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A new podcast from EAB experts to share ideas, insight, and inspiration with higher ed leaders
Available episodes
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May 23, 2023
New Student Engagement Data Reveal Surprises
EAB’s Tara Zirkel is joined by Center for Community College Student Engagement Executive Director Dr. Linda Garcia, as well as Associate Director of Publications, Dr. Courtney Adkins, to discuss new research on student engagement. The three unpack recent criticisms leveled at the community college sector and share new data that point to a number of bright spots. They also offer advice to community college leaders on ways to make measurable improvements in student retention and enrollment.
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May 16, 2023
TSU’s Systematic Approach to Student Success
Drs. Raijanel Crockem and Naomi Lawrence-Lee from Texas Southern University join EAB’s Joanie Garcia to discuss their work to strengthen TSU’s approach to student success. The three share tips on collecting and using data to convince faculty and senior leaders to become enthusiastic partners in the effort. They also touch on the role of technology in identifying struggling students quickly and connecting those students with the right advisors and resources to get them back on track.
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May 9, 2023
Do Community Colleges Need an “Intervention?”
Reporter Jon Marcus joins EAB’s Tara Zirkel to explore the root causes behind steep enrollment declines and poor student outcomes at community colleges. Marcus points to deficiencies in the culture and processes at many two-year schools that make it harder than it has to be for students to earn their associate degree or transfer to a four-year institution. Zirkel and Marcus also discuss low-cost customer service best practices from the private sector that community colleges can implement to deliver a better educational experience for their students.
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May 2, 2023
How NAU Streamlined Student Access to Mental Health Resources
EAB’s Katie Herrmann is joined by Dr. Carl Dindo, the Director of Counseling Services for Northern Arizona University, to discuss innovative approaches to meeting student mental health needs. Dindo and his team have focused on connecting students with the right information, counseling, and other mental health resources in places and ways that students find most helpful. Among the strategies they’ve implemented are getting counselors out of their office more often and “embedding” them in places where students congregate naturally. Dindo and Herrmann discuss the success of these efforts and offer advice to other campus leaders about meeting the mental health needs of a diverse student population.
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Apr 25, 2023
What Keeps Facilities Leaders Up at Night?
EAB’s Michael Fischer and Maya Graham discuss findings from a new survey of higher education facilities leaders. The survey explores topics such as talent retention, carbon neutrality efforts, deferred maintenance, space utilization, and computerized maintenance management systems. Maya and Michael offer insights and advice for facilities managers on ways to prioritize and make meaningful progress on all these challenges.
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Apr 18, 2023
Are the Benefits of OPM Partnerships Worth the Risk?
EAB’s Carla Hickman joins David Kuehl to trace the evolution of online program managers and offer advice to today’s university leaders on how to partner with OPMs to boost online enrollment. Carla and David explore the current regulatory environment as well as different contract models that minimize upfront costs without sacrificing long-term revenue growth potential. The two also urge listeners to build accurate financial models to help you forecast when your OPM partnership should begin generating net profits.
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Apr 11, 2023
Virtual Reality Is Transforming Higher Ed
EAB’s Michael Koppenheffer and Colin Koproske discuss ways that virtual reality is already transforming higher ed. Colin recently hosted a delegation of university presidents on a tour of the Dreamscape Learn offices in Los Angeles where they got to “kick the tires” on new virtual reality course content that Dreamscape developed in partnership with Arizona State University. Michael explains what separates an average virtual campus tour from a great one, and explains why they have become an indispensable recruiting tool for colleges.
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Apr 4, 2023
How to Recruit Adult Career Switchers
EAB’s Beth Donaldson and Dave Kuehl discuss how to reach prospective graduate school students who are looking to switch careers and enroll in business programs that may be very different from their undergraduate field of study. They encourage institutions to develop a data-driven approach to identify this unique student population and craft messages that will resonate with that audience. Beth and Dave also offer tips on ways to eliminate administrative obstacles and on the importance of focusing your marketing messages around the expected return your students can expect to see on their education investment.
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Mar 28, 2023
How to Engage “Stealth Shoppers”
EAB’s Michelle DiMenna and Emily Upton discuss the growing “stealth shopping” phenomenon that is forcing colleges to change how they recruit and engage prospective students. Michelle and Emily identify the best ways to connect with stealth shoppers early in their college search by optimizing your website for recruitment, refining your social media strategy, and by enlisting faculty in the effort to make meaningful connections with potential applicants.
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Mar 21, 2023
How to Improve Student Mental Health Counseling
EAB’s Maggie Everett is joined by the University of New England Dean of Students and VP of Student Affairs, Jennifer DeBurro. The two discuss Jennifer's efforts to build a better student mental health counseling framework at UNE. That work began with an unflinching study of existing approaches, intensive data collection, and establishment of benchmarks to measure progress going forward. The initial impact report was then used as a mechanism to initiate critical conversations with faculty, staff, and parents that have led to important changes.
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Mar 14, 2023
Better CRM Tools Key to Reversing Enrollment Declines at CCs
EAB’s Tara Zirkel and Mike Saxvick examine systemic weaknesses within the admissions practices at two-year institutions that allow far too many prospective students to fall through the cracks. They urge listeners to begin cataloging all the “side doors” through which prospective students inquire about your school and then capture those disparate data points into a unified CRM and student retention platform. Doing so helps short-staffed admissions team streamline subsequent communication efforts to convert more inquiries into applicants and more applicants into successful, engaged students.
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Mar 7, 2023
How to Manage a PR Crisis
EAB’s Angela Street is joined by DC-based PR professional Stacy Skelly from The Reis Group, for a conversation on managing PR during a crisis. The two discuss how to prepare a crisis communications plan before disaster strikes, how to communicate with key audiences, and pitfalls to avoid in the heat of the moment. They also discuss ways to overcome challenges common within the university setting, that can make it difficult to reach consensus when developing messages for public consumption.
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Feb 28, 2023
How to Build a Sense of Belonging Among Black and Latino Men
EAB’s Jarrell Anderson and Alexa Silverman explore proactive steps that colleges can take to help Black and Latino men build a stronger sense of connection with their campus community. With Black and Latino men lagging nearly every other demographic in terms of college graduation rates, colleges are trying creative new approaches to drawing these students in and making them feel valued. Jarrell and Alexa share innovative programs that are working for partner institutions and identify four key moments in the student lifecycle when making a positive connection is especially critical.
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Feb 21, 2023
How to Work with CBOs to Supercharge Your Recruiting Efforts
Juli Scalf, part of the College Greenlight team at EAB, is joined by Jordan Wesley, Managing Director of Partnerships for a community-based organization called Let’s Get Ready. The two discuss ways to forge better partnerships with CBOs by understanding the role they play in helping students overcome obstacles when applying to colleges. Jordan also shares tips for admissions teams who want to communicate and work more effectively with CBOs to boost enrollment.
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Feb 14, 2023
Will ChatGPT Ruin or Improve Higher Education?
EAB’s Michael Fischer and Ron Yanosky discuss whether ChatGPT represents an existential threat to higher education. The two review the current state of play and examine ways that institutions are adapting to force students to complete assignments and demonstrate mastery of course material without the aid of artificial intelligence “shortcuts.” They also explore ways that institutions might evolve to incorporate the use of AI to complement but not replace a student’s own creative thought.
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Feb 7, 2023
Will Your School Start Recruiting Incarcerated Students?
