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It’s likely that at some point we have all seen a convocation, state-of-the-university, or other speech by an institutional leader fall flat — even when the subject matter of the speech was not itself intrinsically dull. Yet it has rarely been more important for presidents and cabinet members to be able to speak compellingly and directly to a wide array of constituents, as institutions are increasingly called upon in the public sphere to make strong cases for funding, for their impact and outcomes, and even for their relevance. To learn why well-intentioned speeches by campus leaders sometimes fail — and how to help your academic leaders prepare better for them — we turned this week to speechwriter and policy analyst Chuck Toney, who serves as assistant to the president of the University of Georgia. He offers these tips in avoiding three common pitfalls: Lack of structure Lack of research into one’s audience Failing to engage one’s audience in the subject matter from the start Structure “Audiences want speakers to succeed,” Toney notes. “Think about it — a bad speech is a very awkward experience for the audience, too, so they are invested in your success. They’re willing to go where the speaker is […]

Because enrollment policies and practices have long been tailored to traditional-aged students (especially at four-year institutions), efforts to recruit and enroll adults offer special challenges. To learn more about key actions at each stage of the admissions funnel that can have an impact on the enrollment of adult students, we reached out to adult-recruiting veteran Mike Barzacchini, director of marketing services for Harper College, who has seen considerable success in this area. Here are his practical tips for increasing inquiries, applications, and admits. Increasing Inquiries from Adults First, Barzacchini suggests a two-pronged approach to generating leads: Mine your historical data to identify past stop-outs and other cohorts that have shown interest in a degree at your institution Create an adult-friendly website RE-ENROLLING STOPOUTS Stop-outs are those who did not attain their degree — not for reasons of low academic performance, but because of the intervention of life circumstances. An audit of your records can tell you which past students stopped a few classes shy of a degree. Many of these students may not even realize how close they would be to completing if they were to re-enroll. To learn more about the barriers faced, read our July 2010 article “Re-enrolling Stop-Outs: Overcoming the Barriers.” Institutional […]

Beyond offering flexible course scheduling, what are the real keys to persistence and academic success for adult learners? Janet Daniel, director of the office of adult students and evening services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, distills the current research into four key points that, when present, make a difference: A central unit on campus to coordinate cross-departmental efforts to support adult learners, and which serves as a single, “one stop” point of contact for adult students An intentionally designed orientation to help adults transition back into the college experience Academic advisers (and faculty) who understand adult learners’ unique needs Extended office hours for key services and a campus-wide emphasis on availability and convenience A Coordinated Approach, with One Point of Contact Many campuses have particular services and staff that are equipped to help address the needs of adult learners, but they are seldom coordinated. Daniel speaks to the importance of a “one stop” approach to offering services for adult learners. Many adult learners are either first-generation students or have been removed from the college experience for enough years that they are not familiar with what offices to contact and when, or where to go to locate critical campus resources. Adopt a “one stop” […]

Because adult students represent a growing demographic and one largely untapped in terms of the donor pipeline, advancement shops with a long-term view need to act now to begin planning how to move alumni who were adult students into the pipeline. For advice on how to start, we turned to Don Fellows, president and CEO of Marts and Lundy; Fellows’ clients include institutions that have seen early gains in building affinity with nontraditional students and alumni. “There are real challenges here,” Fellows acknowledges. “Adult students often hold full-time jobs and have families; their time is at a premium and their encounter with the institution tends to be a more transactional experience. They come prepared, they pay money out of their own pockets for tuition, and they have their eyes set on the outcome. It’s a different experience than the traditional student’s. You will need to really invest in getting to know this population well.” Here is Fellows’ advice. Two Obstacles to Overcome Fellows suggests two common obstacles to cultivating affinity with adults. First, “because they paid out of pocket, they have a high appreciation for what they received, but they also feel that they have already paid for it.” Student philanthropy messages […]

Your efforts to both attract and retain the growing population of adult students have to begin at the curricular level. No amount of investment in marketing or student support will make up for a curriculum and an academic calendar that does not meet adult learner needs. When asked about key influencing factors on college choice for adult students, Bob Sevier, senior vice president of strategy at STAMATS, notes: “If there’s one thing you need to stress, it’s flexibility.” It’s key to understand that adult students have more demands on their time. Sevier suggests that adult students are also more likely than traditional students to perceive their college education as a means to an end. “For many traditional students, the campus experience and the process of gaining education is an event, a rite of passage. For adult learners, it is more likely a step to getting something else — a better degree, a better job.” Adult students are likely to be focused on that end outcome and will search for the quickest and most convenient way to get to it. The flexibility that attracts adult students includes: Courses offered at different times (evenings, weekends) Accelerated programming Prior learning assessment For adult students who […]

Increasingly, academic leaders are becoming aware that the traditional, 18-year-old high school graduate enrolling as a freshman at a four-year institution is a shrinking demographic. According to data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES): Three -fourths of today’s college students are nontraditional 49 percent are enrolled part-time 38 percent work full-time 27 percent have dependents of their own at home These adult learners interact with your institution — from admission to commencement and beyond — in ways markedly different from traditional students. A diverse, heterogeneous demographic, adult students comprise working mothers, career-aged adults seeking a career change or a safe harbor amid a troubled economy, military veterans, and adults of all ages returning to complete a degree. These nontraditional learners are often both hard-working and determined. Unless compensated by an employer, most are paying for their tuition out of their own pocket, and many are allocating time to their education that could be devoted to family, commitments within their community, or other career-building activities. In other words, it’s likely that most adult students enrolling at your institution have the will to achieve and the will to complete a degree. Yet many unintentional barriers persist to a positive student experience at your institution — barriers that represent […]

2010 census data emphasizes the plight of millennials in their 20s — recent college graduates who are struggling to find work, many of them living with their parents and struggling to launch careers as they find themselves under-employed. Given the recession’s toll on this decade of young alumni, it is especially crucial for annual giving directors to: Take stock of what motivates millennials to engage and give Be intentional in strengthening their base of millennial givers as these donors age into their early 30s To gather practical suggestions, we turned this week to Jeff Mavros, director of the Wesleyan Fund at Illinois Wesleyan University, who has led a very intentional effort to research the motivations and affinity of IWU’s alumni and to craft deliberate strategies for acquiring and stewarding millennial donors. Drivers of Millennial Giving While the characteristics of millennials are well-documented, Mavros calls attention to several key drivers at play in the ways that millennials choose to interact with their alma mater: This cadre of young alumni are more likely to place their trust in an individual they have connected with personally than in an institution, even in one whose mission they believe in While this cadre is transient […]