Have you experienced this scenario? Your faculty members attend a professional development training and return to campus excited to try new ideas. Fast-forward a few months…and little has changed because pedagogical transformation was shunted aside in favor of day-to-day teaching and research obligations. When this scenario happened at El Camino College, a group of faculty decided to change it. “Life’s very, very busy so it’s hard to take this next step,” explains Kristie Daniel-DiGregorio, Professor of Human Development. Along with her colleagues, she noticed that faculty would feel “electrified” by training, but that afterward, techniques were only implemented in an ad hoc fashion. She and a team of her colleagues wondered what would happen if the college continued to support their professional development on an ongoing basis after the training concluded. El Camino’s Faculty Inquiry Partnership Program — FIPP — was created to do just that. And they’ve been tracking the results. Student success rates in courses taught by faculty who participated in FIPP are two percent higher than rates in courses taught by faculty who had not attended. More than 90% of students reported that the strategies faculty in FIPP employed helped them better understand the material and increased their […]
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At a 2011 Academic Impressions conference on “Integrated Strategic Planning and Resource Allocation” (San Antonio, January 2011), 50 presidents, provosts, chief finance officers, and other members of senior leadership teams from an array of public and private institutions were asked about the key issues and barriers they saw to making a planning and budgeting process effective — and ensuring its implementation. Thirty-seven of the attendees (nearly 75 percent) cited low trust as one of their primary obstacles. Two of the presenters at the AI conference — Larry Goldstein, president of Campus Strategies, LLC, and Pat Sanaghan, president of The Sanaghan Group — have offered to comment on the issue and offer practical steps for strategic planning in a low-trust environment. Commitment from the Top Goldstein and Sanaghan: First, the president and the cabinet must make a public commitment to creating and implementing an inclusive, participative, and transparent planning process. This applies just as much — and possibly more — to the resource allocation process. Plans are one thing, but trust becomes especially critical when money and other resources (positions, space, etc.) are at stake. Without taking steps to cultivate institutional trust, a president simply cannot lead. In a low-trust environment, every decision becomes a debate. […]
Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president of enrollment management at DePaul University, and Joseph Russo, director of student financial strategies at the University of Notre Dame, offer advice on assessing price sensitivity as you look to weather the next year. What No One Should Be Doing Boeckenstedt advises against one common scenario in which a cabinet member asks enrollment management to begin with expenditure assumptions and then determine how much tuition must increase to meet the expenditures. Now more than ever, Boeckenstedt suggests, universities must assess what their market is willing to pay for the services they are offering. You may be charging too much (and straining your financial aid resources to take up the slack), or you may be charging too little. You need to know. You also need to distinguish between price sensitivity for different schools (for example, your business school versus your school of education) and for different classes (it may be advisable to consider distinct fee increases for freshmen versus returning students). “Identify what you can reasonably charge and then decide what you can do with that revenue. Don’t start with how much you need to spend.”Jon Boeckenstedt, DePaul U If you are approached by your president […]
While many colleges are making investments in recruiting Latino students, Western Oregon University, a public institution primarily serving first-generation students, has made significant investments in supporting and retaining Latino students. Oregon Live reported that WOU raised its completion rate for Latino students 16% between 2002 and 2007 (the 2007 rate was 49%, actually several points higher than white students at WOU). We asked David McDonald, associate provost at WOU, for advice he would offer his peers on where to start in improving graduation rates for Latino students. Start with Your Data “Start collecting the data now. What are the characteristics of successful versus not successful students?”David McDonald, Western Oregon U Among your Latino students, look for which cohorts are achieving success and which are not. This tells you both where you can reinvest funding for current efforts in order to capitalize on current successes, and where your greatest needs are. Factor in: Conduct an Advising Audit “Start with advising. Is your college really doing what it needs to do?”David McDonald, Western Oregon U Because many Latino students are first-generation and lack the support network that may be available to traditional students, advising is especially critical. In auditing academic advising, look […]
For boosting completion rates for at-risk students, how much of a difference can structured student coaching make? Here’s what Central Carolina Community College is trying. SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION SERIES The US Department of Education has awarded multi-million dollar “First in the World” grants to 18 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. This was the second year of the First in the World grants. You can read our interviews with the 24 institutions that received 2014 grants here. Central Carolina Community College set out to improve completion rates for at-risk students by embedding success coaches in targeted departments in Spring 2013, as part of a larger initiative funded by a 2012 Title III grant that included launching a College Success Center, adding the team of success coaches, and implementing an early alert advising system. The addition of coaching has already led to a 13 percent increase in student persistence. Now, with the help of a $9.2 million […]
