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Spotlight on Innovation: How the University of Minnesota is Building Collaborative Partnerships to Improve Retention of First-Gen Students

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

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. Geoffrey (Geoff) Maruyama, the department chair of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, has an intriguing — and direct — way of explaining the challenges faced in improving the academic success and persistence of under-represented and lower-income students. He cites Urie Bronfenbrenner’s research on the ecology of human development. Transformative Learning for First-Generation Students “Kids grow up in a lot of different ecosystems,” Maruyama notes. “To the extent to which those ecosystems are aligned, life is simple. When you have a bigger transition, however, it gets more complicated. First-generation students are less likely to have grown up in a culture with strong links to higher education, making the transition to a college environment a more significant change.” A lot of professionals in higher education are discussing how best […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Bryn Mawr is Closing Math Skill Gaps with Targeted Online Modules

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

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. Bryn Mawr College has long boasted a strong history of women attaining STEM degrees, with more than a third of their students majoring in math or science. Now, Bryn Mawr is working to take the next step toward increasing the number of underrepresented, underprepared and low-income students attaining STEM degrees by targeting the needs of students who have gaps in specific math skills or who lack the overall mastery that would allow them to thrive in STEM. Their project, funded by a $1.65 million First in the World grant from the US Department of Education, will combine face-to-face coaching support and blended learning through online modules, in partnership with twelve other institutions. The Challenge The project targets the group of students who have passed Bryn Mawr’s entry […]

Getting Buy-in for Addressing Deferred Maintenance

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Earlier this month, we surveyed the institutions planning to attend an Academic Impressions webcast on rethinking and prioritizing physical campus improvements. We asked questions about their balance of new capital projects and replacement and renewal, how they were handling issues with limited space capacity, and their level of commitment to addressing the deferred maintenance backlog. Of the facilities managers surveyed, 75 percent noted that addressing the deferred maintenance backlog was either a “high” or “highest” priority for the next 12 months. What’s interesting is that when we asked facilities managers the same question at the end of January this year, the percentage who assigned a high priority to deferred maintenance was 68 percent. While in the past the deferred maintenance backlog has been a perennially neglected issue, it is now rising steadily in its importance to an institution’s planning around physical campus improvements. EXPLORE THE FINDINGS For the findings from the January – February 2012 deferred maintenance survey, read our recent article “Benchmarking Deferred Maintenance.” In response to these findings, we asked Kambiz Khalili, the assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and the executive director of housing and dining services at the University of Colorado Boulder; Dan King, the assistant […]

Recruiting International Students

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Overall first-time graduate enrollments from international students at US institutions did not climb in 2008-09 (though emerging markets in the Middle East still saw increases), according to a survey released this week by the Council of Graduate Schools. Reasons suggested for the stagnant numbers include the global recession and increased competition from other nations. Many undergraduate programs, however, have reported surges in international students; the University of Oregon announced a 16% jump in undergraduate international enrollment. And many institutions (among the most recent, Virginia Tech and the University of Nebraska) have set goals for doubling international enrollment in the next five or ten years. Now more than ever, it’s critical for enrollment managers in the US and Canada to be intentional in their approach to recruiting international students. Sarah Ramisch Stewart, Manager of International Admissions and Recruitment at Carleton University, offers some practical tips for planning your approach. What You Should Be Asking Approach international recruitment with clearly defined goals and an eye for finding the best match. Stewart suggests: Identifying the right student profile is critical, and not just in terms of academic interest. Stewart offers the example of a rural or lesser-known institution seeking applicants in Turkey. In this […]

Four Tips for Managing the Brand Launch

Posted on by greta@academicimpressions.com

June 9, 2011. Competition for visibility continues to pressure institutions of higher education to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. In order to stay competitive, maintain enrollment levels, and meet advancement goals, your institution needs a unique brand strategy that carefully defines who you are in the minds of stakeholders. Often, though, marketing professionals and institutional leaders have questions concerning how to effectively roll out or communicate a change to the brand. Past examples of branding efforts gone wrong have taught us that a brand campaign carries considerable public relations risk. This week, we asked Bill Faust, senior partner and chief strategy officer for Ologie, for his advice; Faust offers these four tips for success in managing your brand launch. Decide Whether You Need a Hard or Soft Launch Faust suggests that a hard launch or “roll-out party” isn’t always necessary: “some launches are very soft and are rolled out over time, applied to specific areas of the institution at a time.” If your institution has been through a tumultuous time or needs to change its public image dramatically (the public thinks of you as X, but you need them to think of you as Y), then a hard launch may be […]

