Category: Uncategorized

Boosting Yield at Private Colleges: Making the Case for Value

There is no question that this is a tough economy. Many colleges are having to consider steep tuition hikes. Two prestigious schools that had adopted no-loan policies have recently canceled them (Williams and Dartmouth), finding them no longer financially tenable. And with the rapid rise in demand for need-based aid and a decline in the ability of many student applicants and their families to pay the costs of college tuition, we are seeing many students who would normally attend private colleges opt for a regional state institution instead. Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, and W. Kent Barnds, vice president of enrollment and communication at Augustana College, offer advice on how private colleges looking to increase yield can make the case for their value to accepted students. Start the Conversation with Value, Not Price Historically, colleges have not made a good case for the value they offer. Barnds cites a 2007 study by Peter Hart Research Associates that identified what businesses are looking for in college graduates — including critical thinking, problem-solving, communications skills, and strong work habits. “For many small private colleges in the $40-50,000 price range,” Barnds notes, “our mission is to develop precisely these attributes.” Focus […]

Assault Prevention on Your Campus

Assault prevention programs on campus: What works, and what doesn’t? Here is what two leading experts suggest. A report on campus rape compiled by NPR in collaboration with journalists at the Center for Public Integrity concluded that: Colleges almost never expel men who are found responsible for sexual assault The US Department of Education has failed to monitor and regulate campus response to sexual assault, and has only fined colleges 6 times for violations of the Clery Act Colleges are ill-equipped to handle cases of sexual assault The report also notes that while colleges are rarely equipped to handle the judicial response to an assault, more institutions are investing in prevention measures. But few are doing it well. Dara Raboy-Picciano, who coordinates assault prevention programming at Binghamton University, and Monica Collins, who manages prevention programming at Colorado State University, draw attention to common approaches that are ineffective, and offer their advice on where colleges should be investing their resources in prevention programming. [wcm_restrict] What Doesn’t Work Collins and Raboy-Picciano both suggest that what does not work is: Focusing only on self-defense or risk reduction programs Focusing only on offering awareness programming for women While your college might either offer self-defense […]

Marketing with Online Video

Published in 2010. The last week has seen some unorthodox and controversial uses of online video, including Yale’s admissions musical. With more colleges considering the uses of online video in communicating with applicants and other constituents, we turned to Jason Simon, director of marketing and communications for the University of California system, and Mike Barzacchini, director of marketing services for Harper College, for advice on how to use online video effectively. 4 Keys to Effective Video “I’m not a big proponent of gimmickry or the pursuit of different production techniques. The basics are that you need a powerful story.”Jason Simon, U of California Simon and Barzacchini suggest 4 elements you need for an effective online video: First, look for stories that demonstrate what is unique and different about your college, such as particular research efforts or unique approaches to teaching in the classroom. Barzacchini also cautions against taking an ad hoc approach to your storytelling. “You can deliver great content — and save time and money — by planning as much as possible. Fully develop your key messages and storyboard or at least outline the flow of your video content.” Second, make sure that video is in fact the appropriate medium. “As […]

Key Components for a Competitive Pricing Strategy

In this difficult economy, higher education has seen a rapid rise in demand for need-based aid and a decline in the ability of many student applicants and their families to pay the costs of college tuition. Institutions have been responding to the economic pressure in a variety of ways — sharp tuition increases, tuition freezes, repackaging financial aid. Two prestigious schools that had adopted no-loan policies have recently canceled them (Williams and Dartmouth), finding them no longer financially tenable. Middlebury College recently opted to limit future tuition increases to 1% above inflation. In this economy, your pricing decisions need to be informed and deliberate. Kathy Kurz, vice president of Scannell & Kurz, Inc., outlines the key components to consider as you frame your pricing strategy in this market. Make Sure You’re Comparing Yourself to the Right Competitors “The first mistake we often see institutions make is comparing themselves to the wrong set of competitors.”Kathy Kurz, Scannell & Kurz, Inc. Most likely you have a set of peer and aspirant institutions that you compare yourself to in terms of student/faculty ratio and other metrics. But is this the right group for comparing sticker price and tuition discounts? Kurz suggests that to […]

Crisis Communications: Lessons Learned From Lynn University

The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti left four students and two faculty from Lynn University (Boca Raton, FL) missing, and for several long weeks, no definite information was available about the whereabouts or the security of the missing persons. During the long rescue and recovery, Lynn University kept the campus community, the families of those missing, and more than 900 media professionals informed and current at every stage of the crisis. We asked Jason Hughes, former director of public relations at Lynn University and now director of marketing and communications at Beloit College; Laura Vann, Lynn University’s media relations specialist; and leading crisis communications expert Cindy Lawson, for advice on what best practices institutions can learn from Lynn University’s crisis response. “Lynn University has established a best practices benchmark for future crisis communications. This should be a case study for university media relations professionals. I think it was impeccably done.”Cindy Lawson, DePaul University The Emergency Alert Lynn University’s communications strategy during the recent crisis relied on a well-tested and well-prepared emergency alert system, in which alerts arrived in inboxes and were posted to a separate website that kept a running log of the updates. “We needed to have it easy to […]

