When the economy tanked in 2009, the trustees of Hamilton College in upstate New York made a major investment in the future of admissions practices—they shifted from need-sensitive to need-blind admissions, while remaining a school that promises to meet full need. The trustees of the 1,850-student liberal arts college provided bridge funding of five $500,000 […]
Fraternity brothers on spring break—what image immediately comes to mind? Picture this instead: golf-ball sized blisters, swollen feet, strained muscles and determination to help others. Thirty-one members of Troy University's Alpha Tau Omega Chapter dedicated their spring break to walking 128 miles to raise money to aid wounded military veterans. I met with them on […]
Having just returned from my first trip to Haiti, I have been thinking a lot about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The situation is appalling to most Americans because we take for granted an abundance of fresh, clean water at every turn. Indeed, one might argue that it is a triumph of Madison Avenue […]
Reducing costs, while increasing student retention and success, is a challenge facing every higher ed institution. Providing accessible and affordable course materials is an important part of this complex issue. On that we can all agree. But making decisions based on misinformation doesn't serve anyone well, least of all students. Conventional wisdom tells us students […]
How can freshmen who may not even be able to find their way around campus during their first weeks in school learn to lead others? The question may sound like a new riddle of the Sphinx or the beginning of a joke. But the concept of 18-year-olds learning to lead should not be a riddle […]
The world of online learning has significantly changed the landscape of higher education over the last decade. In a survey by the Instructional Technology Council (ITC), 94 percent of student respondents said their online courses were equivalent or superior to traditional courses, indicating improvements in both online pedagogy and delivery methods. Fred Lokken, a member […]
An act as simple as handing out bottled water and granola bars before a long evening class can change the course of a college career—especially when the student on the receiving end is a single mother who has just rushed over to campus after a full day at work. Of course, bigger hurdles like tuition, […]
When it comes to website design, universities continue to make common key mistakes that turn away potential students, according to an annual report from KDG, which advises higher education institutions on website redesigns, enrollment management and alumni engagement. The report, based on a year of research involving more than 1,000 prospective students and dozens of […]
Some low-income high school students in Adams State University's service area, the rural valleys of southern Colorado, live up to 50 or 60 miles from campus. That adds several hours of distance to the financial hurdles that stand in the way of higher education. Thanks to a new federal pilot program, these students can now […]
If you work in enrollment management you've probably heard the term "big data." Ubiquitous in the business world, big data is being adopted by higher education, particularly in the area of recruitment. With stagnant or declining recruitment budgets and increased competition for students, leveraging the data most colleges capture is a cost-effective approach that can […]
