Search Results for: meeting

Giving and Recognition Societies – We Can Do Better!

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

I frequently say to my friends in donor relations that I would like to find the person who invented giving societies and give them a swift punch or two. I am of the opinion that great donor recognition does not hinge on giving societies. I am also of the probably unpopular opinion that most donors are not motivated by their membership in a giving society. I have never seen statistical or empirical evidence in a single study that shows the ROI of a giving society or that the presence of recognition based giving societies moves giving upward. If someone has one, I’d pay to see it. So what am I talking about here? Let’s share some common definitions… Developing giving and recognition levels, associated benefits, and administering these benefits can be a cumbersome task. Many donor relations shops are overburdened by these ineffective practices. The multiple levels within societies create confusion and chaos for staff and donors alike. A great many of these constructs are artificial and not useful in engaging and recognizing donors. Many giving societies do not have distinct benefits and tangible value, especially in the light of quid pro quo violations and other such IRS fun. So what do […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Increasing Transfer and Completion Rates through Regional Partnerships in the SUNY Oswego Area

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

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. Although the State University of New York at Oswego already has a strong collaboration with area community colleges, SUNY Oswego has noticed a gap in the number of students moving from two-year to four-year schools. In this north-central region of New York, three community colleges and a community organization partnered with SUNY Oswego to narrow that gap. Their goals are to increase retention and completion rates both two-year and four-year institutions, encourage more students to transfer to a four-year institution and complete a bachelor’s degree, and strengthen regional economic development in the process. The hope is that this model will provide a sustainable example of how collaboration, aligned coursework and community support can improve degree attainment on multiple levels. The Transfer Gateways and Completion Program Leaders at […]

10 Tips for Optimizing the Return on Professional Development

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

To get the most out of your limited professional development (PD) and training budget, consider these 10 tips: SELECTING THE EVENTS AT THE EVENT ON THE WAY HOME ​BACK ON CAMPUS We hope these tips will prove useful at your conferences this year! Learn more about how some institutions are leveraging professional development in our report, The State of Professional Development in Higher Education.” Read the full report here. Check out an AI Conference AI conferences are unique because they are informed by our research on professional development and are designed to facilitate the kind of planning and action discussed in this article.

Report: The Skills Future Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Succeed

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

How do you lead when there is no map? When the territory is unknown? The swift pace of change and the complexity of the challenges facing our colleges and universities is immense, and is testing the abilities of our institutions’ leaders. The playbook of the past does not offer a sustainable path forward for all institutions. Continually finding new revenue sources, discounting tuition to increase enrollment or improve the academic profile of the student body, investing in new facilities to attract faculty and students, etc.—these will not be enough. Given the prevalence of adaptive challenges facing our institutions, we need a different kind of leader in higher education—leaders who can build bridges from the past to the future, taking the best of our industry and making it more relevant, competitive, and sustainable. The past and current leadership model that prizes vision, academic reputation and track record, communication and charisma, and fundraising expertise is no longer enough to meet our current and future challenges. In the “permanent whitewater” of higher education, we will need leaders who are: Drawing on extensive research and conversations with leaders across higher-ed, this 30-page paper is meant to open the conversation. We invite you to read […]

FERPA: When to Involve Legal Counsel
and Leadership

In working to meet the FERPA obligations of your campus, you’ll inevitably interact with board members, legal counsel, or other administrative leaders. Sometimes these leaders will call on you to release information or offer advice related to FERPA, and sometimes you must call on them in order to make a tough decision on FERPA. But managing these requests, and knowing when to ask for help, proves especially difficult when the stakes are high. Join us for this webcast to learn how to effectively manage FERPA requests from leaders while knowing when to ask legal counsel for assistance. You will leave with examples of FERPA situations you can resolve on your own and examples of situations in which you should always ask for help. Your purchase of this program includes access to the live webcast, as well as access to a website that houses a recording of the live webcast and other FERPA resources. You will be able to access the recordings and resources on the site through December 31, 2013 regardless of purchase date, so register now for this bundle! The sooner you register, the longer your access period will be. Beginning October 16, 2013, we will no longer offer […]

