Decision 1: Commercial vs. Open Source Here is Cavanagh’s quick list of pros and cons for both options. OPEN SOURCE When considering the open source route, here are the advantages: Here are the disadvantages: COMMERCIAL The advantages: The disadvantages: Decision 2: Self-Hosted vs. Vendor-Hosted Each option entails several critical considerations, and you will want to give thought to these […]

A Roadmap for Successful Academic Coaching

In a new training with Academic Impressions, Jennifer Bloom, director of the University of South Carolina’s Higher Education & Student Affairs (HESA) master’s degree program and co-author of The Appreciative Advising Revolution (2008) and Increasing Persistence: Research-based Strategies for College Student Success (2012), offers an overview of how she has applied an appreciative inquiry model to academic advising and success coaching for college students, and then provides in-depth examples and suggestions for putting it into practice. We wanted to share her overview with our subscribers. What follows is a written version of it. The Philosophy Behind Appreciative Inquiry – in 2 Quotes Early in the training, Bloom offers two quotes as context for her approach. “Others believe that there are many ways to succeed. They believe it is not better to be Picasso than to be Rembrandt, to be Mozart rather than Beethoven… We each have something unique to offer. To develop it, to offer it clearly, fully, and powerfully—is to succeed. Beethoven did not fail to become another Mozart; he succeeded at becoming Beethoven. Seen this way, success comes from developing your uniqueness. It is rare but not scarce. Every one, potentially, can succeed.” Doug Lipman. The Storytelling Coach. […]

How One Institution is Forecasting Housing Needs and Costs

Pro forma can be an effective tool in analyzing and forecasting the financial health of any housing operation. However, few housing administrators are well-versed on developing a comprehensive pro forma model and leveraging information to make smarter decisions about: Rate increases Renovations External revenue streams Other capital investments This lack of knowledge often leads to housing projects that cost an institution valuable auxiliary revenue and severely limit future investment opportunity. In this 6-minute recording, Abeer Mustafa, Winston Salem State University’s director of housing and residence life, describes how she is using pro formas to forecast the financial health of student housing at Winston-Salem. Armed with this information, Mustafa has been actively developing thematic housing, living learning communities, and a faculty-in-residence program along with needed facilities improvements and new construction. Study a Pro Forma Model Join us for a prerecorded online training series that will guide you through the development of a comprehensive pro forma model and showcase how to use this as a tool to communicate your housing operations’ most pressing needs. Session one will provide the framework of a strong pro forma, with core data pieces and working formulas. Session two will delve into techniques for identifying and adjusting for […]

Outreach to International Alumni: The Opportunities You May Be Missing

When we asked advancement professionals in a recent, informal 7 Second Survey to note their most effective tactic for outreach to international alumni: As institutions attract a greater number of international students, host more international visits and projects, and as careers become increasingly global, it is vital to meaningfully connect with alumni living abroad and to leverage their time, talent, and treasure effectively. To learn more, we turned to Gretchen Dobson of Gretchen Dobson Consulting, LLC (and formerly of Tufts University) to share with us some of the less obvious but fruitful opportunities for outreach to international alumni. She was gracious enough to let us record the conversation in a 7-minute podcast — see below. “Above all, Inform international alumni of opportunities to become active in the life of the university or college. What they are going to see is their impact, and they will be giving back.”Gretchen Dobson, Gretchen Dobson Consulting, LLC The podcast includes these 4 ideas for cultivating international alumni to help expand your global footprint: For a more in-depth look, review Dobson’s lessons learned from her efforts at Tufts University in our March 2012 article “Engaging International Alumni.” Logistics and Cost Effectiveness Want to review the […]