Category: Blog

A Conversation in Fundraising We Need to Have

We asked Jason McNeal to share the philosophy behind his unique handbook and why he feels that training on effective contact reports can be – in the long term – a game-changer for development shops. An interview with Jason McNeal (Gonser Gerber LLP), author of  Writing Meaningful Contact Reports: A Handbook for Fundraisers. AI.Jason, thanks for this conversation. To get started, why do you think this handbook is especially needed?Jason McNeal.Every higher-ed institution is looking for the advancement part of the enterprise to be as effective as it can possibly be. Part of that effectiveness relies on how well we know our donors. And the mechanism for showing evidence that we know our donors well is the recording of our business with them. Contact reports do that for us. They capture the most important aspects of a donor’s contact with the institution and hopefully provide permanently records that so that the advancement shop can build a body of knowledge about that donor and their relationship to the institution. But how effective are we, actually, at doing that? AI.Could you say more about that, Jason?Jason McNeal.Well, here we have this very important component of our work — that is key to becoming more effective […]

Disintermediation: The Changing Demands of Alumni Relations

by Christine Tempesta (opens in new tab)

When I hear an alumni relations professional say that alumni relations programs have been disintermediated from their alumni, more often than not, I cringe. The theme of disintermediation, or the thought that social media and other technologies have decreased the alumni’s “need” for their alma mater, crops up often, and while it should signal a change to which we as alumni relations professionals must adapt, it is often misused as an excuse for why our programs are dying. The Challenges We’re All Facing It’s no wonder that the alumni relations profession is facing dynamic change. Since the founding of the oldest alumni association at Williams College in 1821, the profession of alumni relations has been built on traditions of the alma mater. Looking back instead of looking forward, alumni associations love to celebrate long-held traditions, and prefer to stick with existing programs, services and people because “we’ve always done it that way.” For many institutions, the typical set of activities includes a homecoming, reunions, alumni directory. Historically, these have been possible primarily because the alumni association was the glue that connected long lost friends to one another and to the institution. But, with the advent of the internet, even prospective […]

Creating a Culture of Advisement: Engaging Faculty in Advising

by Christopher Romano (opens in new tab), Joseph Connell (opens in new tab)

Sometimes you don’t just need to change advising procedures; you need to change the culture of academic advising on campus. A few years ago at Ramapo College of New Jersey, our enrollment management division surveyed faculty, first-year students, and upper-class students to learn where students turned for help in making academic decisions as they progressed through the curriculum. What we learned was striking: Further, over 57% of first-year and 47% of upper-class students did not even know who their academic advisor was. What this survey told us was that we didn’t just need to improve our advising procedures; we needed to create a culture of advisement on campus. 3 Keys to Changing the Culture Knowing that a culture of advisement is as dependent (if not more so) on buy-in and commitment from faculty than buy-in from administrative units, we embarked on the creation of an overall academic advisement plan for our campus, which included a series of action plans that hinged on three key change management strategies: Engaging faculty in academic advisement is essential to advancing Ramapo’s work — or any college’s work — in student success. Here’s what we did to engage our faculty: 1. Modeling the Change We […]

Investing in Donor Relations for Athletics

by Lynne Wester (opens in new tab)

As our colleges and universities venture to fundraise even more and more dollars, we must not overlook an area of support that brings many donors in our doors early on in their experience with us: athletics. At some institutions, athletic success can equate directly to donors and dollars, and at others it is part of the natural fundraising ebb and flow. With this said, what role does donor relations play in athletics? Now more than ever, athletics fundraisers need to focus on donor relations. Here are four reasons why: Focusing on the donor and their generosity, not on the gift and its amount is central to these efforts. Donor relations can often help bridge the gaps and transition donors from transaction to behavior. Great donor relations can provide meaningful reminders of what motivates our donor base and can incite passion among our fans and supporters. For that reason, coordinating athletics fundraising and central university advancement is crucial to the overall fundraising success of an institution. The key in both areas is the donor. If we keep our focus on donor relations, then the core becomes centralized in a more cohesive fashion. Rather than an “athletics” donor or an “institution” donor, these […]

3 Ways You Are Mishandling Involuntary Leaves

by Gregory T. Eells, Ph.D. (opens in new tab)

Interview originally conducted in October 2014. Addressing issues of self-harm can be tricky and complicated for institutions. The complexities lie in the conundrum between providing appropriate support to students who engage in self-harming behaviors and complying with regulatory action propagated by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To help your institution enhance support for students while remaining in compliance with the law, we interviewed an expert on student mental health: Greg Eells, Associate Director of Gannett Health Services and Director of Counseling & Psychological Services at Cornell University. Dr. Eells is the chair-elect of the mental health section of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and a past president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD). Interview with Greg Eells Lisa LaPoint: Greg, thank you for this conversation. What are three potential ways that colleges and universities mishandle involuntary leaves? Greg Eells: There are three that are especially common. The first is applying policies in a way that only apply to students with known disabilities. This issue was at the heart of the original OCR letter to Spring Arbor University, where the university established a different criteria for readmission (after the student had […]