What’s Keeping Deans Up at Night: A Free Webcast for Academic Leaders

Out of all of the academic leaders in higher education, Deans are arguably the ones who are closest to the challenges and potential solutions of higher ed. Some of the most pressing challenges keeping deans up at night include: changing student demographics and the impending demographic cliff, how to ensure academic rigor and accessibility, faculty and staff morale and equity, and waning funding from traditional revenue sources. Join us for this free webcast to hear from two deans representing, respectively, a public, land-grant research institution as well as a small, private liberal arts college as they share their perspectives on what is keeping them up at night—as well as the practices they hope will enable their colleges and institutions to be successful in a more equitable and agile higher-ed landscape. Our speakers will discuss and invite peer insights on such topics as: You’ll leave this webinar with a greater awareness of how other higher-ed leaders strategize to surmount these issues—as well as how they address them firsthand.

4 Things Academic Deans Can Do to Help Students Succeed after Graduation

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Why, you might ask, should academic deans add this concern about students’ career preparation to their already unmanageably long list of responsibilities? As leaders of the faculty, deans need to serve as the programmatic agents of implementing a holistic undergraduate education. And deans provide the essential perspective of someone who observes the connections on a daily basis between how the university works and how students learn. Students best engage in their learning when they know how that learning fits into their lives. I do not mean to imply that students are selfish or myopic. Quite the opposite. Students implicitly, although naively, understand higher education as important to their whole lives. Our role as deans is to cross the bureaucratic barriers between academic and student services in order to teach students and how to apply these to growing personally and professionally. This has been a major focus of my work over the past 25 years as a department chair and academic dean: to connect academic learning with career development. Here are four practical strategies I have learned: four opportunities for academic deans to partner with career services: 1. Attend national career services and academic organizations with a cross-division team. Offer to attend local, regional or […]

A Whole-Campus Approach to International Students

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

In This Issue Does Your Curriculum Serve International Students? Recruiting and Admitting International Students: Key Considerations The Transition In: Setting International Students Up for Academic Success The Transition Out: Moving International Students into the Donor Pipeline A Letter from Amit Mrig, President, Academic Impressions May 2012. According to the Open Doors report on international education, international student enrollment has increased every year for the past 60 years. With this trend expected to continue, and international students becoming an increasingly important constituent group, it’s critical for institutions to take a more holistic view at how they’re meeting these students’ needs now and in the future. Beyond recruitment efforts, institutions need to think broadly about integration into the campus community and the academic curriculum to ensure international students persist and succeed. They also need to plant seeds for future support and giving as these students graduate and potentially return to their home countries. A holistic strategy for approaching the international student market can serve both the students and your institution well. We’ve asked experts in the field to share advice and insights into recruitment, transition, campus life, the academic curriculum, and moving international students into the donor pipeline. We hope their advice will […]

The Dual Role of Faculty Advising in Faculty Leadership and Student Success: A Time for Discussion

As Carol Moore notes in her article, “Advising: Meeting Student Needs?”, “only 22% of colleges have the advising function staffed by professional advisors.” At schools with professional advisors, students often encounter a well-oiled machine of advising that transitions them from their first years of college with a general advisor to more focused work with a major-specific faculty member or advisor. Students at institutions without professional advisors need that same kind of support and guidance in navigating their academic careers, and if they do not receive it, they may struggle to retain at the institution. At the majority of institutions, meanwhile, undergraduate students are too often left with faculty advisors who are neither trained nor given the time to provide appropriate advising. Join us for a one-hour facilitated discussion on the challenges of faculty advising and how to equip faculty with the skills to be successful advisors. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss how your institution prepares faculty for advising, as well as what changes you’d need to make to incorporate advising as service into promotion and tenure portfolios. The author, Carol Moore, will be present to answer your questions and share her thoughts about the changes needed to ensure student […]

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