Search Results for: meeting

Spotlight on Innovation: How Kennesaw’s TAG Program is Creating Better Degree Completion Pathways for Transfer 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. Transfer student support has seen something of a revolution over the last decade, as colleges have become increasingly aware that transfer students make up over 60% of all American undergraduates enrolled at four-year institutions, and that transfers often arrive without the system of peer support and transitional support services that have been made available to many first-year students. Many institutions, especially state flagships, have put in place robust transfer student support services or, in a few cases, established one-stop transfer student centers on campus. The one-stop approach for transfers remains rare, however, and it is more often that transfer student support is handled out of one department or office on campus. Bucking this trend is Kennesaw State University, which, with the aid of a $3.2 million First […]

Spotlight on Innovation: Retaining First-Gen Students at UNC-Chapel Hill

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. Percentages of first-generation students are rising at many institutions, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is taking an especially comprehensive approach to academic support for this growing and often challenged demographic. At AI, we’re looking forward to watching their FITW-funded project develop over the next four years; if successful, it will provide other institutions with one possible model for a holistic and effective approach to supporting and retaining first-generation students. Here’s a first look at the challenge UNC-Chapel Hill is up against and how they’re innovating to address it. The Challenge At UNC-Chapel Hill, 20 percent of undergraduates are first-generation students who are half as likely to graduate college as their peers. First-generation students who transfer from a community college or major in a […]

The Critical Step in Allocating Resources Across Alumni Relations and Annual Giving

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Most alumni relations and annual giving operations have limited intelligence about who will be a strong reunion volunteer, annual giver, or alumni travel prospect—if the person has not previously participated in any of those activities. But rather than pulling a random database query and then reaching out at random to the contents of the entire resulting list, applying predictive analytics can help provide a more targeted allocation of your resources and more targeted messaging. Why Predictive Modeling is Critical Many organizations seeking to improve operating performance are turning to predictive analytics and predictive modeling to either increase revenues, decrease costs, or both. The size of our alumni population and database at Penn make focusing resources critical to fundraising success. The objectives of our early pilot projects in predictive modeling have been to reduce fundraising-related marketing costs and/or increase the dollars raised, or improve business performance in some other way. Here are examples of how our recent analytics efforts at Penn have informed critical resourcing decisions: The Steps for Effective Predictive Modeling The steps in the predictive modeling process are: Identification of the business need and a proper problem definition are critical for a successful project. In most data warehouse systems, […]

Doing Service Learning Right

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

At many institutions, service learning programs are pursued in an ad hoc manner. Here’s how to realize the full potential of a service learning initiative. Service learning programs have proliferated on college and university campuses over the past decade, leading in the best cases to measurable gains in student learning and engagement; yet at many institutions, these programs are still pursued in an ad hoc manner. Among the obstacles to realizing the full potential of a service learning initiative: To learn from the success of one of the more effective programs, we turned this week to Drew Stelljes, director of community engagement at the College of William and Mary. That institution has effectively scaled its interests in service learning up to a comprehensive civic engagement initiative with defined outcomes and structured collaboration across both the academic affairs and student affairs division. Here is Stelljes’ advice for colleagues at other institutions who may be looking to achieve more with their service learning efforts. Defining Your Outcomes First, Stelljes advises establishing clarity around the purpose of the initiative: “Tease out the objectives that are important to your school,” Stelljes advises, “and then articulate those to the faculty you hope to involve.” “We […]

What the President Looks for in a Chief of Staff

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Here is what a president looks for in a new chief of staff – the three qualities that matter most. In this series of articles, experienced chiefs of staff offer critical advice on managing the chief of staff role. We will share their answers to questions such as these: How do you make yourself available as a liaison to faculty without appearing as a gatekeeper for the president? What words of wisdom would you want to offer to a chief of staff who has been in the role for a while? We know the chief of staff position can feel isolating at times. Thinking back, what were some of the most helpful resources to you in getting up to speed? When considering hiring a chief of staff, what are some absolutely crucial competencies or traits that presidents look for in a candidate? What does a new chief of staff most need to know, and which relationships do you need to build from the first day of your job as chief of staff? What are key skills that chiefs of staff need to build in order to best handle crises on campus? What are one to two key steps chiefs of […]

