There exist an endless number of articles, books, blogs, and interviews on the state of higher education (HE) in America. The themes are consistent – fewer resources, fewer students, bloated administrative staff, less affordability, unsustainable student debt, poor graduation rates, unimpressive employability skills and what the heck is a MOOC and why should I care. […]
Have net price calculators, merit scholarships and tuition discounts rendered sticker price meaningless? Not according to numerous surveys on the topic. The findings of three separate surveys over the past two years on the topic of cost and decision to apply suggest that students and parents give strong consideration to advertised price. A 2012 studentPOLL […]
Historically, Western Michigan University's 12 on-staff recruiters could visit as many as 40 or 50 high schools in a week and collect up to 1,000 paper cards filled with prospective students' contact information. In a year, they could easily collect 10,000 such cards, which were brought back to campus and then entered manually into the […]
Textbook publishing has long been seen as an impenetrable business, with five major players controlling most of the nearly $14 billion industry. But in recent years, the shift to digital and open-access content has led to a proliferation of free and low-cost alternatives. Meanwhile, spiraling costs, massive student debt, changing consumer demands and public as […]
Rather than dealing with the intensive labor involved in sending and receiving paper transcripts—and frustration from students and graduates accustomed to automation—most colleges and universities have implemented electronic transcript capabilities. The process allows administrators to capture lots of valuable electronic data, but the majority of schools are not utilizing that information beyond sending or receiving […]
Although managing enrollment efforts has never been easy, it was not that long ago when the traditional funnel was somewhat predictable. As an admissions counselor in my early days, I could easily work backward to set goals for my territory, starting with my goal for the number of enrolled students. I then used historical data […]
The students you’re trying to reach today have grown up in a world in which nearly everything was an advertisement. When they were still in diapers they were bombarded with cartoon characters aggressively hawking sugar-laced cereals, and as they’ve grown older, the commercials, emails, texts, pop-ups and social posts crowding their view have only increased […]
When it comes to online education, careful course development is hardly the only piece needed for successful student outcomes. "Some institutions, eager to jump in the field, think once they've developed their online courses, they are set to launch," says Jacqueline Moloney, executive vice chancellor at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. "But many neglect to […]
Business office leaders need to balance affordability and access with protecting their institution from bad debt. Reducing student accounts receivable is possible, even when increased enrollment and graduation rates are a priority. This web seminar, originally broadcast on November 14, 2014, featured Loretta Chrzan-Williams, director of student accounts at SUNY Monroe Community College (Rochester, N.Y.), […]
Fewer and fewer institutions are meeting students’ financial need. Per The College Board’s “Trends in College Pricing 2013,” the average net tuition and fee price for students attending four-year public institutions increased by an estimated $1,180 (in 2013 dollars) between 2009-10 and 2013-14. At private four-year institutions, average net tuition and fee price increased between […]
