Search Results for: meeting

A Close Look at Rio Salado College’s Approach to Boosting Success for At-Risk Online Students

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 18 colleges, universities, and organizations 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. 2015 was the second year of the First in the World grants. You can read our interviews with the 24 institutions that received 2014 grants at the link here. If you’re looking for ways to assist online students who are academically under-prepared, you may want to watch Rio Salado College’s developing research project, PLan for Undergraduate Success (PLUS). The two-year college’s latest initiative targets new students pursuing an associate degree or planning to transfer to a four-year institution, and will allow Rio Salado to route additional support and preparation to these students. Assisted by a $2.7 million First in the World grant, the college hopes to increase degree completion and persistence by personalizing learning, supporting students with a college success course and facilitator, and by offering an […]

As a Leader You Need Honest, Direct Feedback – Here’s How to Get It

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

“If you’re not getting information or feedback on a regular basis that is uncomfortable for you, go seek it out.” One of the traps a higher-ed leader can fall into is in believing that they are receiving accurate feedback when in fact their colleagues and team members are holding back. Here’s a way to break through that trap: an anonymous 360° feedback process. This article is adapted from an excerpt of Pat Sanaghan’s book How Higher-Ed Leaders Derail: A Survival Guide for Leaders. For leaders in higher ed, I cannot stress enough that you have to be proactive in encouraging (and rewarding behavior that fosters) a climate of candor and transparency. If others around you are not pushing back on your ideas, sharing different perspectives, and asking the tough questions, you may not realize how your leadership is actually being received. It’s very likely that you have an inaccurate and incomplete picture. In How Higher-Ed Leaders Derail: A Survival Guide for Leaders, I refer to this situation as “the seduction of the leader,” a common dynamic in which leaders are “seduced” into believing they have all the facts when in fact, they don’t. It is a dynamic that, if allowed […]

Four Stats That Will Impact Higher Ed in 2017

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

2017 has the potential to be a volatile year in higher education, and that was the case even before Donald Trump took office. Regulatory uncertainty, continued economic and demographic headwinds, and shifts in both domestic and international student enrollment trends are just a few of the rapids that higher-ed leaders will need to navigate. At Academic Impressions, as we review current research and much of the best current thinking on paths forward for colleges and institutions, we want to draw your attention to four stats that are likely to have an immediate impact in 2017—but that not many are paying heed to. Here are four statistics we think every higher-ed leader should know. 1.  80,000 Nationwide, we are in the midst of a multi-year decline in the number of high school graduates, which began in 2013. This year, however, will see the sharpest single-year decline in the approximately 10-year downturn (numbers are expected to surpass 2011 figures in 2024). WICHE projects that in 2017 we will have approximately 80,000 fewer high school students graduating, a decline of more than 2%. For institutions that still heavily rely on this population of approximately 3.4 million students, this decline will be significant. We are […]

3 Tips for Re-admitting Stop-Outs

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

This article offers critical tips gleaned from two of the earliest and successful college stop-out re-enrollment programs – the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s 49er ReAdmits and 49er Finishers, and Harper College’s Completion Concierge. It is a must-read if you are thinking of starting your first stop-out program. Looking to boost completion rates, more colleges are reaching out to students who left the institution or “stopped out” due to family, life, and career changes — or due to financial hardship — but who either qualify for a degree or other credential without realizing it, or are within a few courses of completion. In 2010, we interviewed Demaree Michelau, WICHE’s director of policy analysis, for her advice on the key barriers stop-outs face in returning to campus and how institutions can begin to address them. In this new article, we review two highly successful programs — one at a four-year institution and one at a two-year institution — and we have asked those leading the programs to share tips and advice that may be replicable at other institutions. Our two sample programs are the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s 49er ReAdmits and 49er Finishers, and Harper College’s Completion Concierge. […]

Overcoming Barriers to Student Affairs/Academic Affairs Partnerships: 4 Examples

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

In our 2016 article “Improving Student Success Can’t Be a One-Office Effort,” Paul Marthers at SUNY spoke of the power of leveraging strategic partnerships across traditionally divided functional areas: “Whole-campus efforts tend to have higher visibility and the power to motivate collective buy-in and effort. Student success became everyone’s job, because just about everyone who works on a college campus is involved in some part of the student lifecycle.” Developing strategic partnerships between student affairs and academic departments on your campus isn’t easy work, but it can be critical to improving students’ experience and success. That’s why we’re offering an intensive learn-and-work training this summer focused on the structural and cultural aspects of developing a successful partnership. In advance of that workshop, though, we wanted to collect powerful examples of how experts at different institutions have overcome common but significant hurdles to establishing and strengthening these partnerships. Here are the examples our expert panel want to share with you: Examples: How Each Panelist Overcame Hurdles to Successful SA/AA Partnerships Christopher Romano, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Ramapo College. Higher education is known for its siloed approach to serving students. However, one way that Ramapo College of New Jersey has […]

