The economic crisis has dominated the headlines since September 2008 and taken its toll on individuals and institutions alike. Few have been immune to the effects of a volatile stock market, low interest rates, rising unemployment, tight credit markets, and plunging real estate values.
Articles: Enrollment & Retention
1/1/2010
IN A RECENT MOODY'S SURVEY, almost 30 percent of private colleges projected declines in net tuition revenues for the current fiscal year. This is likely not because enrollments declined, but because more financial aid was spent in achieving enrollment goals. Officials at institutions whose discount rates increased this fall are wondering if this is the new cost of doing business or whether they spent more than necessary.
1/1/2010
WHEN IT BECOMES HARDER TO raise funds and the notion of success is coming up with just 90 percent of last year's revenues, fundraisers must get smarter--by better understanding their donors and the different tools and approaches to connecting with them. Colleges and universities of all sizes now have the opportunity to influence and motivate a new generation of donors and get them in the "habit of giving," but it's an uphill climb.
1/1/2010
IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, most of us have read any number of time management articles that focus on how easy it is to become a slave to e-mail. Most of these discuss the discipline required by executives, including university administrators, to keep the handling of e-mail from distracting us from our primary function--that of providing leadership. It is my contention that time management issues are but the tip of the iceberg.
1/1/2010
Many colleges and universities are confronting even more complex challenges than usual. Indeed, the timing, intensity, and consequences of some of the most serious challenges qualify them as outright crises.
1/1/2010
Determining the fair value of assets and liabilities on a university's financial statement has become increasingly stringent, particularly under the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820), formerly FAS 157.
1/1/2010
It's too early to prescribe a tried-and-true methodology for meeting Donor 3.0 actively. There's still much change and experimentation happening, and each college or university will have to tailor its strategy to the peculiarities of that community. But laying a strategic groundwork will help cut through the hype, navigate among options, and recognize (even create) new, less obvious opportunities.
9/1/2009
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THAT HEADLINE ISN’T A RIDDLE. Maybe a better question is, should there be guidelines as to what the word “college” means?
9/1/2009
NO ONE ENVIES YOU, DEAR READER. Higher ed administrators are seeing students with greater financial need and donors with shallower pockets and shorter arms. What are you and your fundraising folks to do in order to narrow that gap?
9/1/2009
IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM, ENSURING the linkage between financial aid and enrollment projections is about two things: solid data analysis and communication. How many new and returning students will there be, and how much institutional grant aid will they require? Who needs to be informed of the projections, and when? Of course, the devil is always in the details. So let us break it down into the basic components.
7/1/2009
IN AN EFFORT TO GET AMERICA’S recently unemployed workers back to work, the Obama administration has implemented several initiatives to encourage them to learn new job skills through postsecondary education. These initiatives are likely to affect higher education institutions and provide additional opportunities to educate workers who have been negatively impacted by the economic downturn.
7/1/2009
IT WAS THE DISASTER THAT DIDN'T happen, despite the headlines in national and local newspapers throughout the spring of 2008. “College Financial Aid System ‘In Crisis,’” proclaimed USA Today. “No Funds to Lend to 40,000 Students,” blared the Boston Globe. “Student Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges,” warned The New York Times.
7/1/2009
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Online college fairs can reach more students than fairs held in the high school gym. The experience offered by the three main vendors varies considerably. |
7/1/2009
WHILE ONLY 19 PERCENT OF Americans aged 12 to 17 have ever listened to a podcast, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, many institutions have invested in academic or marketing initiatives to offer content and updates via podcasting. At the other end of the line, the possibilities for reaching and engaging the 75 percent of teens glued to their mobile phones are still mainly ignored by the majority of marketing strategists in higher education.
7/1/2009
A YEAR AGO THIS SPRING, AS we dedicated the new Julia Thompson Smith Chapel on our campus, one of the highlights was the multifaith blessing. It was an exciting occasion, the completion of the first freestanding chapel in the 120-year history of Agnes Scott College (Ga.). I reflected on months of watching from my office window as it went from nothing more than a hole in the ground to the beautiful building it is today.