EAB experts Caylie Privitere and Matthew McAloon examine the benefits to students and institutions from the restoration of Pell Grant funding for incarcerated persons who want to pursue a college education. Caylie and Matthew explore the challenges and opportunities for institutions that are eager to tap into a new market of at least 700,000 potential students. The two also offer examples of schools that are doing a good job of managing logistics around delivering educational content as well as resources, from counseling to computers to things as basic as pencils and pens, to students behind bars.
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Jan 31, 2023
University Leaders Are Convinced They Can Boost Graduate Enrollment
EAB’s Beth Donaldson and Kevin Shriner share findings from a new survey of university Presidents, Provosts, and Vice Presidents of Enrollment Management to learn more about their strategy and goals for increasing graduate enrollments. Respondents made it clear this is a significant priority, but they may not have an effective strategy to accomplish their goals. Beth and Kevin examine the state of the market for graduate degrees and identify both best practices and common pitfalls leaders will need to manage in the months ahead.
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Jan 24, 2023
Has Time Run Out on TikTok as a Marketing Tool?
EAB’s Nicole Council, Scott Baker, and Jonathan Barnhart discuss the explosive growth of TikTok as a student recruitment tool and why it may, nevertheless, disappear completely from college campuses. While TikTok has become the dominant social media platform used by Gen Z students, state-run colleges across America are banning access to the platform over a variety of concerns. Our guests share advice for admissions teams on how to adapt quickly as the situation evolves.
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Jan 17, 2023
How to Recruit and Serve Military Students
EAB’s Lauren Edmonds and Natalie Ken discuss the programs, course modalities, and other educational preferences of active-duty military and veterans. The two explore differences between those looking for credentials that will help them advance their military career versus those looking to build on their military experience to launch successful post-military careers. They also share advice for admissions teams on ways to signal to military students that your institution understands their challenges and will offer them maximum flexibility.
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Jan 10, 2023
Lessons Learned from a Student Retention Revamp at Syracuse
Syracuse University’s Kal Srinivas joins EAB’s Andrina Musser to talk about how the technology, people, and processes changed at Syracuse to boost student retention efforts. The two discuss institutional barriers that had to be addressed, ways to get faculty on board, and the use of predictive analytics in facilitating proactive student outreach. Dr. Srinivas also shares lessons learned and top tips for others looking to undertake a similar transformation at their institution.
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Jan 3, 2023
How to Advance Your Higher Ed Career
EAB’s Jeff Schiffman is joined by enrollment consultant Errol Wint and Lindsey Hoyt from Reed College to talk about their respective career journeys in higher education. The three share advice on networking, on how to earn that coveted promotion, and on how to showcase your skills in ways that will resonate with prospective employers. They also urge listeners to listen to your gut and take that leap of faith when the right career opportunity presents itself.
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Dec 13, 2022
How UCF is Expanding Opportunities for Hispanic Adult Learners
EAB’s Abigail Zeiler is joined by Mary Lou Sole and Valerie Martinez from the University of Central Florida College of Nursing to talk about their work together on the Progresando initiative. Through the initiative, UCF is working with EAB, through a generous grant from Bank of America, to increase their capacity to recruit and educate students to meet soaring demand for skilled healthcare workers. The three discuss the biggest obstacles to expanding nursing programs in today’s tight labor market and share what they’ve learned about recruiting and engaging Hispanic adult learners in the greater Orlando area. They also offer advice to leaders at other institutions about ways to grow their own nursing programs and about how to get the most out of a public-private partnership.
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Dec 6, 2022
Faculty Burnout is Real and Cannot be Wished Away
EAB’s Jada Harris and Katie Herrmann discuss the key drivers leading to faculty burnout, all of which stem from a weak workplace culture, not employee shortcomings. The two offer strategies for training deans and department chairs to be more effective at managing the issue. They also share novel approaches being used by a couple of forward-thinking institutions to foster a more supportive working environment.
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Nov 29, 2022
Will the Supreme Court Kill Affirmative Action in Admissions?
EAB’s Wenie Lado is joined by Tufts university professor and author, Natasha Warikoo. The two discuss Natasha’s new book, “Is Affirmative Action Fair? The Myth of Equity in College Admissions,” as well as the potential impacts of the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the legitimacy of race-conscious admissions. Natasha and Wenie examine the arguments for and against affirmative action and offer recommendations on what university leaders can and should be doing to diversify their enrollments regardless of how the Supreme Court rules.
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Nov 15, 2022
How to Set and Achieve Ambitious Green Goals
EAB’s Michael Fischer and Jon Barnhart guide listeners through the process of evaluating, prioritizing, and gaining leadership buy in on making their institution into a carbon net zero enterprise. The two explain how to assess costs and ROI on energy efficiency investments and how to engage the broader campus community in these efforts. Finally, they offer tips on how to sustain and build on early momentum as institutional leaders and priorities shift over time.
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Nov 8, 2022
How to Build an Effective Graduate Enrollment Management Plan
EAB’s Kevin Shriner and Camilla Arias discuss the elements of an effective graduate enrollment plan. The discussion covers a range of issues including the importance of market research, setting appropriate goals, staffing, and securing buy in from campus stakeholders. Kevin and Camilla also explore strengths and weaknesses of different course modalities and offer tips on finding and engaging today’s adult learners.
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Nov 1, 2022
How Pueblo College Supercharged Yield and Retention Efforts
EAB’s Tara Zirkel is joined by Pueblo Community College VP of Student Success, Dr. Heather Speed, to examine changes Pueblo made to boost enrollment heading into the fall semester. Leadership began by listening to staff to identify and resolve disconnects between departments, which had been limiting their ability to market and fill open courses. They also provided more hands-on training for faculty and students to spur wider adoption of the Navigate student success platform and improve communication during the registration process. In the end, the institution spurred enrollment growth by pairing the right technology with stronger collaboration and process improvements.
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Oct 25, 2022
New Approaches for Managing Student Mental Health Crises
EAB’s Brooke Thayer joins Matt Mustard to talk about how schools are managing student mental health crises. The two urge university leaders to reexamine everything from student outreach to how counseling centers are staffed to whether campus security is using the right de-escalation techniques. Matt and Brooke also discuss the importance of developing differentiated response models to keep students safe and supported while leading with empathy.
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Oct 18, 2022
Is Your School Doing Enough to Attract Transfers?
Kent State University’s Ted McKown joins EAB’s Allison Akalonu and Matt Sheldon to explore better ways to engage, recruit, and support incoming transfer students. The three urge schools to invest in transfer advisors, website improvements, and auxiliary services designed to help transfer students build engagement with staff and other students even before they arrive on your campus. Finally, they identify ways to collaborate more effectively with influencers at other institutions in your area who can have an outsized impact on steering right-fit students to your school.
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Oct 11, 2022
Technology Tips to Boost Student Advising Effectiveness
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Ed Venit discuss the impact of the staffing crisis on student advising. The two urge student success leaders to use the current crisis as an impetus to adopt a more technology-forward approach to strengthen early warning systems and use time devoted to one-on-one student advising sessions to greater effect. Ed and Madeleine also offer a preview of CONNECTED22, the premier student success conference happening in Orlando this November.
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Oct 4, 2022
How to Manage Admissions Office Staffing Challenges
University of Rochester Dean of Admissions, Robert Alexander, joins EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer to discuss the impact of staffing challenges on admissions teams. Madeleine and Rob point out the dangers to institutions that ignore staff demands for greater flexibility. They also share ways to balance upward pressure on compensation with the need to focus on the core functions your teams have the capacity to execute.
