The trial and conviction of former Michigan State University team physician Larry Nassar—and the subsequent resignation of long-time president Lou Anna Simon, among others—brought a tremendous amount of negative publicity to the school. Such a high-profile scandal—particularly one centered on sexual abuse, negligence and student welfare—affects an institution at every level, including enrollment and admissions. […]
Launching new athletic programs—a go-to strategy for driving enrollment and boosting campus enthusiasm—usually comes with some major costs. But some institutions have added a rapidly growing, co-ed sport that doesn't require an expensive new athletic complex or a big travel budget. Competitive, online video-gaming, also known as e-sports, checks several inclusive and low-cost boxes, and […]
In what ways do you see colleges falling short in utilizing data to make better admissions recruitment and acceptance decisions? What kinds of data should they be using more of or better? "Many colleges are not viewing their admissions decisions through the lens of retention and degree completion. Institutions should understand the profile of their […]
College admissions teams now go beyond zip codes and SAT scores to micromatch students who are most likely to apply to, enroll in and succeed at their institutions. In this new era, administrators consider everything from a student's interests and non-school activities to what they like on Facebook and how long they spent on the […]
Describe how higher education HR is run today and how it should be run in the future. Brad Saffer: It is very fragmented. There is a unique range of employees in higher education. Within some of these groups—tenured faculty, adjunct staff, administrators and office staff—are both union and nonunion employees. The hiring and onboarding processes […]
Wesleyan University (Connecticut), Lakeshore Technical College (Wisconsin) and 21 other institutions have recently licensed Prey Anti-Theft to protect their mobile devices. California State University has chosen the EAB Campus student success management system to help improve outcomes for its nearly 500,000 students. It offers predictive analytics, early warnings, communication, case management and direct-to-student applications. CSU […]
What are some ways that you've seen student services within residence halls grow to meet student needs and expectations? "Letter-centric mailrooms are not prepared to handle the packages and the expectation of doorstep-service associated with e-commerce. Students want low-touch retail, and administrators want to offer streamlined, cost-effective and safe services. "Modern mail processes can automatically […]
Editor's Note: This is part 1 of a 3-part series on b-school survival. With the number of traditional MBA students dropping, business schools must get creative to survive and ultimately thrive. One major strategy is creating more robust offerings for part-time and online students for whom a traditional program presents an insurmountable opportunity cost—giving up […]
One of the most challenging aspects of hiring in higher education is recruiting and retaining top talent. Laurie Joyner, the president of Saint Xavier University in Chicago, was seeking to fill the vice president for finance and administration position, and she did not hesitate in reaching out to AGB Search, a firm that focuses on […]
Lori Fulton, director of institutional effectiveness, Pacific Northwest University "In the beginning, I was focused on developing systems and processes to capture and collect data for analysis and reporting purposes with the aim of becoming the central source for institutional data. Now, I see that role becoming more of a mentor and facilitator of performance improvement—helping […]
