Higher Ed Live

More and more, admissions and marketing departments are collaborating to reach prospective students. They are using social media and making digital marketing investments. The paradigm is (finally) starting to shift. Tune in as marketing and enrollment experts, Stephanie Geyer and Gil Rogers join our broadcast. This week, we debate the best methods for reaching students. Plus, the panel discusses engagement strategies that combine digital marketing and social media.

This fall, we’re going to be thinking about the future on Advancement Live. For a strategic planning process to work, you need to focus on three things: how your audience is changing, how the world is changing, and how to best position yourself to deliver results. In this second episode in our 2027 series, we’re exploring communications. As we peer down the road and imagine our work ten years from now, we need to uncover the opportunities. We also need to know the challenges. We’ll discuss things we can stop doing and how we position our organizations now to thrive in the future.

Regardless of what tool you are using, the key to your content management system (CMS) is the content contributor. People say, “Content is king!” but we know it’s the person creating content wearing the crown. You can help your content contributors by applying good governance practices. Having a system that runs smoothly is possible, and when it does, you get the best content produced efficiently. On this episode of Marketing Live you’ll hear best practices and lessons learned. Rethink your content strategy workflows to support contributors and get great content results.

So you think you might be interested in a career in student affairs... for many, this means first looking for a professional preparation graduate program. But, with hundreds of master's degree-granting institutions focusing on student affairs or higher education today, how do you decide which program might be the best fit for you? Beyond asking campus mentors and searching online databases, you can employ a variety of other search tactics. And so, on this episode of Student Affairs Live, faculty panelists at four diverse institutions will address questions focused on choosing student affairs as a career path and the master's graduate program search.

Enrollment Management has not historically been a primary source for burgeoning college presidents. That trend seems to be changing as colleges wrestle with increased competition, tighter margins, and political issues on both the admission and financial aid fronts. Successful enrollment managers now have a path to a college presidency. On this episode of Admissions Live, we sit down with Brian C. Ralph, Ph.D., the President of William Peace University in Raleigh, North Carolina, to discuss his career experiences and rise from admissions to the highest level of campus leadership.

Competition for top talent has never been fiercer. Is your institution actively working to discover, understand, articulate, and evolve its employer brand? What perceptions do prospective employees – as well as current employees – have when thinking of your college or university as a place to work? What is the relationship between employee engagement and your employer brand? Organizational development and brand strategy expert Jeb Banner joins this episode of Marketing Live to tackle these questions, share best practices, and discuss the role that marketing leaders should play in strengthening their institution's employer brand.

On this episode we’ll share best practices for meaningful and sustainable organizational change and learn strategies you can implement immediately to move the needle in your organization. Blending research and real-life experience, we’ll explore questions such as: What are some common barriers and mistakes made in organizational change and planning efforts? Who is best equipped to lead organizational planning? Where can we look to internally and externally for assistance and guidance? How can we deal with the threat of change and feelings of anxiety when faced with the unknown? How do you avoid backsliding and sabotage? How should we best communicate during change to ensure that people feel like their ideas are heard and valued? On this episode of Student Affairs Live, host Tony Doody speaks with Loren Rullman, Timothy Davis, and Beth McCuskey to explore these questions and more.

Children and grandchildren of our alumni can become our biggest fans—and our future students. In this episode of Advancement Live, Kim Infanti speaks with two universities about their legacy programs—including one that was recently resurrected after being on hiatus for several years. Learn about how to design engaging programs that will educate legacies about your university and strengthen their bond to the place your alumni love. We'll also discuss how legacy programs can enhance alumni giving, as legacy parents and grandparents develop even stronger affinities for your institution.

In a crisis, communicating your message to the aggressive, detail-hungry media can be hard enough without arm wrestling with your attorney over every word. In this session, crisis communications expert Mark Weaver will discuss keys to addressing your lawyer’s concerns while still getting to effectively do your job. This session will provide practical tips that public relations professionals will be able to take home and implement for use in a crisis situation.

Each year, enrollment pros revisit their strategies for yielding admitted students. The team at Eduventures has surveyed students to help us make informed decisions. The Survey of Admitted Students provides actionable data to help with the following: Better understand decision segments among admitted students Learn more about hidden drivers impacting enrollment choices Better understand the tradeoffs students may be making Better develop targeted yield strategies Other topics are covered in the survey. They include anxieties about the student experience. Plus, understanding the role of social media throughout the college search.