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Sep 27, 2022
How ‘Greenlight Match’ is Flipping the Script on College Admissions
EAB recently acquired Concourse Global and announced an expansion of the Greenlight Match program the two companies have been collaborating on for the past year. Greenlight Match flips the script on the traditional college application process by enabling underserved students to connect with and receive offers of admission and financial aid from participating local colleges—without completing a formal application. This process typically provides these students multiple offers early in the college application process, which boosts their confidence and helps them plan their finances. Concourse founder Joe Morrison joins EAB’s Jonathan April to discuss this new phase of their work.
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Sep 20, 2022
Interview with Inside Higher Ed Editor, Scott Jaschik
In an interview that originally aired in April 2022, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik highlights the news stories he believes will have an outsized impact on higher education in the months and years to come. Jaschik is joined on the podcast by Carla Hickman, whose take on these issues is informed by her role as head of EAB’s Research division. The two explore issues ranging from the massive challenges facing community colleges to the game-changing legal fight over affirmative action in admissions.
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Sep 13, 2022
How to Help Black and Latino Men Succeed at Community Colleges and Beyond
EAB’s Tara Zirkel, Kayla Laughton, and Joshua Ddamulira share findings from their listening tour of more than 20 community college presidents to uncover the best ways to help Black and Latino men persist and succeed at community colleges. The three review statistics that underscore the challenge and isolate five top strategies to help you make significant improvement. They also discuss ways to overcome funding challenges by partnering with community-based organizations that can help create onramps to professional careers for these students.
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Aug 30, 2022
Why Parent Engagement Should Be a Central Focus of Your Recruiting Strategy
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Michael Koppenheffer share findings from EAB’s newest survey of parents and guardians of prospective college applicants. The survey helps pinpoint parent preferences around the types and timing of communication they most appreciate from colleges, as well as the top concerns they have about the college search process. Michael and Madeleine share tips for institutions looking to make parent engagement a more central focus of their recruiting efforts. They also urge schools to lead with empathy and do everything in their power to educate parents about the challenges and opportunities that go along with sending one of their own off to college.
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Aug 23, 2022
How to Solve the Data Activation Challenge at Your Institution
EAB’s Earl Sires and Mike Laracy examine the “digital sprawl” problem that plagues many college campuses and discuss tips and tools for cutting through all that complexity. Rather than relying on overworked programmers and statisticians, the two urge campus leaders to use an education data platform to tame the sprawl and facilitate direct access to the data by those tasked with making strategic decisions. They also demystify terms like predictive modeling and identify use cases that illustrate how critical advanced data analytics can be to establishing a more effective, data-informed culture at your school.
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Aug 16, 2022
Retention Grants Key to Closing Equity Gaps at UW-M
Joel Spiess explains how the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee uses retention grants to close equity gaps and offers tips on how other institutions can establish similar programs.
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Aug 9, 2022
How to Remove Bottlenecks and Grow Your Nursing Programs
EAB’s Lilia Shea and Lauren Edmonds examine factors limiting the growth of undergraduate and graduate-level nursing programs despite strong demand. The two urge leaders to build partnerships with regional healthcare providers as a way to supplement faculty ranks and help secure clinical placements for students. They also discuss the value of recruiting future instructors from among the student body and suggest creative ways to recruit, reward, and retain preceptors.
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Aug 2, 2022
How to Make Your Institution More Transfer Friendly
Allison Akalonu joins Matt Sheldon to discuss ways to fix the broken transfer system. The two point to data showing the precipitous decline in transfer enrollments and explore ways to identify and fix institutional barriers that frustrate students and cause them to look elsewhere for a more receptive landing spot. They also offer guidance on better ways to engage students at every stage of the transfer funnel by using technology and human touch points more effectively.
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Jul 26, 2022
Improving Outcomes for Native American Students at the U. of Montana
Dr. Brian Reed and Zach Rossmiller from the University of Montana join EAB’s Pavani Reddy to discuss a new initiative their institution has launched to help Native American students succeed. The three discuss initial learnings from the project, dubbed “Data for Student Equity,” which is funded in part by a grant from the Gates Foundation. The project enables university leaders to access and analyze data creatively to identify institutional and financial obstacles preventing Native American students from earning their degrees. While there is still much work to be done, new approaches are being developed at the university that could be replicated by other institutions to positively impact enrollment, retention, and career success for all students.
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Jul 19, 2022
Advice from the Experts on Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
EAB’s Brooke Thayer is joined by Dr. Janet Greenwood who leads an executive search firm that works primarily with higher education institutions. The two discuss the talent management “whiplash” that higher education leaders experienced as they moved from a cost-containment mindset at the outset of the pandemic to today’s full-on battle to retain and attract employees. Dr. Greenwood touches on everything from leadership transition planning to the unique benefits that higher education institutions can leverage as they compete for talent against private sector enterprises.
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Jul 12, 2022
Creating the Conditions for Black Student Success
The California-based organization, A2MEND, was recently awarded $1.1M to expand their student mentoring program across the state’s 116 community colleges. Dr. Edward Bush and Dr. Abdilmalik Buul, both representing A2MEND, talk to EAB’s Meacie Fairfax about how institutions can create the conditions where Black students, and Black male students in particular, are more likely to succeed both in and outside of the classroom.
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Jun 28, 2022
ASU President Michael Crow Shares Strategies for Driving Institutional Change
EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a wide-ranging discussion with influential Arizona State University President, Michael Crow. The two discuss the role of technology in helping institutions serve more students and the value of challenging the kind of antiquated thinking that pervades higher education. Dr. Crow also reminds university leaders that their institution should not be judged by how many students they exclude but by how many they accept and help to succeed.
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Jun 21, 2022
Graduate Admissions Teams Are Close to the Breaking Point
Keith Ramsdell, VP of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Ashland University and a NAGAP Board member, joins EAB’s Pam Royall to discuss the findings of a new joint survey of graduate admissions leaders. The two highlight things that institutions should be doing differently to recruit students and staff, including giving staff greater flexibility and diversifying their graduate program portfolio to better align with workforce trends.
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Jun 14, 2022
How Northern Arizona U. Is Tackling the Access and Affordability Gap
Northern Arizona University President José Luis Cruz Rivera talks to EAB’s Tom Sugar about creative approaches to narrowing the college access and affordability gap. Under Dr. Cruz Rivera’s leadership, NAU is redoubling its efforts to enroll students from historically underserved populations across the state. NAU also announced plans recently to offer a tuition-free college education for every Arizona resident with a household income of $65,000 or less.
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Jun 7, 2022
Insights from EAB’s Latest Survey of College Freshmen
Pam Royall joins Madeleine Rhyneer to examine findings from EAB’s most recent survey of first-year college students. The two discuss what the survey tells us about overall student satisfaction with the college experience and about the impacts of test-optional policies on application activity. They also highlight survey findings that show parents have greater influence over their children’s college search process than they did just a few years ago.
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May 31, 2022
Is Your Early Alert System Helping or Triggering Your Students?
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax hosts a conversation with Melissa Burwell, Executive Director for Student Success at Carthage College, about the potential risks of using student alerts as a one-size-fits-all blunt instrument. The two discuss Carthage’s rollout of their early alert system to faculty, advisors, care units, and staff, and the adjustments they made based on analysis of data that showed significant variability in how those alerts were raised and resolved across different student populations. Meacie and Melissa also share recommendations on ways to customize your early alert system to close equity gaps and help more students graduate.
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May 24, 2022
The Graduate Degree Market is Booming (for some...)
