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Survey Report: Customer Service in Higher Education

2012. Academic Impressions surveyed professionals from 79 institutions of higher education, asking them to grade their institution’s level of customer service and to comment on the challenges faced in improving it. The responses were revealing. A “C” in Customer Service 29 of our respondents rated their institution with a “B” letter grade for level of service offered, and 31 would assign a “C” grade (together accounting for three quarters of the total responses). Only 6 would assign an “A.” Among those who assigned a failing grade and those who assigned a C, a shared litany of common complaints emerges: Many of the respondents emphasized that front-line staff are focused on completion of tasks rather than achievement of (student-centered) outcomes, and lack the time and the perspective to provide better service to students. When asked to describe how they see exemplary customer service, overwhelmingly, the respondents focused on responsiveness. And while some respondents cited the need for a “friendly” attitude, among many there is a growing awareness that providing effective service to students has less to do with targeting “customer satisfaction” through an improved demeanor and more to do with eliminating wait times, shortening lines, and ensuring that students receive the […]

Supporting Adjunct Faculty: An Investment in Your Instructors, an Investment in Your Students

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. This week, we interviewed Jennifer Strickland, the interim director for Mesa Community College’s Center for Teaching and Learning, which supports the college’s 300+ residential faculty and 1100+ adjunct faculty. We asked Strickland why the issue of adjunct support should be accorded some urgency – and what forms of support she has found to be most needed in order to improve teaching and learning, as well as retention of adjunct faculty. The Need for a Shift in Institutional Culture Strickland argues that providing adjunct faculty with few resources to improve pedagogy and limited logistical support doesn’t serve students well. While the rationale for this has to do with the level of investment in contingent versus full-time faculty, what is actually at stake is the level of investment in the student. Strickland notes the example of institutions at which part-time faculty lack an office (even a shared one) and a phone line on campus-–curtailing their ability to offer […]

Adopting Mobile: Reasons for Urgency

But how urgent is it to move on mobile technologies? Let’s review the data. Mobile Technologies in the Eyes of Students and Alumni In June 2010, Ball State University released a study showing that of college students owning phones, 49% owned smartphones. An ECAR report released a few weeks ago documented that this number has since risen to 62% — showing a rapid rise in adoption. A study by the Pearson Foundation found that a quarter of college students owned a tablet as of January 2012, a population that has been growing at 400% yearly. Projections by technology researchers over the past year confirm the immediacy of this trend: In a May 2011 survey, Gartner Inc. reported that the amount of time people currently spend reading on a digital screen is nearly equal to the amount of time spent reading print IDC reported last year that by 2015 in the US, more people will access online content through mobile devices than through wired Internet connections According to a 2012 survey released a few weeks ago from ECAR, 75% of students surveyed indicate they believe that technology is critical to their academic success; 45% cited tablets as important to helping them […]

What Mobile Technologies Can Do

  Don’t Try to Do Radio on TV A few years ago, as the first institutions were making forays into mobile learning, Academic Impressions reached out to Judy Brown, founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab and a key thinker in mobile learning strategies. Brown notes that when we first adopt a new technology, too often we try to translate what we are already doing in a current medium into the new one, missing the opportunities that are unique to the new technology. She cites the example of early television. Early televised broadcasts often tried to transmit information in the same way information was transmitted by radio, and missed new opportunities presented by the unique capabilities of television. For example, broadcasts presented a static image without panning the camera. In the same way, many early adopters of online learning missed the opportunities presented by learning management systems because they focused on trying to duplicate online the exact thing they were doing in the classroom. The same risk is present at the adoption of mobile technologies. “We need to look instead at the capabilities unique to the new technologies. Look at the devices students are using every day; […]

Examples of Innovations with Mobile Technologies

Here is a showcase of examples from different institutions that have found relatively inexpensive ways to use mobile devices to add real value to key interactions with students and alumni — for example, during the campus tour, in the classroom, and at alumni events such as reunion and homecoming. Fully Leveraging the Power of the Mobile Campus Map “Our campus footprint is tremendous. Getting onto campus as a visitor, a new student, or a new prospective faculty member, is daunting, overwhelming. Providing a mobile version of our campus map with wayfinding may sound trivial, but actually it’s critical. You can use this to create a positive first-time experience on your campus … or a positive ongoing experience.” Ted Hattemer, Ohio State U Using GPS and location-based technology, you can offer a mobile app that not only pinpoints where a visitor or member of your campus community is, but also provides wayfinding information. The possibilities are extensive. Ted Hattemer and Brett Pollak offer these examples: Chart different possible routes onto and through campus. Offer GPS tracking on campus or city buses, so that a student can access realtime data on where the next bus is, and how long it will take […]

