Category: Blog

3 Ways You Are Mishandling Involuntary Leaves

by Gregory T. Eells, Ph.D.

Interview originally conducted in October 2014. Addressing issues of self-harm can be tricky and complicated for institutions. The complexities lie in the conundrum between providing appropriate support to students who engage in self-harming behaviors and complying with regulatory action propagated by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To help your institution enhance support for students while remaining in compliance with the law, we interviewed an expert on student mental health: Greg Eells, Associate Director of Gannett Health Services and Director of Counseling & Psychological Services at Cornell University. Dr. Eells is the chair-elect of the mental health section of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and a past president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). Interview with Greg Eells Lisa LaPoint: Greg, thank you for this conversation. What are three potential ways that colleges and universities mishandle involuntary leaves? Greg Eells: There are three that are especially common. The first is applying policies in a way that only apply to students with known disabilities. This issue was at the heart of the original OCR letter to Spring Arbor University, where the university established a different criteria for readmission (after the student had […]

Fundraising for Presidents, Deans, and Boards

An interview with James Langley (Langley Innovations) Recently, we reached out to Jim Langley, founder of Langley Innovations and the author of three bestselling Academic Impressions guides for institutional advancement: We asked Jim to share the philosophy behind these four unique books and what he hopes development officers and their partners on campus will learn as they look to create a more sustainable future for their institutions. AI.Why these books? Why are these books so needed? Why are they especially important now? Jim Langley.What these books bring to the market is a sense of the new realities in which philanthropy operates. They are very different realities than those in which philanthropy operated even a decade ago; they are very different from several decades ago. When you look at the market, there are a number of fine books out there about the tactics and techniques of fundraising, but they are ‘of a time.’ These books start to address what we can do to create the conditions for sustainable fundraising in the present and going forward. I think it is fair to say that in the past 10-15 years, there was a widely held assumption within higher education that a great deal of […]

Advising Students in Crisis: 7 Approaches to Maximize Advisors’ Effectiveness

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D.

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Over the past few days, three different students have made comments to the effect of, “I am so glad I called. I almost didn’t. Honestly, before I called I had pretty much decided to withdraw from the program.” By the end of my discussion with each of these students, the student decided to persist and agreed to continue a dialogue that would help them to succeed. When students are in crisis, they are most vulnerable. They are apt to make rash decisions if they feel isolated and unsupported. If they have even one person within the institution on whom they know they can rely, it may make all the difference in retaining them. Being able to have that conversation effectively with an at-risk student at the most critical moment is key. I want to share seven approaches that advisors can use to maximize their effectiveness and establish a reputation as someone to whom a student can turn. 1. Be Reliable and Available Advisors can establish themselves as reliable advocates by consistently providing comprehensive advising and by making time for students, […]

How One Institution is Taking an Accelerated, Synchronous Approach to Online Developmental Education

by Brooks Doherty

Here’s how Rasmussen College has increased its developmental education pass rates by double digits while decreasing the number and percentage of students who require remedial coursework. FROM RASMUSSEN COLLEGE DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION STUDENTS: “I am one who hated math because I couldn’t understand it. I came into this class with the attitude that I was going to fail and have to retake the class. I am so amazed that my average is in the 90s and I have even gotten a score of 100 on a test! I really amazed myself! Just take plenty of notes so that you can go back and look at examples and see how to do the problems.” “The demonstrations really help. There is still a lot I don’t get, but with these videos I am beginning to understand.” Driven by faculty-based action research, redesigned residential and online courses, and changes to placement testing, Rasmussen College has increased its developmental education pass rates by double digits while decreasing the number and percentage of students who require remedial coursework. Like many institutions of higher education, Rasmussen College prioritizes developmental education given its impact on new-student experience, graduation, and overall institutional health. In 2012, the college committed to an […]

How One Institution Makes Faculty Development Exciting While Keeping Costs Down

by Lisa Cook

A FACULTY DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY With minimal budget for faculty development, McKendree University has taken a unique approach to: Here is the story of what McKendree University has tried and what is working. At McKendree University, the idea to attach a theme to a week of faculty development activities was initially a bit of a fluke according to Tami Eggleston, associate dean for institutional effectiveness and professor of psychology. She was preparing for a series of professional development workshops offered in conjunction with provost Christine Bahr after classes ended in May, and they decided to decorate the conference room. She bought some beach balls and sand buckets as decorations, and faculty liked it enough that they specifically mentioned it in their post-workshop evaluations. Since then, the university has raised the bar each year to keep faculty development engaging and fun while also addressing specific themes to improve teaching. We talked with Eggleston to learn more about how McKendree spices up their development activities on a small budget — and why she advocates for May as the perfect time to tackle faculty development. Keeping Faculty Development Fun After classes end in May, McKendree faculty are invited to participate in a couple of […]

How Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Rethink Tuition Discounting

Rising institutional costs and greater price sensitivity on the part of prospective students and families have caused many institutions to strategically rethink their tuition discounting strategy. The following is an excerpt from a brief interview conducted with enrollment management expert John W. Dysart, president of The Dysart Group, who spoke at Academic Impressions’ conference on tuition discounting in Phoenix, AZ on . Sarah Seigle Peatman, AI: John, conversations about the discount rate in higher education continue to steal headlines in 2015. What has especially caught your attention this year? John Dysart: The trends in the most recent NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers) Discounting Survey are not encouraging, especially for small, private colleges and universities: Discount rates continue to climb for newly enrolled freshmen.  The rate reached a record 44.8% in 2012 was projected to top 46% in 2013. Discount rates are rising while enrollment often remains flat and 17% of the participating institutions reported declines in freshmen enrollment of at least 10%. These two trends in particular are cause for concern. The important outcome of the current conditions is that net tuition revenue has remained virtually flat over the last decade when adjusted for inflation. The news is […]

Cultivating the Next Generation of Wealth

by Mary Solomons

We are in the midst of a tsunami of wealth transfer. It is predicted that over the next 50 years, anywhere between 20 and 40 trillion dollars of wealth will pass from parents to their children. This year the federal estate tax exemption is nearly $5.5 million dollars, or roughly $11 million if two parents are leaving funds to a child. To look at it another way, 10% of wealth is changing hands every five years. Millennials are inheriting their wealth at a rate faster than their parents or their grandparents; one third of millionaires under the age of 32 inherited their money. As fundraisers, what are we doing to engage this next generation of wealth? Changing the Way We Cultivate the Donor Pipeline Historically, when did we begin to engage with children of means? Alumni might connect with their alma mater when their children are beginning the admission process. We might approach them when we’re looking to fill a board seat or leadership volunteer role. However, this is usually years after they graduated, a period during which these potential young philanthropists have already established their philanthropic priorities—and you may not be among them. We know that Millennials think about their charitable giving […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Hampton University Plans to Increase STEM Retention and Completion through Course Redesign and Engagement

by Lisa Cook

How do you increase the number of underrepresented minority students attaining STEM degrees? Hampton University has a holistic approach. 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. Hampton University has set a specific goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who graduate with STEM degrees, and Hampton is looking to address several obstacles to degree completion for minority students, including access, affordability, and engagement. Hampton intends use its $3.5 million First in the World grant to identify students who have declared a STEM major and engage them with a number of activities designed to boost success and completion. The project includes partnerships with several other organizations to facilitate internships and other opportunities for STEM majors. To learn more, we reached out to Dr. Ira Walker, project director of the grant and associate professor […]

Spotlight on Innovation: How Central Georgia Technical College Success Coaches Will Provide Collaborative Support to At-Risk Students

by Lisa Cook

Here’s how Central Georgia Technical College is expanding a student success coach program, focusing especially on GED students and students placed in developmental education. 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. A little more than half of the students at Central Georgia Technical College are first-generation students who may not have the family support they need to successfully navigate college. Officials at the two-year college have spent more than a decade incubating strategies to effectively support first-gen and other underrepresented and academically underprepared students through graduation. This includes an effective model for using success coaches and a college success course to help guide students through their academic career. Now with the help of a $3.2 million First in the World grant, CGTC will expand the success coach model to all three CGTC campuses. They are also […]

How One Institution is Using Competency Based Examination to Accelerate Degree Completion

by Lisa Cook

Seeking to provide students with multiple paths to earn credit toward a college degree, Colorado State University-Global Campus already offers a wide range of alternative credit options, including Prior Learning Assessments (PLAs) and credit for CLEP and DSST exams. But recently — in June 2014 — CSU-Global added a new option, allowing students to take Competency Based Exams (CBEs) in a wide variety of undergraduate courses. We recently talked with Dr. Jon Bellum, provost and senior vice president at CSU-Global, to learn more about how his institution is using this credit alternative. How Competency Based Exams Work CSU-Global began working to offer CBEs for the majority of their undergraduate courses about a year ago, after a series of small-scale pilots to determine whether CBE was a good fit for their programs. They discovered that it was a good fit for all but a few courses and subsequently rolled out the program more widely. The CBEs were developed in-house, with faculty and instructional designers working together. The tests are designed to measure the outcomes of the class that students would otherwise take, just as projects measure outcomes in traditional online courses. CSU-Global faculty write each exam, which consists primarily of multiple-choice […]