Mental Health Resources for the Campus Community Create a “network of support” on your campus by training faculty and staff to recognize and engage with students experiencing mental health challenges. Why is a cross-campus approach to mental health so critical? Watch Anne Browning from the University of Washington make the case for faculty and staff involvement in mental health prevention and promotion. [h5p id=”61″] Click for Transcript Find Your Resources Do you want to better understand the current mental health landscape in higher ed? Are you prepared to support your students in the moment? How can you proactively support the mental health of your students? Connect to Issues and Conversations Student Mental Health in Higher Education All-inclusive members have access to the Academic Impressions’ research brief that inspired this collection. After you’ve followed the link, click “View Now” to access the report. The Role of Higher Ed in Providing Mental Health Services Listen to this podcast to hear 3 expert opinions on the appropriate scope of service and legal considerations for mental health services in higher ed. Learning About Online Mental Health Tools Download this handout to learn about 3 types of online mental health tools institutions are […]
Lori is the ninth President of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the first female president in the Texas Tech University System. She joined TTUHSC in 1987, and has held multiple leadership positions during her tenure with the university, including Dean of the School of Health Professions and Provost and Chief Academic Officer. Lori led TTUHSC through an unprecedented global health pandemic. This required the transition of all on-campus academic instruction to online and a workforce of more than 5,000 on six campuses to remote operations. During this time, the university’s team members led collaborative efforts to produce personal protective equipment for its front-line health care team and providers across the region. They also played vital roles statewide in supplying viral transport medium for COVID-19 testing and conducting a national study on convalescent serum as a treatment option for the disease. As President of TTUHSC, Lori oversees a complex, multi-campus institution with Lubbock as the administrative center, and with regional campuses at Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, Midland, and Odessa. TTUHSC is committed to regionalized, educational experiences provided across six schools that deliver quality education, research, patient care, and community service programs to meet the health care needs of West Texas, […]
I help leaders in higher education navigate change with clarity and confidence — offering a trusted space to quiet self-doubt, recalibrate and lead from solid ground. “I stopped second-guessing myself and started making decisions I could stand behind. Beth helped me build confidence in my role and prepare for what’s next.” My work focuses on helping leaders navigate transitions, manage the stressors of institutional change, and clarify their next steps. I create a reflective and supportive space where you can think clearly, reconnect to your strengths, and lead with a steadier sense of self. What we might work on: I’ve spent decades working at the intersection of leadership and psychology, balancing private psychotherapy practice with executive coaching and consulting. I became a coach after seeing how many talented leaders struggle silently during transitions — not because they lack ability, but because they lack the internal support needed to meet external demands with confidence. My work is grounded in training as a clinical psychologist and organizational development specialist, with degrees from Columbia, Cal State Hayward, and Temple University. I’ve taught at undergraduate and graduate levels and have published on what I call “leadership consciousness.” Outside of work, music keeps me grounded: […]
At many institutions, the limited resources for external relations have been redirected to grow the office’s fund-raising capacity. Communications professionals, with jobs lost and budgets cut, watch two dynamics: the growth of decentralized communications and the growth of a sister office, development – both occurring at their perceived expense. And yet both demand more public relations and marketing support than ever as campaigns commonly reach the hundreds of thousands to billions of dollars. When not driven by an integrated strategy, decentralized communicators often message independently and can leave the central office scrambling to provide back-up support or clean up confusion. This is not a small issue. It is monumental and a problem that can be made better, if everyone understands that they are not silos, but integral agents in making their universities more successful and their students’ experiences more valuable. The successful advancement offices that are rebuilding, refocusing and recalibrating, are following five steps to deepen the relationships between development, alumni relations, and marcom. 1. Define the mission of public relations and marketing. Marketing’s sister offices have defined missions. Alumni relations serves alumni. Development raises private funds. But what is the mission of communications? Communications offices get pulled in multiple […]