Graduate enrollments across 2020 and 2021 grew at the fastest rates in nearly a decade. However, roughly one-third of institutions experienced declines. EAB’s Will Lamb and Brian Schueler dig into the data to highlight the degree offerings, formats, and pricing models driving much of that growth. Will and Brian touch on the explosive enrollment growth among Black and minority graduate students, which helped to offset declining enrollment among foreign students during the pandemic. The two also offer tips for institutional leaders on how to launch new degree programs and get those offerings out to more students in more flexible formats.
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May 17, 2022
Tips from Top Recruiters on How to Conduct a Proper Executive Search
EAB’s Hersh Steinberg welcomes two of the top recruiters in the nation who specialize in placing higher education leaders. Jay Lemons from Academic Search, Inc. and Kenneth Kring from Korn Ferry share their thoughts on ways to improve succession planning and on the pros and cons of bringing in a change agent from the outside. They also offer tips on ways to honor the shared governance model without sacrificing candidate confidentiality or overcomplicating the executive search process.
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May 13, 2022
Black Male Student Success Audio Blog
Black Male Student Success Audio Blog by EAB
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May 10, 2022
A Conversation with US Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal
EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a conversation with James Kvaal, President Biden’s Under Secretary of Education. The two discuss the need for greater federal support of HBCUs, proposals for convincing more high school graduates to pursue higher education, and the impact of free community college programs. Mr. Kvaal also touches on a range of administration proposals for reducing student debt and making college more affordable to help more students from all backgrounds earn a college degree.
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May 3, 2022
Top 5 Threats and Opportunities Facing Higher Ed Today
Each spring, EAB shares with partner institutions the company’s latest research on the most urgent threats and opportunities across the higher education marketplace. EAB’s Larisa Hussak and Brian Schueler share key takeaways from that research. Topics include strategies for attracting and retaining talent amidst the great resignation, tips on how to compete in the growing (but hyper-competitive) graduate degree market, and how to handle one of higher ed’s greatest competitive threats: the growing legions of high school graduates who decide they don’t want or need to attend college.
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Apr 26, 2022
It’s Time to Strengthen Support for Student-Parents
David Croom from Ascend at the Aspen Institute joins EAB’s Meacie Fairfax to dispel myths around today’s student-parents who comprise more than 20% of total undergraduate enrollment. Student-parents tend to have higher GPAs than their childless peers despite having 50% less time on average, to devote to their academics. David shares compelling success stories and recommendations on creative ways for institutions to partner with local businesses and community leaders to offer more support and wraparound services to help student-parents succeed.
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Apr 15, 2022
IHE Editor Scott Jaschik Examines Top Trends Impacting Higher Ed
Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik highlights the news stories he believes will have an outsized impact on higher education in the months and years to come. Jaschik is joined on the podcast by Carla Hickman, whose take on these issues is informed by her role as head of EAB’s Research division. The two explore issues ranging from the massive challenges facing community colleges to the game-changing legal fight over affirmative action in admissions.
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Apr 12, 2022
Lessons in Leadership from UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski
EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a conversation with outgoing UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski that traces his beginnings as an academic prodigy and participant in the 1963 “Children’s March” organized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to his transformational leadership at UMBC. The two discuss UMBC’s well-earned reputation for producing more African-American undergraduates who go on to earn PhDs in science and engineering than almost any other institution. Finally, they discuss the mindset it takes to be an academically successful student of color, as well as Dr. Hrabowski’s future plans.
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Apr 5, 2022
How to Retain and Motivate Staff Amidst the Great Resignation
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and the University of Rochester's Dr. Robert Alexander explore the challenges of managing a successful team and department during a tight labor market. The two discuss the importance of building trust and promoting effective collaboration. Robert and Madeleine also reveal strategies for assessing your team’s inclination (or resistance) to adapting and embracing change to overcome performance gaps.
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Mar 29, 2022
Are Student Success Leaders Ready to Embrace Data and Analytics?
EAB’s David Bevevino and Ed Venit share results of a new poll that shows surging interest among student success leaders in applying analytics to boost retention and graduation rates. David and Ed suggest that institutions may finally be moving out of pandemic crisis mode and turning their attention to improving how they identify and communicate with students who appear to be falling off track. The two offer advice on more effective ways to track performance around student alerts, outreach, and interventions.
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Mar 22, 2022
The Evolving Role of the Chief Diversity Officer
Seramount President Subha Berry hosts a discussion on DEI and the evolving role of the Chief Diversity Officer. Subha’s guest on the program, Microsoft Chief Diversity Officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, shares her perspective on the renewed urgency on DEI efforts in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the ensuing racial justice protests. Both Subha and Lindsay-Rae also offer advice to DEI leaders at all kinds of institutions on ways to set goals and prioritize their efforts.
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Mar 15, 2022
How to Create the Hybrid College Experience Both Students and Staff Prefer
EAB’s Brooke Thayer and Michael Fischer examine best practices emerging from the pandemic in terms of space utilization and integration of technologies that give students and campus employees the flexibility they want. Brook and Michael touch on innovations in classroom design, clever integration of new wellness spaces on campus, and the cultural change that has to happen to make campus office spaces function better. They also identify impediments, including cost as well as labor and materials shortages, that institutional leaders will need to work around in order to achieve the multi-modal campus they need to attract students and retain staff.
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Mar 8, 2022
The Rise of Google Career Certificates: Threat or Opportunity?
EAB’s Sally Amoruso is joined by Lisa Gevelber who leads Grow with Google, a $1-billion enterprise that has helped more than 70,000 students strengthen their earning potential by completing Google Career Certificates. Lisa was a featured speaker at EAB’s recent Presidential Experience Lab, an event that attracted more than 100 college and university presidents who gathered to discuss the rise of alternative credentials. Sally and Lisa examine opportunities available to higher education leaders who are interested in bundling skills training courses with current degree programs to better meet student and employer demand.
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Mar 1, 2022
NACAC CEO Shares Admissions Strategies to Improve College Access
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Dr. Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, discuss recommended changes to admissions policies designed to improve college access. Dr. Pérez talks about his own educational journey that began in Puerto Rico and continued in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the South Bronx before a chance encounter with a high school guidance counselor helped set him on his present course. The two also discuss Dr. Pérez’s recent Forbes op-ed as well as concrete next steps from the new NACAC/NASFAA report (Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access) that higher ed leaders should consider.
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Feb 22, 2022
Is Your Approach to Student Support Inherently Biased?
EAB experts Alexa Silverman and Meacie Fairfax examine why traditional student-advising approaches and early alert systems may be perceived negatively by students of color. Meacie and Alexa offer suggestions on ways to build trust and engagement with these students early on, so they are more receptive to offers of support. The two also discuss the importance of enlisting multicultural student groups as advocates in helping to normalize conversations with university officials about academic, financial, or emotional hurdles that students may need help to overcome.
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Feb 15, 2022
Are K-12 Disruptions Forcing Higher Ed to Redefine College Readiness?
EAB experts Meredith McNeill and Ben Court examine recent data on K-12 learning disruptions and their impact on college readiness. The two share tips on how to prepare to serve students who may present a broader range of needs and abilities than those from years past. Meredith and Ben also discuss the data on adolescent mental health and the kinds of support today’s students will need when they arrive on campus.
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Feb 8, 2022
How to Engage Student Activists and Donors to Drive Positive Change
EAB experts Kate Cudé and Dr. Jenna Dell discuss the recent rise and long history of student activism. They explore the power of social media to amplify student demands and offer reasons why this technology presents both challenges and opportunities for university leaders. Kate and Jenna also share strategies for advancement teams on how to approach difficult conversations with major donors when their convictions do not align with institutional values.