Fundraising for Presidents, Deans, and Boards

An interview with James Langley (Langley Innovations) Recently, we reached out to Jim Langley, founder of Langley Innovations and the author of three bestselling Academic Impressions guides for institutional advancement: We asked Jim to share the philosophy behind these four unique books and what he hopes development officers and their partners on campus will learn as they look to create a more sustainable future for their institutions. AI.Why these books? Why are these books so needed? Why are they especially important now? Jim Langley.What these books bring to the market is a sense of the new realities in which philanthropy operates. They are very different realities than those in which philanthropy operated even a decade ago; they are very different from several decades ago. When you look at the market, there are a number of fine books out there about the tactics and techniques of fundraising, but they are ‘of a time.’ These books start to address what we can do to create the conditions for sustainable fundraising in the present and going forward. I think it is fair to say that in the past 10-15 years, there was a widely held assumption within higher education that a great deal of […]

Advising Students in Crisis: 7 Approaches to Maximize Advisors’ Effectiveness

by Sue Ohrablo, Ed.D. (opens in new tab)

This article is an excerpt from Sue Ohrablo’s acclaimed book High-Impact Advising: A Guide for Academic Advisors, which you can find here. Over the past few days, three different students have made comments to the effect of, “I am so glad I called. I almost didn’t. Honestly, before I called I had pretty much decided to withdraw from the program.” By the end of my discussion with each of these students, the student decided to persist and agreed to continue a dialogue that would help them to succeed. When students are in crisis, they are most vulnerable. They are apt to make rash decisions if they feel isolated and unsupported. If they have even one person within the institution on whom they know they can rely, it may make all the difference in retaining them. Being able to have that conversation effectively with an at-risk student at the most critical moment is key. I want to share seven approaches that advisors can use to maximize their effectiveness and establish a reputation as someone to whom a student can turn. 1. Be Reliable and Available Advisors can establish themselves as reliable advocates by consistently providing comprehensive advising and by making time for students, […]

How One Institution is Taking an Accelerated, Synchronous Approach to Online Developmental Education

by Brooks Doherty (opens in new tab)

Here’s how Rasmussen College has increased its developmental education pass rates by double digits while decreasing the number and percentage of students who require remedial coursework. FROM RASMUSSEN COLLEGE DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION STUDENTS: “I am one who hated math because I couldn’t understand it. I came into this class with the attitude that I was going to fail and have to retake the class. I am so amazed that my average is in the 90s and I have even gotten a score of 100 on a test! I really amazed myself! Just take plenty of notes so that you can go back and look at examples and see how to do the problems.” “The demonstrations really help. There is still a lot I don’t get, but with these videos I am beginning to understand.” Driven by faculty-based action research, redesigned residential and online courses, and changes to placement testing, Rasmussen College has increased its developmental education pass rates by double digits while decreasing the number and percentage of students who require remedial coursework. Like many institutions of higher education, Rasmussen College prioritizes developmental education given its impact on new-student experience, graduation, and overall institutional health. In 2012, the college committed to an […]

How One Institution Makes Faculty Development Exciting While Keeping Costs Down

by Lisa Cook (opens in new tab)

A FACULTY DEVELOPMENT CASE STUDY With minimal budget for faculty development, McKendree University has taken a unique approach to: Here is the story of what McKendree University has tried and what is working. At McKendree University, the idea to attach a theme to a week of faculty development activities was initially a bit of a fluke according to Tami Eggleston, associate dean for institutional effectiveness and professor of psychology. She was preparing for a series of professional development workshops offered in conjunction with provost Christine Bahr after classes ended in May, and they decided to decorate the conference room. She bought some beach balls and sand buckets as decorations, and faculty liked it enough that they specifically mentioned it in their post-workshop evaluations. Since then, the university has raised the bar each year to keep faculty development engaging and fun while also addressing specific themes to improve teaching. We talked with Eggleston to learn more about how McKendree spices up their development activities on a small budget — and why she advocates for May as the perfect time to tackle faculty development. Keeping Faculty Development Fun After classes end in May, McKendree faculty are invited to participate in a couple of […]

How Higher-Ed Leaders Need to Rethink Tuition Discounting

Rising institutional costs and greater price sensitivity on the part of prospective students and families have caused many institutions to strategically rethink their tuition discounting strategy. The following is an excerpt from a brief interview conducted with enrollment management expert John W. Dysart, president of The Dysart Group, who spoke at Academic Impressions’ conference on tuition discounting in Phoenix, AZ on . Sarah Seigle Peatman, AI: John, conversations about the discount rate in higher education continue to steal headlines in 2015. What has especially caught your attention this year? John Dysart: The trends in the most recent NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers) Discounting Survey are not encouraging, especially for small, private colleges and universities: Discount rates continue to climb for newly enrolled freshmen.  The rate reached a record 44.8% in 2012 was projected to top 46% in 2013. Discount rates are rising while enrollment often remains flat and 17% of the participating institutions reported declines in freshmen enrollment of at least 10%. These two trends in particular are cause for concern. The important outcome of the current conditions is that net tuition revenue has remained virtually flat over the last decade when adjusted for inflation. The news is […]

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