Category: Uncategorized

Community College Finance: Maintaining Liquidity

2010. A report from Moody’s Investors Service stresses that as community colleges experience enrollment surges during this down economy, many will issue bonds as a means of raising the capital needed to provide the new construction, renovation, and technological infrastructure projects needed to meet the growing demand. As community colleges take on more debt to fund capital projects, it is going to be critical for business officers to ensure that they can maintain liquidity. We asked Cynthia Gilliam, the vice chancellor of administration and finance for the Lone Star College System and a past president of the Texas Association of Community College Business Officers, for advice on financial planning. Long-Range Financial Planning Gilliam notes that the Lone Star College System is unique in that the system is in a very strong financial position (and has just received an AAA rating from S&P), but also remarks that this didn’t happen by accident or by luck. It is the outcome of a long history of solid debt planning. “The key for us has been to have our financial advisers extremely involved in our debt planning from the get-go,” Gilliam comments. “We use them to assist us in strategy. How are we going […]

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 […]

Marketing the Value of the Education You Offer

In October after the release of the College Board’s Trends reports, we interviewed Robert Massa, vice president for communications at Lafayette College, for tips on marketing the value and affordability of your institution. This week, we have asked Bob Sevier, senior vice president of strategy at STAMATS, for practical strategies toward publicizing the value of your academic programs. Rethinking Value First, Sevier suggests moving away from talking about value. “When students hear ‘value,’ they hear that you’re justifying a high cost. The key is to talk about outcomes.” “Colleges define academic quality in terms of their curriculum and their faculty. Students define academic quality in terms of what happens after their graduation.” Bob Sevier, STAMATS This can mean more than just tracking and promoting the percentage of graduates who are employed in their field or enrolled in a graduate program within six months after graduation. Sevier recommends promoting: What type of jobs your graduates are finding (are they finding career positions?) The path from particular majors to particular careers “Students define a good job not just in terms of income, but in terms of security, benefits, and opportunity,” Sevier notes. It is important to show the level of opportunity that an education […]

Recruiting Military Students

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 […]

Making it Easier for Students to Graduate Sooner

Encouraging students to graduate on time (or early) is a priority for many higher ed institutions. However, many students find speedy degree completion difficult due to obstacles in securing the courses they need to complete degree requirements. Lucie Lapovsky, president of Lapovsky Consulting and past president of Mercy College, offers some advice on correcting curriculum inefficiencies that can prevent students from graduating quickly. Look for Inefficiency in Academic Advising “It needs to be very clear to students what courses count toward their major and what courses do not. Their degree audit needs to happen quarter by quarter or semester by semester.”Lucie Lapovsky, Lapovsky Consulting “Students can so easily be misadvised,” Lapovsky warns. “They may take the wrong courses, and they may complete the credit hour requirement without having completed the required courses.” Getting false information to students is a risk both because academic advisors often have a high load and because catalogs and requirements are updated frequently. This can make it difficult for either students or advisers to keep track. Lapovsky suggests letting students do their own degree audits regularly. “Make the degree audit available online.” An online audit can keep both students and advisers up to date. Many registrars already […]

Revamping the Computer Lab

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted a trend in which many US colleges and universities are either phasing out the traditional computer lab or revamping that space to provide more effective opportunities for collaborative learning and group study. The trend is a response to pervasive research on the impact of collaborative learning spaces on student success, and to the pedagogical shift toward more group-based learning. There are an abundance of models for state-of-the-art, forward-looking, revamped lab spaces. However, now more than ever most colleges and universities are needing to repurpose space while operating under tight budget constraints. We asked Andrew Milne, CEO of Tidebreak, Inc. and a leading expert on learning space design, for tips on finding relatively small but impactful investments toward transforming the traditional computer lab into a collaborative learning space. Making a Big Impact on a Small Budget “As you look to upgrade machines,” Milne suggests, “rather than buying the same amount of CPUs, think about having fewer workstations, and then using the saved money to purchase large, movable displays.” Milne recommends providing group stations where students can connect their laptops and engage in collaborative exercises. Whiteboard is also a relatively inexpensive investment. […]

