Paula Krist

Paula S. Krist, PhD has been active in institutional research and assessment since 1994. She has presented numerous sessions and workshops on assessment topics in academic and student affairs and was a faculty member for both of the Association for Institutional Research’s Assessment Institutes. She has presented workshops on assessment topics at regional and national […]

Why Good is Still the Enemy of Great for Most Colleges and Universities

Series: Costs Down, Quality Up Historically, initiatives to improve quality have also meant added cost—smaller class sizes, more faculty who conduct research, etc.—but this is no longer a sustainable model for all institutions. What are the innovations that can actually drive the cost to educate a student lower while driving critical outcomes like student success and completion […]

We Need to Value How Women Use Vision and Conceptual Thinking to Lead

It’s no secret that more women in the workforce has not equaled more women in leadership. Women opt out because they don’t feel their work is meaningful, they object to the direction their institution or institutional culture is headed, or they believe their contributions aren’t valued. Countering this requires a systemic approach. by Rosalind Spigel, […]

The Skills Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Succeed

2017 Update: Following up on this research, we have published our findings and our best current thinking in the paper “The Skills Future Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Succeed.” In Denver, CO this March, Academic Impressions convened a select group of forty academic and administrative leaders from diverse colleges and universities to address the question: What are […]

Hiring Non-Traditional Candidates for Your MGO Team: Navigating the Opportunity and the Risk

To find your talented next major gift officer, look beyond your borders and deepen your candidate pool by searching for non-traditional candidates who have the right combination of skills and personality traits to succeed. But also recognize that candidates who are new to university advancement or to higher education will need onboarding and support. The recruitment […]

Debunking 5 Myths: How Feasible is a Shared Services Model in Higher Ed?

and by Ronn Kolbash, Assistant Vice President of Shared Services, University of Chicago With rising tuition, research dollars shrinking, and state budget allocations being reduced, the higher education industry has important cost issues to address. To manage this, a growing number of colleges and universities are adopting a shared services model for various activities and transactions. […]

This is How We Need to Rethink the Work of Student Affairs

The challenges facing our students and our institutions are more complex than in the past, and no single, siloed office can address these challenges adequately. That’s why some institutions have been forming student affairs innovation hubs to bring together a more diverse crew of creative minds from across campus and put them to work on […]

Dr. Yves Labissiere

Yves is an experienced assessment specialist, and program evaluator. As the chair of the Portland State Institutional Assessment Council, he led a campus wide initiative to develop campus learning outcomes and to bolster campus-wide assessment. As part of its general education program, Portland State now offers and assesses hundreds of capstone projects, all with a […]

What Happens When Volunteers Are No Longer a “Nice to Have” Resource, But Instead a Strategic Investment?

Most colleges treat volunteers as “nice to have” resource, but a well-managed volunteer infrastructure can mean better fundraising, stronger student outcomes, and deeper relationships with donors, alumni, and friends of the institution. by Valerie Jones, College of Saint Benedict The Scenario In October 1989, 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was abducted from a rural road in St. […]

Mergers and Acquisitions: Strategic Questions Every University Leader Should Ask Now – Not When It’s Too Late

Higher education mergers are often seen as a sign of personal and institutional defeat, to be avoided at all costs. Yet the truth is that waiting until the last possible moment, when the institution is in full tail spin, is the true sign of failure. The time to be watching for strategic partnerships or opportunities […]