5 Steps Any University Can Take to Develop Student Leaders

Posted on by Daniel Fusch

Beyond a workshop, what does developing student leaders effectively look like? The former president of Nichols College shares 5 quick steps any college can take – followed by advice on how to take student leadership development to the next level. by Susan West Engelkemeyer, Former President, Nichols College At many colleges and universities, student leadership development programming is limited or localized to an office in the student affairs division. Yet we know that leadership is one of the core capacities that employers (and society) require of our graduates in the 21st century. Leadership development should be integrated throughout the curriculum and co-curricular experience, for all students. We have been working on that integration systemically at Nichols College, but you don’t have to systemically re-imagine your general education curriculum in order to get started. Here are 5 things any university can do that supplement existing offerings and programs with meaningful leadership development: 1. Add a Module to Your First-Year Seminar In a course already required for first-year students, include a several-weeks-long module or two that focus on leadership practices and issues. Or offer a dedicated seminar during intercession. Having students work through case studies serves as useful format. The subjects can range […]

Many Faculty Misunderstand What Enhancing Customer Service Means in the Classroom, and You May, Too 

Posted on by Brady Stanton

As a senior administrator in higher education for decades, I spent a great deal of time creating programs and policies that would enhance the student experience. This seemed natural, and it was done in pursuit of boosting student satisfaction and retention. As an instructor, however, reconciling “student satisfaction” within my classroom was not as straightforward. My goal as an instructor was to provide information and build knowledge for students, despite the fact that sometimes the outcome was disappointing for both of us. Since students pay for classes, but not grades, there was never an expectation that students would be universally satisfied.  Enhancing the student experience and customer service on campus is often delegated to administrators and staff who develop policies, procedures, and programs for students that will act as guardrails at the edge of the enrollment cliff. However, many discussions over the years surrounding this important topic have often purposely steered away from the classroom— as though classrooms are shrouded under an invisibility cloak and are not up for discussion when it comes to customer service.  On one occasion, I was meeting with a mixture of administrators and faculty, and I shared my belief that we needed to examine our […]

AMP UP: A Study of New Approaches to Math Remediation at Bergen Community College

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 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. 2015 was the second year of the First in the World grants. You can read our interviews with the 24 institutions that received 2014 grants More colleges are trying new approaches to math remediation to improve persistence and graduation rates for students who test into developmental courses, but there isn’t much data on which approaches prove most successful. To remedy this issue, Bergen Community College is partnering with Union County College in launching a new study funded by a $2.6 million First in the World grant to see which approaches to math remediation make the greatest difference to students. The project, “Alternatives to Math Placement, An Unprecedented Program” (AMP UP), will allow Bergen and Union County to compare the effects of various approaches. We talked to William Mullaney, vice president […]

A Conversation in Fundraising We Need to Have

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

We asked Jason McNeal to share the philosophy behind his unique handbook and why he feels that training on effective contact reports can be – in the long term – a game-changer for development shops. An interview with Jason McNeal (Gonser Gerber LLP), author of  Writing Meaningful Contact Reports: A Handbook for Fundraisers. AI.Jason, thanks for this conversation. To get started, why do you think this handbook is especially needed?Jason McNeal.Every higher-ed institution is looking for the advancement part of the enterprise to be as effective as it can possibly be. Part of that effectiveness relies on how well we know our donors. And the mechanism for showing evidence that we know our donors well is the recording of our business with them. Contact reports do that for us. They capture the most important aspects of a donor’s contact with the institution and hopefully provide permanently records that so that the advancement shop can build a body of knowledge about that donor and their relationship to the institution. But how effective are we, actually, at doing that? AI.Could you say more about that, Jason?Jason McNeal.Well, here we have this very important component of our work — that is key to becoming more effective […]

Recruiting Military Students

Posted on by Kenneth Soldink

Even though this market is largely dominated by the for-profits, the past year has seen many non-profit universities make initial investments in services for military students, especially since the passing of the post-9/11 GI Bill. We asked Jim Paskill, principal and creative director for Paskill Stapleton & Lord; Eric Craver, director of marketing and recruitment for the office of adult degree programs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay; and David Hoftiezer, director of admissions at Thomas Edison State College, for advice on first steps in reaching out to military students, whether veteran or active duty. Be Realistic Paskill recommends proceeding with “both eyes open.” Most active duty military — and many veterans — are going to be looking for online offerings. “The for-profits are the 2000 pound gorilla in that arena, and institutions like the University of Phoenix and DeVry are investing significant funds to generate leads. You will probably not be able to compete on a dollar-for-dollar basis.” Also, whether you are thinking of an active duty, deployed population or veteran students, remember that you are competing for a relatively small market.  If you are looking at the military market as a revenue source, you are not likely to see a […]

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