Creating a Crisis-Ready Emergency Notification Policy

Virginia Tech had two contradictory emergency notification policies, which stalled efforts the day of the massacre. What does your emergency notification policy need to include? When the state of Virginia provided its update on the official report on the Virginia Tech massacre, correcting factual errors and revealing details about breakdowns in emergency communications on the day of the crisis, the report found that the campus had two contradictory emergency notification policies, which stalled efforts the day of the crisis. We asked Cindy Lawson — assistant to the chancellor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and one of the leading experts on crisis communications — to speak to what lessons could be learned from the updated report. “Hindsight is great,” Lawson cautions, “and when crises happen at other institutions, it’s important for all of us to learn not just from real or perceived mistakes but also from their successes.” That said, the Virginia Tech incident offers an effective lesson in the importance of having a clear emergency notification policy. What’s Absolutely Critical to Include “I really believe that it’s the “obvious” that is, more often than not, overlooked.”Cindy Lawson, University of North Carolina Wilmington In crafting an emergency notification policy, Lawson notes […]

Campaigns, This Side of the Recession

A Marts & Lundy report recently highlighted the drop in major gifts to colleges and universities this year, and made recommendations that institutions embarking on a campaign expect to rely on fewer multimillion-dollar gifts and concentrate on securing more contributions of under a million. This report came quickly on the heels of statistics from The Chronicle of Philanthropy showing that 2009 to date has seen six gifts over $50 million, compared to 31 in 2008 and 43 in 2007. Given these numbers, we asked Bruce Flessner, principal at Bentz Whaley Flessner and a leading consultant on institutional advancement, to offer his insights on the best decisions development officers can make right now in positioning their shops for the climb out of the recession. Despite the reports on a slow 2009, Flessner emphasizes the need to focus on pursuing major gifts again. Look 6 Months Ahead, Not 6 Months Back “First,” Flessner suggests, “you need to understand that the recession is coming to an end, so focus on the next six months, not the past six months.” The slew of reports coming in about the slack in major gifts in 2009 may be frightening, but the focus needs to be on […]

Student Wellness: Finding The Low-Hanging Fruit

The recent controversy over Lincoln University’s graduation requirement that all overweight graduates lose weight or take a fitness course illustrates the importance many colleges and universities are placing on wellness programming as a vehicle to promote student health and cut the rising costs of student health insurance. Yet many colleges are opting for health and wellness efforts that are narrowly targeted — for example, a required fitness course or an effort to improve food options at the dining hall. The University of South Carolina’s Healthy Carolina initiative is one of the few programs that takes a truly holistic perspective. We asked the program’s director, Michelle Burcin, for her advice on taking a big-picture approach to student wellness and how to identify efforts that represent low-hanging fruit — especially if you are working with limited resources. Look at the Big Picture Taking the example of America’s obesity epidemic, Burcin advises focusing not just on fitness or on dining options, but on both, in addition to a hard look at the campus environment. “Look at the whole picture,” she advises. “It isn’t just the staff who make the hot food who are responsible for presenting healthy options. What are your vending machines selling?” “Are we […]

Quick Environmental Scanning for Workforce Education Needs

With so many displaced workers and unemployed adults, especially in manufacturing, more colleges and universities are working to identify specific workforce needs in their area and launch new workforce education programs in response. While many program directors don’t have the time or resources to conduct a traditional environmental scan, there are some fast steps you can take to identify local needs and measure the demand for workforce education programs in your area. We asked for first steps from Rick Voorhees, Principal of Voorhees Group LLC and past president of the Association for Institutional Research (AIR); Patricia Malone, director of corporate education and training at the Center for Emerging Technologies at Stony Brook University; and Victoria Matthew, director of program development, continuing and professional education at UMASS Amherst. Where to Find Information — and Partners “There’s no such thing as perfect data. Find the pattern, but if you wait until you have perfect data to start a program, you’ve lost an opportunity.” Rick Voorhees, Principal, Voorhees Group LLC Much of the official government data on the workforce is pretty dated by the time it’s available. Voorhees suggests that program directors focus on participation in local industry meetings to get first-hand information on […]