Naming Gifts for Campus Facilities

“Endowed chairs and scholarships are well understood as naming properties. We have well-defined processes for them. We don’t often have well-defined processes for how to manage naming gifts for facilities, but it’s needed.” This article refers to events in 2010 but offers practical strategies are still very relevant today. In an unusual story (2010), it emerged that Utah Valley University is raising funds by reselling the naming rights to its event center, at the request or with the permission of the original donor, whose name is being transferred to the school of education building. While this particular type of renaming is very rare, this is a good time for institutions to be thoughtful about their capital and facilities naming and renaming opportunities. Vincent Duckworth of ViTrēo offers his insights into taking a more strategic approach to identifying and managing naming opportunities. Renaming A Facility “The life of an institution is measured in hundreds of years, but the life of buildings is measured in decades,” Duckworth notes, “so as your buildings get refurbished, renovated, demolished, and rebuilt, you need to have processes in place for how to go about renaming the space.” Invariably, Duckworth suggests, the institutions that manage this best […]

Considering Mobile Learning For Your Institution

Academic Impressions has designed this seven-step checklist that you can consider with your team. This is a list of critical decision points along the road to adopting mobile learning at your institution. A Campus Technology article highlighted both Abilene Christian University’s development of a homegrown mobile learning solution a few years ago and their current expansion of that mobile learning initiative to include classroom management, blogging, and (soon) mobile podcasting. While mobile learning continues to be a topic of interest among educators, very few institutions in the US have adopted it. We turned to Judy Brown, founder and former director of the University of Wisconsin system’s Academic ADL Co-Lab and a key thinker in mobile learning strategies, for her advice on what questions institutions who are in the earliest stages of considering a mobile learning initiative should consider. [wcm_restrict] Start with the Key Question When considering adopting a mobile device for your freshman class, or choosing multiple devices to support, the most critical question to ask is what you expect from your learners, from the users of the device. Will they be consumers of content? Are you looking to them to create content? Or both? Mobile learning can offer you more […]

Techniques for Assessing Prior Learning

Here’s how to do prior learning assessment (PLA) rigorously and well. The suggestions given are by the author of a landmark study of prior learning assessment portfolios. 2010. Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of the Lumina Foundation for Education, has released a statement offering ideas for a national strategy to rapidly train workers for new jobs; among these, prior learning assessment (PLA) was cited as one possible game-changer. But beyond CLEP and the controversial challenge exam, how can enrollment managers and academic leaders assess prior learning effectively and with rigor? We asked Denise Hart, director of adult education and creator of the Success Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and author of a landmark study of prior learning assessment portfolios, for techniques that institutions should be thinking about. The Prior Learning Portfolio Hart recommends starting with portfolio assessment as your core option. But for this to work, you have to: It is important to have the portfolio evaluated by faculty with specific and relevant expertise. “Don’t have a History of Civil War expert evaluating a Vietnam War portfolio,” Hart cautions. “Have someone who is au courant, who knows the material, is current with the material, and understands adult learners.” The portfolio, […]

Helping Chinese Students Transition for Academic Success

Originally published when international enrollment was booming, the suggestions given below for helping Chinese students achieve academic success remain relevant. A number of reports in the past months have highlighted rising numbers of students from China, and rising efforts by US institutions to recruit them. A recent article in USA Today profiled some of the challenges faced both by the universities and by the students transitioning into an American institution. Mark Parker, assistant provost at University of Maryland University College, offers advice on helping Chinese students who are new to your institution navigate some of the intercultural challenges they may face. First, Let Them Know What to Expect “The most efficient and cost-effective thing that a university can do is to build on the model of the ESL program that institutions typically offer to international students. In addition to addressing the language barrier, add material to address specific cultural challenges.”Mark Parker, UMUC While English proficiency might be the most obvious challenge, subtle cultural barriers may prove to be larger obstacles. For example, in a US classroom, it is expected and valued that students will challenge the professor, ask provocative questions, and participate actively in the learning experience. Students from other […]

Make Your Veterans Resources Center Effective

The New York Times this week ran a thoughtful feature following one military veteran’s transition from the battlefield to campus life. This and other recent articles on veteran students reveal that: Don Pfeffer, director of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Higher Education Veterans Programs, and Jayne Lokken, a professor and counselor at St. Cloud State University, offer tactics for setting up your veterans center so as to maximize its effectiveness in helping veterans achieve success. Provide the Right Space “There needs to be a space on campus that veterans can call their own, where there are people who can talk their language and share similar experiences, and particularly where it is safe for veterans to vent their frustrations.”Don Pfeffer, Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Pfeffer suggests that if veteran students who are new to campus have a ready opportunity to vent around other veterans who may have already worked through the situation they are facing, this can resolve many issues that could potentially become more explosive. “This is a group-focused, self-regulated process. This is the best kind of therapy, conversations among peers.” Lokken adds, “This should be a relaxing place, where they don’t have to argue about war and […]