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Feb 1, 2022
Is Your Financial Aid Strategy Having the Desired Impact?
EAB Experts Brett Schraeder and Sarah Le Duc provide insight into how financial aid optimization (FAO) works and how universities leverage FAO strategy to balance institutional goals. The two separate fact from fiction and explain how schools use FAO to optimize revenue from wealthier families so they can afford to be more generous in awarding financial aid to students from historically underserved populations. Finally, Brett and Sarah share advice for the 99% of institutions that depend on FAO to diversify their incoming class, improve student retention, and generate enough revenue to fulfill their mission.
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Jan 25, 2022
How to Convert More "Undecideds" to Matriculants
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Lex Ruby-Howe share strategies to help admissions teams boost yield by identifying students within their admit pool who are highly likely or highly unlikely to enroll, versus those who are genuinely undecided. By leveraging simple surveys and more advanced analytics, schools can focus their resources and tailor their outreach efforts to greater effect. Madeleine and Lex also touch on the importance of being nimble in adjusting financial aid strategy as another critical lever for converting the undecided. Finally, the two discuss the value of virtual tours and other digital platforms your institution should be using to help applicants make authentic connections with other admits, current students, and faculty before they ever set foot on campus.
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Jan 18, 2022
How to Reverse Pandemic Impacts on Student Persistence
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax and Ed Venit explore pandemic ripple effects that will continue to impact student persistence at colleges and universities for the foreseeable future. They cite studies showing that student feelings of isolation, disengagement, depression, and other mental health challenges—a growing concern for years—have all worsened during the pandemic. They also point to learning challenges that have plagued K-12 students during the pandemic, as well as the recent plunge in community college enrollments as additional headwinds that four-year institutions will be dealing with for years to come. On the positive side, Meacie and Ed highlight the opportunity facing higher ed leaders who have little choice but to modernize their approach to student retention and success.
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Jan 11, 2022
Strategic Enrollment Management in a Decentralized Environment
IUPUI Chief Enrollment Officer Dr. Boyd Bradshaw joins EAB’s Owen Crean to talk about the importance of strategic enrollment management and the challenges of getting everyone on the same page within a distributed leadership structure. Dr. Bradshaw outlines the structure of a modern enrollment management program and talks about how to break down silos that can hamper recruiting efforts. Finally, he and Owen share tips for engaging campus stakeholders to fix data inconsistencies, set realistic goals, and apply a consistent framework that guides all recruiting efforts.
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Jan 4, 2022
How Rowan University Uses Hot Sauce to Lower Student Costs
Rowan University has emerged as one of the fastest-growing research universities in the country with two medical schools and nearly double the total enrollment they had in 2012 when Dr. Ali Houshmand became its president. Dr. Houshmand talks with EAB’s Hersh Steinberg about the power of partnering with businesses and other institutions in ways that keep them invested in the success of your school. The two also discuss Rowan University's support of 3+1 programs and how the launch of their own hot sauce enterprise offers hands-on business experience and helps reduce college costs for Rowan students.
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Dec 14, 2021
Front-Line Staff Share Insights on Eliminating Equity Gaps
EAB’s Brittany Motley and Meacie Fairfax share what they’ve learned from working with the ten schools (so far) that have signed on to EAB's Moon Shot for Equity and dedicated themselves to eliminating equity gaps by the end of this decade. We also hear from front-line staff at those institutions about how they’re integrating Moon Shot initiatives into their workflow, about challenges and unexpected blessings they have encountered along the way, and about how they are engaging other campus leaders to join the effort.
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Dec 7, 2021
Removing Statues Won’t Rectify Your Institution’s Racist Past
President Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon of Carleton University and Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Carol Henderson of Emory University discuss how universities across Canada and the United States are reckoning with their historical ties to slavery, indigenous dispossession, and racial oppression. This discussion was excerpted from a November 2021 EAB webinar moderated by EAB’s Kurubel Belay. The webinar was the first in a series of engagements EAB is leading as part of a new research effort exploring authentic and productive ways for institutions to address and heal from their legacies of racism.
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Nov 30, 2021
Spotlight on the African American Male Initiative at NC Central
Dr. Roderick Heath explains how his own experience and his study of noncognitive behaviors inform his work as Director of the African American Male Initiative at North Carolina Central University. In a conversation with EAB’s Michael Schwengel, Dr. Heath discusses how he combines data, technology, and a range of motivational tactics to engage these students and foster a sense of belonging he says is crucial to their academic and personal development.
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Nov 23, 2021
How CSU Built One of the Most Diverse Cabinets in Higher Ed
EAB’s Sally Amoruso talks with Colorado State University President Joyce McConnell about ways to drive greater diversity in higher education leadership. McConnell traces her own journey to becoming the first woman President at CSU and shares her thoughts on effective ways of recruiting and cultivating diverse talent. Amoruso and McConnell also touch on the importance of building a culture of trust that empowers staff at all levels and from all backgrounds to speak openly, to listen, and to collaborate in ways that encourage the best ideas to rise based on merit.
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Nov 16, 2021
How to Reimagine Office Space to Fit a Hybrid Work Environment
The typical university campus has tens or even hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space begging for a makeover. With so many campus employees working remotely, schools have a golden opportunity to transform that space with less disruption. EAB’s Elizabeth Denny and Michael Fischer offer advice to help university leaders think through their options whether they’re looking to pilot a few modest changes or completely reimagine the way that people study, live, work, and interact on their campuses.
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Nov 9, 2021
Insights from Year One of EAB’s “Moon Shot for Equity”
Tom Sugar is joined by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone, for a look back on lessons learned during year one of EAB’s “Moon Shot for Equity.” Tom and Dr. Mone discuss the importance of going beyond articulation agreements to make it easier for students—and the credits they have earned—to transfer between schools. They also point to two important reasons so many colleges fail to make progress on improving graduation rates: Working in isolation rather than partnering with other schools in their region, and failing to address institutional shortcomings that make the educational journey more complicated than it has to be.
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Nov 2, 2021
How to Achieve Financial Sustainability Amid Declining Enrollment
2021 saw an infusion of much-needed federal stimulus dollars as well as record-setting endowment growth. Unfortunately, a fall enrollment dip and other cost pressures have kept most university leaders scrambling to achieve financial sustainability. EAB’s Jeff Martin and Scott Winslow review fall 2021 enrollment figures, possible opportunities for cost-cutting, as well as potential sources of revenue growth. They also explore the gap between hype and reality in terms of the impact of endowment growth on operating budgets.
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Oct 26, 2021
Is Your Test-Optional Policy a Hot Mess?
Many institutions adopted test-optional admissions policies out of necessity in the early days of the pandemic. EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer, an expert with more than 25 years of experience leading university admissions teams, says those hastily constructed policies are well-intentioned, but many are poorly defined. She and fellow EAB enrollment guru Michael Koppenheffer discuss different sides of the debate over the value of standardized test scores as well as the challenge of comparing apples to apples when evaluating the academic performance of students across different counties or states. They also share their top recommendations for enrollment leaders on how to codify and articulate their test-optional policies, so they are more easily understood by prospective students and their families.
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Oct 19, 2021
How to Motivate University Leaders to Support Enterprise IT Investments
University CIOs are on the front lines of a battle to liberate and leverage data trapped in siloed IT systems that have grown like weeds across college campuses over the past 30 years. Susquehanna University CIO Jennifer Servedio talks to EAB’s Danielle Yardy about how to bring order to this chaos through a more enlightened technology strategy, and how to gain buy-in among key campus stakeholders to approve the associated costs. Ms. Servedio also shares her top pieces of advice on how to prioritize and wring the greatest value out of every IT investment.
