Higher Ed Live

A growing body of research from a variety of disciplines indicates that the widespread use of digital technology – including computers, the internet, video games, and smart phones – has a measurable, negative impact on the development and adaptation of the human brain, resulting in significant changes in our sleep, mood, concentration, memory and learning, as well as behaviors such as risk-taking and aggression. This effect appears to be more pronounced for the younger generation of so-called “digital natives.” This episode will explore the current research on this topic and the implications for the education and psychological development of college students.

Five minutes to go, everything is planned, you're ready and prepared, and then...technology fail! Now what? Perhaps you are about to introduce students to a program like Naviance for the first time. Or maybe you are considering having a student-of-the-week take over your school’s Twitter account. You might simply be preparing to share a presentation in a room you’ve never been in before. On this episode of Admissions Live, we sit down with Ross Wolfson, School Counseling Department Chair at Westborough High School, to discuss what could go wrong in situations like these, as well as what to consider beforehand and in the moment, so that when technology fails, you won't!

If you haven't added these to your social media toolbox, what are you waiting for?

Do you wonder how your email messages are performing? Are your communications hitting their mark? Or, are you turning people off to receiving emails from your institution? In this episode of Advancement Live, we’ll speak with the email lead at Cornell University and a strategist at iModules Software. They’ll discuss best practices for reviewing your email data on a regular basis. You’ll learn how you can use that data to change your email strategy for more successful outcomes. Find out how Cornell used in-depth analysis to provide email authors with insights about email performance. They’ll share how much information is too much, and getting a handle on their email communications to alumni.

Launched in 2015, the New Directions for Student Leadership series “explores dimensions of the development of leadership in high school youth and college students to aid leadership educators who design educational courses and programs for students.” (Jossey-Bass, 2015). Series editors Dr. Kathy Guthrie and Dr. Susan Komives observe: “The world today needs more and better leaders from all contexts able to work together on messy problems. We feel this New Directions series will provide current and relevant information for educators and administrators working with students of all ages to develop their leadership capacity and leader identity.” On this episode of Student Affairs Live, host Heather Shea connects with Drs. Susan Komives, Kathy Guthrie, Josie Ahlquist, Corey Seemiller, and Dan Tillapaugh for a discussion about the series.

May 1st, College Decision Day in America, is upon us. So to is College Signing Day, an annual celebration for college-bound students started by Michelle Obama and her Reach Higher initiative. Through the bettermakeroom.org website and popular social media hashtags #BetterMakeRoom and #ReachHigher, Reach Higher has increased awareness on college access and affordability and inspired thousands of students to continue their education. On this episode of Admissions Live, we sit down with Eric Waldo, Executive Director of Reach Higher, to talk about the current state of college access in America, the history of Reach Higher and the #BetterMakeRoom movement, new initiatives and much, much more.

The initial episode of this series focused on quantitative and qualitative research tools. We discussed how to reveal actionable insights into the behavior of alumni audiences. In this episode, we’ll take a deep dive into a case study from the Annual Fund files. Learn from the annual fund at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Hear how Chicago Booth used a survey to understand alumni satisfaction and connection to their alma mater. We'll discuss how satisfaction and connection influence financial giving. We’ll cover research design, findings, and how to make decisions based on data.

"Did we have a good year?" We've all either asked that question ourselves or been asked that question. In this episode of Advancement Live, Kim Brown chats with alumni engagement professionals from DePauw and Longwood universities about the metrics they're keeping an eye on. Does event attendance result in financial support? How can we predict further engagement opportunities? Whether you're just started an engagement scoring model or you're looking at new ways of tracking alumni engagement, you'll learn how to support anecdotal evidence with hard data.

On this episode of Student Affairs Live, co-host Heather Shea will talk with the ACPA Presidential Trio: Past President Donna Lee, President Stephen John Quaye, and Vice President Jamie Washington as well as Dian Squire, the immediate past ACPA Director for Equity & Inclusion about the bold strategic imperative for racial justice and what that means for ACPA, student affairs, and higher education.

Feel like you never have enough budget to accomplish your goals? Always being asked: what does it cost to acquire a student, what should we be spending on marketing and what are our competitors spending? Regardless of the organizational arrangement within the institution, the answers to these questions and the need to establish appropriate marketing budgets, measure effectiveness and showcase the return on investment is more critical than ever. This session will share some best practice examples that will help you build a business case for the right marketing budget and ways to measure the return on your investment.