The Higher Education Social Media Strategies Summit will be held November 2 – 3 in Boston, Massachusetts. Each year, college and university professionals gather to learn best practices in social media marketing from peer leaders. For the past 3 years, conference committee members have fine-tuned how to build a compelling, relevant agenda that is both informative and inspirational. To get the most out of #SMSSUMMIT, prior planning will be helpful for all attendees. In this episode of Marketing Live, we will meet with conference organizers to discuss the do’s, don’ts, and Conference pro-tips you need to know before heading to Boston.

Even well intentioned people can possess bias. Though studies have shown explicit expressions of biased beliefs and attitudes have declined significantly over the past few decades, measures of implicit bias remain persistently high. On this episode of Student Affairs Live, host Tony Doody speaks with Zaneta Rago-Craft, Yoshiko Harden, and Lena Tenney to better understand where, how and when we develop our bias. Other topics explored on this episode include micro-aggressions and inclusive language, strategies for ameliorating bias, and tactical self-presentation.

This fall, we’re going to be thinking about the future on Advancement Live. For a strategic planning process to work, you need to focus on three things: how your audience is changing, how the world is changing, and how to best position yourself to deliver results. Keep in mind your institution needs in the midst of all this flux. In this fist episode in our 2027 series, we’re exploring alumni affairs. As we peer down the road and imagine our work ten years from now, we need to uncover the opportunities. We also need to know the challenges. We'll discuss things we can stop doing and how we position our organizations now to thrive in the future.

As the fall term commences on colleges and universities across the U.S., we have heard from many practitioners and scholars--given the recent tragic events that unfolded in Charlottesville--of an urgent need to continue the conversation about racism and white supremacy in our institutions of higher education and our roles as student affairs educators. Confronting the continuing realities of white supremacy facing institutions of higher education for many student affairs educators requires an approach to our work that acknowledges our own complicity as well as attends with care and concern for our students, and also for our colleagues, and for ourselves.

Various higher education marketing goals pertaining to specific audiences and initiatives have traditionally been met with challenges in terms of availability of technologies and data sources necessary to connect with the right people and inform important decisions associated with strategic planning. In this episode of Marketing Live, we will speak with James Vineburgh, and experienced higher education marketer with extensive experience with market research, statistical analysis, and lead generation. We'll discuss new data sources for research purposes, how to collect data from your target audiences for further communication, and how to gain a better understanding of how institutional brands are perceived in real time.

While university campuses are typically seen as a safe haven for students, crises are bound to occur. What gets in the way of effective crisis communication and management at many universities? How has crisis management changed over the last decade? What some some trends and issues that have affected how we respond to crisis? What are some components of a comprehensive student affairs crisis response management plan? How fast are we expected to respond to a crisis in modern day? Is honesty always the best policy during a crisis and should universities apologize when something goes wrong? Who are the key internal and external stakeholders in a campus crisis? On this episode of Student Affairs Live, host Tony Doody talks with Richard Dool, Mahauganee Shaw, and Kathy Adams Riester to answer these questions and many more.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) National Conference will be held September 14 – 16 in Boston, Massachusetts. Each year, the premier professional development and networking event for admission professionals and school counselors draws thousands of attendees from all over the world. The size and scope of the Conference can be daunting for both first-timers and veterans. To get the most out of #NACAC17, planning, for both professional and social endeavors, is imperative for attendees. In this episode of Admissions Live, we will meet the Conference Local Advisory Committee and discuss the do’s, don’ts, and Conference “hacks” you need to know before heading to Boston.

With 37,000 employees and nearly 15,000 students, Duke is the size of a small city. How does Duke communicate with its internal audience? In this session, we’ll set context for internal communications at Duke, review main communication tools, and focus primarily on employee communications through the award-winning Working@Duke portfolio. That portfolio includes a staff/faculty print publication with a circulation of about 35,000; the online news section on Duke Today; and social media. We’ll also cover how storytelling through a journalistic approach creates personal connections with the Duke workforce, and we’ll look at some examples from Working@Duke.

The Excelsior Scholarship will make New York the first state to include four-year public schools in the free tuition program. Targeting middle-class families and individuals with incomes of $125,000 per year or less, the program has been hailed both as innovative or doomed to fail. Is this a move in the right direction?

What are the unique needs of student athletes and how can student affairs educators connect with campus partners in athletics to support athletes’ academic success? What resources can and should exist within and beyond athletics to support students’ wellness and mental health? How can departments form stronger partnerships to support athletes during their transition from high school to, during, and after their time on campus.