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Oct 12, 2021
Insights from EAB’s Survey of Graduate and Adult Learners
EAB’s Amy Luitjens and Will Lamb dig into our latest survey of adult learners to find out how their plans were impacted by the pandemic and to understand their current preferences and motivations. The survey findings suggest that schools will need to hone their recruitment and retention strategies to make any headway in a graduate education market that appears to be losing steam. Amy and Will offer a number of recommendations including beefing up online support services and clearly articulating the “return on education” behind your graduate programs to counteract increased price sensitivity.
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Oct 5, 2021
Q&A with SNHU President Paul LeBlanc
Southern New Hampshire University President Dr. Paul LeBlanc has written a new book, “Students First,” centered on the idea that time is the ultimate scarcity, the lack of which prevents far too many students from achieving their educational goals. Going further, Dr. LeBlanc explains why the credit hour concept may have outlived its usefulness and why competency-based educational curricula deserve a fresh look. Dr. LeBlanc also shares with EAB’s Sally Amoruso, reasons why the growth of short-form, alternative credentials and hybrid instructional models are good for higher education.
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Sep 28, 2021
Peek Inside a Higher Ed Merger
EAB’s Hersh Steinberg sits down for a wide-ranging conversation with Saint Leo President Dr. Jeffrey Senese. The two discuss Saint Leo’s pending acquisition of Marymount California University, currently awaiting regulatory approval, and explore why Dr. Senese’s business acumen and growth mindset perfectly fit Saint Leo’s mission. They also review key moments in Dr. Senese’s journey to higher ed leadership, particularly the influence of a former boss and mentor whose training as a business PhD informed the way she led her institution as its president.
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Sep 21, 2021
Is Your Admissions Team Struggling with Channel Overload?
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Michael Koppenheffer discuss findings from a new EAB research effort and a related paper titled, “Recruiting in an Era of Channel Overload: How to Optimize Your Audience Strategy to Achieve Enrollment Success.” They highlight valuable but lesser-known sources of data on prospective students, as well as ways that virtual tours and other online recruiting tools are creating new opportunities to engage and build affinity with those students. Michael and Madeleine also explain why helping students and their families become more sophisticated and more thoughtful about their college search will ultimately help you enroll more right-fit students that persist and thrive at your institution.
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Sep 14, 2021
It’s Time to Transform Legal Education
EAB’s Amy Luitjens is joined by Brian Gallini, Dean of the Willamette University College of Law, for a discussion on the state of U.S. law schools and attorney licensing. The two touch on everything from the lack of transparency in law school admissions, to pandemic impacts on legal education, to the perennial question of how to standardize and update licensure across the U.S. legal profession.
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Sep 7, 2021
Are Alternative Online Credentials a Threat or Opportunity?
EAB’s Jackson Nell is joined by LSU Vice President of Online & Continuing Education, Sasha Thackaberry, to discuss the rapid growth of alternative online providers. These for-profit entities, including Coursera, Guild, Udacity, even Google, offer everything from certificates to micro-credentials to full degrees, either in partnership with or independently from colleges and universities. Thackaberry explains why collaboration between these online upstarts and traditional higher education institutions is blurring the lines and creating both risk and opportunity.
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Aug 31, 2021
Best Ways to Spend Your HEERF Dollars
Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (or HEERF) appropriated through three separate laws by the federal government over the past year and a half represent the largest combined federal investment in higher education in our nation’s history. Schools have been slow to distribute more recent allocations (HEERF II and III) for a number of reasons. EAB’s Danielle Yardy and Jackson Nell explore some of the obstacles and share advice for university leaders on ways to prioritize spending to build a more student-centric, digital, and fiscally-resilient campus.
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Aug 24, 2021
Why Market Share—Not Demographic Shifts—Should Drive Your Recruiting Strategy
EAB’s Larisa Hussak and Brian Schueler urge university leaders to parse the data to better understand local market trends impacting your recruiting efforts. The chances are you are losing far more prospective students to other institutions in your state and region than you are to demographic shifts. Larissa and Brian suggest re-focusing your recruiting strategy around highlighting the quality of the student experience and the value of your institution to in-state applicants. Remember, it is nearly 10 times more cost-effective to target students within 25 miles of your school than it is to recruit out-of-state students.
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Aug 17, 2021
How to Boost Yield in a Digital-First World
EAB’s Anna Masica is joined by Wellesley College Dean of Admission Jessica Ricker to discuss a growing challenge for enrollment professionals everywhere, how to boost yield in a digital-first world. The two explore ways to blend the best of traditional, face-to-face recruiting events with newer alternatives like virtual tours and digital welcome centers that enable many more applicants to have authentic and meaningful exchanges with university leaders and current students. Finally, they urge admissions teams to shed old-school recruiting tactics that have outlived their usefulness.
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Aug 10, 2021
Is Higher Ed Poised for Mass Consolidation?
EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney and Jackson Nell examine the higher education market to determine whether there is an oversupply of providers relative to the number of consumers who want a college degree. Their team has examined decades’ worth of M&A deals to highlight trends in consolidation activity, motivations among buyers and those being acquired, and types of partnerships that offer advantages over outright mergers. They also offer tips for institutions looking for partners to stave off closure or merely to fill gaps in their program portfolios.
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Aug 3, 2021
Your School Isn’t Ready for the FAFSA Simplification Act
EAB’s Kathy Ruby and Sarah Le Duc review the basics of financial aid optimization and explain why FAO is more important than ever to helping colleges meet enrollment targets. The two examine the real-world impacts schools should prepare for when the FAFSA Simplification Act is enacted in 2024. They also offer tips to help financial aid offices work with campus leaders to begin preparing now and to communicate with families of prospective applicants who are already asking questions about what the new legislation means for them.
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Jul 27, 2021
How to Improve Student Success at the Graduate Level
EAB experts Amy Luitjens and Ed Venit examine how colleges and universities are working to better support and guide graduate students toward achieving their educational goals. They point out that today’s graduate students are more diverse, taking on more debt, and have higher expectations for how they want institutions to serve them. Given current market trends, Amy and Ed suggest it is in a university’s financial self-interest to change and do more to help these students succeed.
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Jul 20, 2021
How University HR Officers Are Shaping New Flexible Work Policies
EAB’s Michael Fischer and Michael Varda examine key takeaways from a survey of HR Officers from colleges and universities across the US, Canada, and the UK. Among the biggest concerns expressed by survey respondents was how to develop remote work policies that are equitable, and how to guide managers in monitoring the performance of remote workers. They note that nearly half of HR leaders appear willing to take on additional tax and regulatory complications in order to recruit from a broader talent pool of potential candidates who live in other states or even countries.
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Jul 13, 2021
How to Reduce Summer Melt
Summer melt is a challenge that every admissions team understands and works hard to address, even during the best of times. With in-person orientation and other large gatherings still limited at many colleges, this summer will prove exceptionally challenging. Enrollment leaders from Robert Morris University and the University of Louisville join EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer to talk about what they learned during last summer’s campus closures. They also share strategies for engaging students and families this summer, and for mixing on-campus events with virtual meet-ups to boost yield.