Establishing a Culture of Philanthropy as an Academic Dean

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Establishing a Culture of Philanthropy as an Academic Dean Develop a plan to instill a culture of philanthropy in your academic unit. The next cohort starts on Monday. Philanthropic work in higher education is as important as ever, as the cost of delivering a high-quality education continues to increase. Academic deans are situated in an important role that allows them to guide the strategic direction of their school or college to help meet the academic mission of their institution. But to achieve their strategic vision, deans must embrace their responsibility to foster a culture of philanthropy within their academic unit to ensure success for years to come. This video course will be beneficial to any academic dean—new or experienced—or those aspiring to the role who are seeking to develop or refine a plan to achieve philanthropic goals for their institution. This course is designed to help you understand what a culture of philanthropy is, why it is important, what your responsibility is as a dean in establishing a culture of philanthropy, and how to approach fundraising as a part of this culture. Our expert instructor, Dr. Wade Weast, will help you to understand how your roles as a […]

5 Tips for Improving International Alumni Data

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Today, international alumni relations looks and feels: Successful programs require leadership support, designated staff management, volunteer engagement and resources such as budgets and updated data. With current databases, our efforts are only as good as the information we have — or the information we are getting today. How are we tracking international alumni? Does this area need a thorough review before we start outreach? Can we begin to track international students better? POLLING ALUMNI RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS In a recent online training with Academic Impressions increasing international alumni engagement, I asked participants what their greatest challenge was in engaging international alumni. More than 85% of responses agreed that incomplete, insufficient, old, and/or the lack of international alumni databases proved their most challenging obstacle. You can order that training here. As a follow up to it, I want to offer these five tips for improving international data management practices: 1. Know the depth of current data and create records for “non-traditional” alumni First, do the research needed to track when the first international students attended your institution and how the demographics have changed over time: 2. “Internationalize” current systems Output is only as good as input. The success of engaging international alumni […]

Training Peer Mentors for First-Year Students: What’s Missing

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Peer educators can serve as an effective front line in the student development and academic success of first-year students, and employing peer mentors (either as employees or as volunteers) can save on costs. Yet many institutions provide only the most cursory training and orientation for their peer mentors. This week, we turned to Sarah Whitley, the forward-thinking director of first-year experience and family programs with Longwood University. We asked her what critical efforts are often missing from peer mentor training. Here are three items she drew our attention to. Introduce Student Development Theory “One thing that I have found incredibly useful and successful, and that many universities aren’t doing, is to actually provide a training session on student development theory. I know that probably seems a bit “heavy” for undergraduates. It seems like more of a graduate school topic. But offer a basic overview to kick off your training program, because it’s really important for the peer mentors to understand the developmental level of new students coming into the institution.”Sarah Whitley, Longwood University Whitley suggests that a basic overview of Chickering and Perry and brief discussions of student development vectors, how students are trying to make decisions, and how students […]

How Do You Make the Case for Funding Maintenance and Renewal for Campus Facilities?

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

YOU’LL ALSO WANT TO READ:Benchmarking Deferred Maintenance: A Recent Survey (May 2012)Proactive Approaches to Deferred Maintenance (November 2011) In our January – February 2012 survey of facilities managers (read the executive summary here), Academic Impressions learned that while physical plant operations at most institutions have assigned a high priority this year to addressing their deferred maintenance backlog, many falter in making an effective case for funding facilities replacement and maintenance needs. We turned this week to Daniel King, facilities manager at Auburn University (Auburn, AL), who has recently done some innovative thinking and piloting around just this issue. Here are two ideas Dan King offers – one for working with academic leaders to prioritize “small and modest” maintenance projects, and one for communicating to institutional leaders the big picture of the institution’s replacement and renewal needs. A Clear Process for Prioritizing Maintenance Projects Auburn University has piloted a prioritization process that involves soliciting maintenance needs from across campus and then meeting with the provost to evaluate the proposed projects on a regular basis. The keys to the process are the involvement of the entire campus in a discussion of the institution’s maintenance needs and transparency around the decisions made. King’s […]

Strategies to Build & Sustain Your Donor Base

Strategies to Build & Sustain Your Donor Base A 6-Part Discussion Series for Annual Giving Professionals   Recorded on October 11, 2023 | Recorded on October 18, 2023 | Recorded on October 25, 2023 | Recorded on November 1, 2023 | Recorded on November 8, 2023 | Recorded on November 15, 2023 REGISTER Gain new ideas in community with other annual giving professionals to strengthen donor acquisition and retention. Overview As competition for donor dollars increases, it’s more important than ever to build solid strategies around the three critical components of the annual giving fundraising cycle: acquisition, participation, and retention. Join us for a discussion series to learn new ideas for how to build and sustain a healthy donor base. In community with other annual giving professionals across the nation, you will engage in dialogue, share current practices, and have space to ask questions about how to apply these new strategies at your own institution. Each session will be co-facilitated by our expert panel, Nky McGinnis, Executive Director of Annual Giving Programs at the University of Rochester, and Tyrell Warren-Burnett, Senior Director of Annual Giving at Oregon State University Foundation. Collectively, they bring 25+ years of experience to the table […]

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