How important is social media for the college purchasing decision? Reported by Inside Higher Ed, a recent EAB study has shown a significant leap in the importance of social media for college discovery in the last two years, with the percentage of students saying they “discovered” a college on social media growing from 19.2% in […]
Ignoring the coming teacher shortage
The upcoming teacher shortage is upon us, and we haven’t economically solved for it yet. Reported by Education Dive, the teacher shortage gap is now at more than 110,000. And while higher ed is ready to help solve that educational gap, state salaries for teachers are still ignoring the incentives necessary to attract more students […]
Events
The Second Transcript at University of Central Oklahoma
There is a long history of research proving the correlation between student engagement and student retention, even for non-academic offerings on campus. But how can we make those student connections most effective? And what proof do we have that our efforts at connection-creation are paying off in student retention and outcomes? Dr. Jeff King, Executive […]
Rethinking the handoff between admission and retention
Is the handoff between admission and retention services our very problem itself? Reported by EdSurge, the 6-year completion rate in higher ed is only 60%. Our admission and enrollment teams do a great job of convincing students they can do it. And then 4 in 10 end up not. Is the division of labor between […]
Clarifying Higher Ed’s Call to “Earn Your Degree”
Does higher ed’s call to “earn your degree” need to get more specific? Reported by EdSurge, there are currently 738,428 unique credentials in the U.S., according to a recent study by Credential Engine. So is our clarion call in higher ed for students to get any of them? What about the more than half of […]
New England Colleges Preparing for the Upcoming Student Collapse
What are New England colleges doing to prepare for the upcoming student demographic collapse? Reported by EdSurge, the number of high school graduates in New England will decline 25% between 2007 to 2030. With demographic trends no longer in their favor, many institutions are seeking to determine their new position and identity. Colby-Sawyer College is […]
From University Library to Maker-Space
From university library to maker-space, a physical transformation is happening on our campuses. Reported by EdSurge, once judged by the size of their collections, the modern university library is now being valued for how well it helps our students navigate the information age. With some institutions transforming their physical collections into maker-spaces, innovation studios, and […]
Developing a Digital Quad to Support Social Learning
How do we replicate the informal social learning that takes place in dorm rooms and quads for our online students? Reported by EdSurge, online students are increasingly disconnected from the channels that spark social learning, interaction, and educational development. The late-night dorm experiences. The serendipitous bumping into new people, opportunities, and experiences on the quad. […]
ASU’s Edx MOOC Experiment
What did we learn from Arizona State University’s great EdX MOOC experiment? Reported by Inside Higher Ed, the results of this Global Freshman Academy have been disappointing. Out of 373,000 students who have enrolled in the program, just 2% completed a single course with a C or better. Less than ½ a percent paid to […]
Developing Major-Gift Donors at University of Detroit Mercy
Higher education institutions of all sizes rely on private gifts, especially major gifts, to help achieve their missions. But many advancement teams focus on finding major gift donors instead of developing them. Let’s say you have 100,000 alumni, and 10% (10,000) of them contribute. Out of that group, about 1,000 of them will have the […]