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Jun 22, 2021
Campus Space Planning for Fall and Beyond
EAB’s Ann Lippens and Kaitlyn Maloney discuss the steps that colleges and universities are taking now to welcome students and faculty back to campus this fall. While higher ed leaders are still working out the details of a safe return, including vaccination requirements, they are also thinking about how to use campus facilities in different ways to accommodate safety protocols as well as other considerations. Ann and Kaitlyn say this isn’t just an exercise in space planning though. Schools are looking to apply lessons learned during the pandemic and expand the use of technology to improve a range of student services.
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Jun 15, 2021
How to Prepare Your Campus for the Mental Health Crisis Coming this Fall
Thanks to the pandemic, most universities are preparing to welcome two years’ worth of campus newcomers this fall. Add to that the stressors resulting from months of political and social unrest as well as elevated health and financial concerns that threaten to leave schools facing a perfect storm of mental health challenges when campuses reopen. EAB’s Hailey Badger and Kate Cudé share findings from their research into how colleges and universities are preparing. They point to the surprising success of virtual counseling as at least one silver lining that emerged from the pandemic. They also urge higher ed leaders to shift more of their focus to preventative care and promoting mental health wellness as a way to get ahead of the problem.
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Jun 8, 2021
Tips from Women for Women Seeking Leadership Positions in Higher Education
Wisr co-founder and CEO Kate Volzer is joined by Dr. Angela Clark-Taylor, Director of the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women at Case Western Reserve University. The two talk about their chance meeting in 2019 and the work they’ve done together since to support and empower women working in higher ed. Dr. Clark-Taylor shares actionable advice derived from her research on gender equity. Both offer insights they’ve collected through their work leading professional development conferences and webinars designed to help women push through career barriers and pull other women up along the way.
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Jun 1, 2021
How to Prepare Your Institution and Students to Thrive in the Age of Remote Work
EAB’s Chief Partner Officer, Sally Amoruso, is joined by Brian Elliot, the head of the Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack to help companies reimagine work in the new digital-first world. The two discuss key takeaways from a recent virtual gathering of more than 125 university leaders EAB hosted to explore the future of work on college campuses. They share tips on ways to offer campus workers greater flexibility, a change that will be critical to schools looking to attract and retain talent in a tight labor market. Sally and Brian also urge managers to shift away from being attendance monitors and spend more of their energy inspiring employees to stay connected, build camaraderie, and bring their best selves to work each day, regardless of whether they are working remotely or onsite.
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May 25, 2021
College Decision Day Has Come and Gone. Now What?
EAB’s Kathy Dawley and Brett Schraeder discuss the significance of National College Decision Day and share initial thoughts on successful strategies colleges are using to meet enrollment targets during one of the most challenging recruiting cycles of all time. They stress the importance of virtual engagement with admits as a means of reducing summer melt. Kathy and Brett also share findings from EAB’s most recent survey of more than 15,000 high school students and break down the implications of those findings on everything from the design of your school’s website to how and when to engage parents in the recruiting process.
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May 4, 2021
How to Reverse Enrollment Declines at Community Colleges
Enrollment at for-profit colleges has increased or remained flat, while enrollment at community colleges is down nearly 10 percent since the onset of the pandemic. EAB’s Christina Hubbard and Larisa Hussak share key takeaways from a recent “secret shopping” experience with for-profit institutions and explain their applicability to community colleges. They talk about the dos and don’ts of onboarding, a perennial pain point at two-year schools, and urge community college leaders to assume greater responsibility for guiding students through the application process, registration, and beyond as a way of boosting yield and building student engagement. Christina and Larisa also stress the importance of adapting to meet growing student demand for greater flexibility in everything from course modalities to term lengths.
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Apr 27, 2021
How to Combat ‘Digital Sprawl’ on Your Campus
EAB’s Danielle Yardy and Anushka Mehta unpack the meaning of “digital transformation” and its relevance for higher education. They argue that the key drivers of digital transformation should be to streamline operations and improve the student experience. They also offer tips to generate the biggest bang for your IT bucks and spur wider and quicker adoption of new technologies across campus.
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Apr 20, 2021
Will Biden’s American Rescue Plan Help Rebuild Higher Education?
EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney returns to the podcast to moderate a discussion with her colleagues Jackson Nell and Kathy Ruby on what the American Rescue Plan means for higher education. The three talk about what we’ve learned from previous federal stimulus bills that might help schools begin to chart a path forward, even as we wait for much-needed guidance from the Department of Education. They urge university leaders to view this as their last and best opportunity to put their financial houses in order. They also share tips for communicating with students and families about the distribution of financial aid.
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Apr 13, 2021
How to Build Effective Community Partnerships
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax returns to the podcast for a conversation with College Possible CEO Craig Robinson. The two discuss the power of community partnerships in giving underserved students greater access to higher education and stronger pathways to successful careers. Mr. Robinson suggests that colleges must be willing to change their mindset in order to serve their students and their communities more effectively. Embracing the challenge of joining with community partners who offer complementary skills and assets is an important step along that journey.
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Apr 6, 2021
What the Coursera IPO Means for Higher Ed
EAB’s Carla Hickman and Colin Koproske have been working together and studying the phenomenon of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, since 2012. On today’s episode, the two discuss Coursera’s recent IPO-related financial filings. Carla and Colin also examine the extent to which MOOCs and the companies that provide them represent a threat to higher ed, or whether more colleges should be looking to partner with companies like Coursera to expand their online course offerings.
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Mar 30, 2021
Top Recruiting Tips to Reverse Enrollment Declines
College enrollment dipped this past fall as most people expected. However, the decline was not equally distributed across all demographic cohorts or types of institutions. Journalist Jon Marcus joins EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer to examine the data which show surprising enrollment trends that have not received the media attention they deserve. The two discuss ways that college recruiting has changed forever as a result of the pandemic, and they explain why doing “more of the same” isn’t going to work this time.
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Mar 23, 2021
How the Teleworking Trend Will Transform College Campuses
EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney and Ron Yanosky discuss what we’ve learned over the past year through our collective experiment in mass teleworking. They then dig into some of the unique challenges colleges and universities face as they explore more flexible approaches to space utilization, hiring, and HR policies. While a few best practices emerging from the private sector can easily be replicated across higher education, universities will need to get creative in order to adapt without losing the sense of place that makes campus life special.
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Mar 16, 2021
How Penn State Fundraisers Shifted Strategy in 2020
EAB’s Jeff Martin is joined by Penn State University Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Richard Bundy. The two talk about the state of university fundraising and key takeaways from EAB’s latest survey of college fundraising professionals. Mr. Bundy provides insight into how his team shifted strategy and tactics to adapt to an entirely virtual fundraising environment. Finally, the two share tips for managing fundraising teams and gift proposals both today and in the months ahead as we emerge from the pandemic.
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Mar 9, 2021
Lessons Learned from Houston GPS on Closing Equity Gaps
EAB’s Tom Sugar talks to Paula Short from the University of Houston about lessons they learned launching Houston GPS, the nation’s first regional consortium of two- and four-year schools working together to improve transfer pathways and college completion rates. They also talk about how they are applying those lessons to EAB’s new Moon Shot for Equity.
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Mar 2, 2021
How to Engage Parents During the Recruiting Process
EAB’s Kathy Dawley and Al Newell discuss the role that parents play in the college recruiting process and share findings from a recent EAB survey about their communication preferences. They talk about how different types of information become more or less important to parents as they get closer to the application deadline. Kathy and Al also urge colleges to focus on communicating how they support and guide students along their educational journey. They also recommend that colleges take a hard look at their websites since the quality of the design and content on your website is viewed by many parents as a proxy for the quality of your institution.