May 1st, decision day in college admissions, is right around the corner. While potential students are being inundated with messaging, some colleges have worked to cut through the white noise now associated with traditional communication plans by using text messaging. Initial results have shown that text messaging may not only be the new, preferred way to communicate, but also the most data-rich for admission offices. On this episode of Admissions Live, we will discuss how enrollment leaders are using text messaging to improve communications, empower their recruitment staff, collect important data, and, of course, drive up enrollment yield.

The beginnings of the professional field now known as student affairs can be traced to 1890 at Harvard University when then President Charles Eliot “asked LeBaron Russell Briggs, a young and popular English instructor, to serve as a ‘student dean’... to look after undergraduates” (Sandeen, 2004, p. 30). Later Deans of Men and Deans of Women were foundational in the professionalization of the field and the establishment of practices for higher education student services. They also formed professional associations, influenced early research on students, and urged the academy to consider the “whole student.” In short, what is now known as the Dean of Students could be considered the quintessential student affairs role. Today, much in the higher education landscape has shifted and the Dean of Students may be more central than ever. As compared to previous Deans, on many college and university campuses today's Dean of Students is now: responsible for addressing a more complex set of student concerns, beholden to

How can you keep your higher ed marketing career moving forward? In this episode of Marketing Live, industry leaders will share their experiences. Tune in for lessons learned from their professional journeys. Whether you’re looking to grow in your current role or take the next step in your career, you’ll gain important insights and advice to help you professionally.

Join Student Affairs Live co-hosts Heather Shea and Tony Doody as they moderate six fast-paced, eight minute, one-on-one debates between legendary thought leaders in student affairs. The session will explore controversial topics in higher education. The session will include feedback from the live audience and twitter. DEBATE TOPICS - Create or Cultivate: Will our culture’s obsession with innovation lead us to neglect maintenance and maintainers? - Authenticity: Should we reveal our authentic self in our professional capacity? - Graduate Preparation: Are Masters program adequately preparing professionals for the field? - Debate is Effective: Is debating an effective method of discourse? - Scope of Higher Education: Are the services and opportunities provided to today’s students are beyond the scope of the academic mission? - Consolidation: Should ACPA and NASPA merge to one student affairs association?

Facebook Live allows anyone with a phone to broadcast in real time to the world. While it's easy to connect, it’s not necessarily easy to produce content that connects with your audiences. In this episode, Nick Persac, University of Texas at Austin social media coordinator, shares tips and tricks to help you master Facebook Live. Join us as he shares case studies, best practices and some lessons learned.

As May approaches, we’re preparing to welcome thousands of students into the alumni family. How do we ensure our newly minted alumni will stay engaged for life? What are some of the best programs to gather their post-graduation plans, communicate alumni benefits, and encourage them to stay connected? In this episode of Advancement Live, Kim Brown speaks with student and young alumni engagement experts from Northwestern University and SUNY Cortland, as well as a strategist from iModules, about fresh ideas for connecting with soon-to-be graduates and recent alumni – with the goal of keeping them interested in their alma maters long after commencement.

It’s no secret that spring can be one of the busiest windows of time in the admissions cycle. Between spring break visits, yield events, spring recruitment travel, and all the while mentally maintaining two different classes, it’s easy to find ourselves and our student employees burning out. How can we best maintain great energy as we move into one of the most important times of year? How can we ensure our students are still getting the best service possible? And how can we make sure we still have a bit of time for ourselves? In our broadcast, we'll discuss what feeds into the spring burnout, as well as some strategies to avoid the burnout and to maintain our focus all the way through May.

A common challenge for creative teams is managing the creative workflow. From project intake to managing client expectations to follow-up after a project is completed, most creative teams are better at creating than juggling timelines and approvals. Implementing an effective workflow process can be the difference happy creative teams (and clients) and utter mayhem. Learn from two veteran creatives and bring your questions about how to create the most effective project workflow for your shop.

May 1st is right around the corner and colleges and universities all over the country are working feverishly to earn commitments from their accepted students. In a time where students' "short lists" are longer than ever, creating and implementing effective accepted student yield strategies has become a point of emphasis, and competitive differentiation, in admissions. In this episode of Admissions Live, we will sit down with Jennifer Fellinger, Vice President for Public Affairs and Marketing at Hope College, to discuss how Hope stays ahead of the curve with their innovative approach to yield-based communication and events.