Moving to a Mobile-Enabled Approach

Post-secondary institutions are traditionally both risk averse and slow adopters of new technologies. In facing the rapid adoption rate of mobile technologies by the general population, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to know whether your initial efforts are working. But this is the time to jump in and learn. These technologies are evolving, and your institution will need to evolve with them—but you will only be positioned to do so if you are already working with these technologies, testing what is and isn’t effective for your students and alumni, and working proactively to identify those opportunities to leverage mobile technologies to move your institution forward—whether in recruitment, teaching and learning, or advancement. “Don’t be afraid to get started. It’s easy to get afraid because things are moving so fast. But if you don’t jump in, you are really just doing a disservice to your end users, your students and your alumni. At least you can be addressing their needs and moving in the right direction, even if you need to evolve over time. Mobile devices aren’t going away, and you need to keep your website and your other interactions with students relevant and accessible […]

Key Considerations for the Mobile Campus

Included in This Report: Adopting Mobile: Reasons for Urgency What Mobile Can Do Examples of Innovations with Mobile Technologies Moving to a Mobile-Enabled Approach A Letter from Amit Mrig, President, Academic Impressions November 2012. One has only to look to iPhone and iPad sales, the intellectual property battles between mobile device makers, and the fervor that new product launches generate to know that mobile technologies are a big market and are here to stay.  That much is well understood. What most of us are still trying to figure out is how to leverage the unique capabilities of mobile technologies to create new value for users and organizations. And while many higher-ed institutions have begun experimenting with distributing iPads to students and faculty, and developing apps for prospective students and alumni, most institutions are still on the sidelines waiting to see how this all plays out. We think the time to act is now. Mobile technologies and applications will continue to evolve but so too must your understanding of them in order to generate real and valuable results—whether that’s measured by student enrollment, student learning, or alumni giving. In this edition we share some compelling data to support this call. We […]

Rethinking the President’s Role in Fundraising

by Jim M. Langley

Because your institution’s president is uniquely positioned to scan the horizon and help develop and communicate a vision of the future to prospective donors, his or her role in fundraising entails far more than just making connections and making the ask. In his recent monograph “Fundraising for Presidents: A Guide,” Jim Langley, president and founder of Langley Innovations and past vice president for advancement at Georgetown University, contends that the president’s primary role in fundraising is not to ask for money but to create the conditions that attract significant philanthropic investments. We followed up with Jim Langley this week to learn more. FUNDRAISING FOR PRESIDENTS: A GUIDE Jim Langley’s monograph offers a forward-thinking look at: Slow Persistence, Not Rapid Persuasion We asked Langley for the key thing presidents need to know about philanthropy. In response, Langley noted a fact that is relatively well-known but infrequently (or inconsistently) acted upon. “Fundraising,” he cautions, “is often depicted as a short-term if not transactional phenomenon, while the research on philanthropic patterns suggests that fundraising needs to be long-term in its focus.” Citing research on donor trends and behaviors, Langley notes that: Langley uses this data to issue a reminder to institutional leaders that […]

Your Campus Website: Why Responsive Design May Be Your Next Step

Recent projections by technology researchers confirm that mobile devices and tablets are seeing rapid adoption — and that more prospective students and alumni are first viewing your institution’s website from a mobile device. For example, market research firm IDC reported last year that by 2015 in the US, more people will access online content through mobile devices than through wired Internet connections. And Brett Pollak, director of the campus web office for the University of California, San Diego, reports that in past months, UCSD has seen an average increase of 0.5% each month in the number of website views from mobile devices. Now, nearly 20% of their web traffic is from a mobile device or tablet. Yet an informal May 2012 Academic Impressions survey of marketing professionals in higher education found that less than half have their website optimized or enabled for viewing on mobile devices. Reviewing the Options Not optimizing your site for viewing on mobile devices is no longer an option; as more students research your institution from a mobile device, it’s going to become increasingly critical that they are able to view and access needed information quickly and conveniently, that they are able to complete tasks (such […]

Twitter and Learning

What are specific ways that faculty can use Twitter in the classroom – and outside it – in ways that aid student learning? Several studies at Michigan State University over the past couple of years have produced some fascinating findings about college students and Twitter: A 2010 study led by Jeff Grabill found that college students value texting more than they value all other written forms of communication — and that students value texting because “it’s fast, it’s efficient, and it’s second nature in an age of instant connectivity” A study out this month, led by assistant professor of education Christine Greenhow, documented that students who tweet as part of classroom learning are more engaged with their peers and with the instructor, and achieve higher grades The key was that the classes studied approached the integration of Twitter intentionally, using it as a tool to empower students to engage in information sharing, collaborative learning, brainstorming with the instructor in real-time, seeking real-time feedback from the instructor, and even texting with authors and researchers in the field. Twitter in the Classroom In our March 2011 article “Twitter in the Classroom,” Academic Impressions interviewed experts such as Ray Schroeder, professor emeritus and […]