Taking a Proactive Approach to Advising for At-Risk Students

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

In this first of several articles, Academic Impressions is interviewing leading experts on proactive approaches to academic advising. Over the course of the series, we will look at interventions early on the academic calendar and innovations in course scheduling that support intervention with at-risk students. “By the time a student realizes they’re in trouble and asks an academic advisor for help, it’s usually too late for anything other than a conversation about dropping. The more you can front-load outreach into pre-term or start-of-term communications, the more options the advising office has to offer students.”Joe Murray, Miami University Joe Murray, the director of academic advising and retention services at Miami University Hamilton Campus, is acutely aware of the issue; his institution is open-enrollment, with many adult learners, first-generation students, and academically underprepared students. With a large number of students who could be designated “at risk,” Murray recognizes the critical importance of taking a proactive approach. Murray advocates an “intrusive advising” approach. Based on the research of Robert Glennen, intrusive advising focuses on early outreach and mandatory advising for at-risk students. When we interviewed Murray this week, his primary suggestion was that a one-on-one, personal connection early on the academic calendar will […]

Minors Matter: How Interdisciplinary Solutions Benefit Institutions and Students

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

By Hilary L. Link, PhDPresident of Allegheny College Between the end of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th, higher education in this country became more and more specialized and fragmented due to a number of factors: new research findings, the growth of experimental and scientific methods, the application of science to industry, and “an increased awareness of social problems brought about by an increasingly industrial and urban society.” Emblematic of this specialization, which continues today, is the focus on a student’s major, required by almost every college and university. Most majors are too discipline-specific on their own to give graduates the tools to solve the ever-more-vexing problems of today’s complex world. A major in English may present a career path that is traditionally narrow; combine it with a minor in Environmental Science and graduates expand their opportunities, for instance, as researchers in the natural sciences, leaders in the burgeoning alternative energy sector, grant-writers for climate action nonprofits or environment-focused policymakers and communications professionals. Our problems demand solutions that integrate different perspectives and disciplines, which is precisely why minors matter today more than ever before. As an interdisciplinary scholar of Renaissance art and literature, I have been […]

Improving Diversity in Higher Education: Beyond the Moral Imperative

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

Seizing the Moment November 18, 2015. We witnessed a pivotal moment for higher education last week with the resignations of Tim Wolfe, President of the University of Missouri System, and R. Bowen Loftin, Chancellor of the flagship campus in Columbia. Issues of diversity and inclusion have been challenging campuses for years, but I believe we have now reached a tipping point that will place this issue front and center on leaders’ agendas today and into the future. As we think about the importance of last week’s events, one thing is clear: the efforts by the students at the University of Missouri will help fuel the much-needed nation-wide conversation on this important topic. Already, dozens of campuses are hosting diversity forums, hosting town hall meetings, and issuing statements to demonstrate the many initiatives they are investing in to create a more inclusive and diverse environment. My hope is that these conversations are sincere efforts to move the diversity agenda forward. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s imperative for the success and sustainability of institutions. And there is no time to waste. The Business Case for Diversity The statistics are clear and sobering. Black students and Hispanic students are […]

3 Ways to Help Peer Educators Succeed

Posted on by 25337pwpadmin@ai_azuread

In a related article, we asked Sarah Whitley, director of first-year experience and family programs at Longwood University, to offer her insights on what critical items are often missing from peer mentor training. Whitley’s answers indicated the need for a shift in thinking about the support and development peer educators need, whether your peer educators serve primarily as peer mentors or whether they lead first-year seminar courses or other elements of the first-year student experience. We decided to dig deeper in a follow-up interview. Sarah Whitley and Jennifer Latino, the director of first-year experience at Campbell University, suggest three keys to helping peer educators step into a leadership role and take greater ownership of their work: Shift the Focus from Orientation to Leadership Development “Don’t think of this as just training,” Latino suggests. “Think of this as a process of development for peer educators. I think where we often fall short in administering these training programs is that we don’t take into consideration the impact on the peer mentor. We know that training peer educators is good for first-year students, but peer mentoring is also a profound experience for the mentors themselves. When our training is focused on what to […]

A Year in Crisis: Lessons in Communication Learned as a Department Chair

Posted on by bradystanton@ai_azuread

Introduction We have just passed the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this experience may have provided opportunities for us to learn and grow, it has also taught us there are critical elements of our life and work where no substitute is sufficient. One of these elements is communication. The extreme safety measures of social distancing, lockdowns, quarantines, remote teaching, and working from home have made communicating with one another increasingly difficult and acutely essential. Let’s not forget, though, there has always been a need for academic leaders to improve communication—many of us have even read books and attended workshops dedicated to this topic. However, the current pandemic has magnified potential weak spots in our communication, providing the opportunity to develop new habits that will benefit those we lead. Allow me to share with you some lessons I have learned recently—some more painful than others—and how they can be applied right now, as well as in a post-pandemic world. Knowing Your Responsibilities Makes You a Better Communicator Being a department chair is the toughest job on campus, and the job does not get any easier during a pandemic. Students, faculty, and staff look to us for magical answers to […]

Loading survey...