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Feb 16, 2021
Nathan Grawe Shares Insights from His New Book, “The Agile College”
Noted author Nathan D. Grawe talks about his new book that explores how college recruitment and retention efforts are evolving to meet demographic and other challenges.
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Feb 9, 2021
How to Capture Growth Opportunities in the Graduate Degree Market
EAB’s Megan Adams and Will Lamb discuss growth opportunities and the competitive landscape in the master’s and graduate degree markets.
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Feb 2, 2021
New Professional Development Opportunity for Rising Higher Ed Leaders
Two emerging stars of academia--Dr. Lila McDowell Carlsen from Pepperdine University and Dr. Rénard Harris from College of Charleston--share what they’ve learned by participating in EAB’s new Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship.
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Jan 26, 2021
Dr. Tierney Discusses “Get Real: 49 Challenges Confronting Higher Education”
EAB’s Sally Amoruso is joined by Dr. William Tierney, University Professor Emeritus and Founding Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. The two discuss a range of topics addressed in Dr. Tierney’s new book, “Get Real: 49 Challenges Confronting Higher Education," including Dr. Tierney’s contention that universities have become too focused on preparing students for careers at the expense of teaching them to be intellectually curious and engaged citizens and how academic tenure and joint governance may change in the months and years ahead.
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Jan 19, 2021
How Colleges Can Maximize the Benefits of the New Federal Stimulus Package
EAB’s federal policy experts outline the major components of the latest federal relief package and offer guidance to university leaders still struggling to determine what it means for their institutions and students.
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Jan 12, 2021
How to Grow Community College Enrollment, Featuring the League
Dr. Rufus Glasper, president and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, joins Dr. Christine Hubbard, EAB’s leading expert on community colleges. The two talk about the extent to which future enrollment trends will be influenced by external factors, like the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the economy, versus the need to innovate and deliver a more flexible and engaging educational experience (online or otherwise) that attracts new students.
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Jan 5, 2021
What Colleges Can Learn from UofM Partnerships with FedEx and Others
Dr. Richard Irwin from the University of Memphis talks to EAB’s Max Milder about the school’s unique collaborations with FedEx and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. These partnerships offer employees, even those without a high school diploma, a guided pathway to earn a college degree.
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Dec 15, 2020
How to Prepare College Graduates to Succeed in a Tough Economy
Rob Sentz, Chief Innovation Officer at labor market data giant, Emsi, shares strategies for preparing college students to find their niche in an unsettled economy.
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Dec 8, 2020
Tim Renick Shares GSU’s Playbook for Eliminating Equity Gaps
Student success guru Tim Renick discusses GSU’s journey to eliminating equity gaps and shares scalable, replicable best practices other institutions can follow to do the same.
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Dec 1, 2020
Help More Students Graduate with Less Debt
EAB experts explain how to integrate financial aid services into the broader student support network to help more students graduate with less debt.
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Nov 24, 2020
How Colleges Can Grow Community Service Despite Coronavirus
Representatives from The Urban Alliance and Streetwise Partners join the podcast to discuss how the pandemic and recent civil unrest have impacted volunteerism. They also share tips for institutions looking to motivate more employees to participate in community services activities—and why volunteers from the ranks of higher education can have an outsized impact on the lives of young adults.
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Nov 17, 2020
How Companies Are Approaching College Recruiting During the Pandemic
Michael Koppenheffer joins the podcast to discuss ways employers are virtualizing campus recruiting to overcome social distancing restrictions. He also offers tips to universities on how to partner with employers who may be looking to broaden their campus recruiting footprint.
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Nov 10, 2020
COVID-19 Campus Reopening Mistakes and Victories
EAB experts examine the good, the bad, and the ugly from campus repopulation efforts this fall and suggest changes university leaders may need to make before the spring semester.
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Nov 3, 2020
How Universities Can Hire and Retain Diverse Faculty
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Executive Editor David Pluviose joins EAB’s Rachel Tanner to offer concrete steps university leaders can take to recruit and retain diverse faculty. David also shares how to ensure the current hiring freezes are not an impediment to progress.
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Oct 27, 2020
3 Student Success Lessons That Power EAB’s “Moon Shot for Equity”
Milwaukee Area Technical College President Dr. Vicki Martin joins EAB Vice President of Partnerships, Tom Sugar, to talk about three lessons learned from Georgia State University's success in erasing equity gaps--and how MATC is working with EAB to make similar systemic changes.
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Oct 20, 2020
What Liberal Arts Colleges Can Do to Stay Relevant
Denison University President Adam Weinberg shares how liberal arts colleges must evolve to survive in an environment where COVID has exacerbated existing trends. Students and their families are more focused on value and outcomes—and traditional colleges face greater competition from alternative, online providers.
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Oct 13, 2020
Why Virtual Advising is Here to Stay
Student success leaders discuss why virtual advising, the only option available during campus shutdowns, may become the norm even when campuses fully reopen.
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Oct 6, 2020
A Silver Lining? COVID-19 Reforms May Improve Student Support
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax and Dr. Ed Venit discuss ways the pandemic is forcing colleges to change for the better in terms of how they keep students engaged, informed, and on track academically.
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Sep 29, 2020
How COVID-19 Has Impacted Universities Worldwide
EAB’s John Workman and Michael Fischer examine similarities and important differences in how the pandemic is impacting U.S. colleges vs. those in Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
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Sep 22, 2020
From First-Generation Student to College President
Broward College President Gregory Hail talks about his journey from childhood poverty to successful corporate litigator to college president. He also urges university leaders to think beyond the “campus-bound” college model.
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Sep 15, 2020
Promise and Perils of COVID-19 Testing on College Campuses
A senior representative from Quest Diagnostics discusses the current state of COVID-19 testing on college campuses, explains why testing protocols vary so widely between states and even between schools within the same state, and offers a glimpse of new and better tests schools could be using soon.
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Sep 8, 2020
How COVID-19 Is Changing College Athletics
University of Kentucky officials discuss the return of college athletics and share what the new normal looks like on the UK campus.
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Sep 1, 2020
How the Elections Could Impact Higher Ed
Described as one of America’s most effective advocates for higher education, Terry Hartle from ACE talks with EAB about how the upcoming presidential and congressional elections may influence higher education policy.
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Aug 25, 2020
WVU President Gordon Gee on the Future of Universities
As a land grant university and economic center of the state, West Virginia University has taken a leading role in helping state agencies combat the pandemic. Listen to WVU's Dr. Gee and Vice President & Executive Dean for Health Sciences (and West Virginia Coronavirus Czar) Dr. Clay Marsh discuss ways that dealing with the opioid crisis informed their efforts to tackle the coronavirus. They also share why they think all institutions should play a central role promoting the welfare of their communities.
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Aug 18, 2020
How to Engage Current and Future Donors Amid a Pandemic
Alumni relations and fundraising have been turned upside down by the pandemic. Alumni are looking for career networks and informal and virtual opportunities to connect with old friends, not nostalgic on-campus experiences. Hear innovative strategies to stay relevant to alumni from Longwood University AVP, Alumni & Career Services--and host of the Advancement Legends podcast--Ryan Catherwood.
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Aug 11, 2020
Insights From 1,000+ Adults Considering Completing Their Bachelor's
Guests discuss findings from a survey of more than 1,000 potential “degree completers”—adults who completed some college, but didn’t earn a degree or certificate—and share how colleges can help them overcome their fears and return to higher education.
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Aug 4, 2020
How the Pandemic is Changing Tuition Pricing and Financial Aid
EAB experts discuss the pitfalls of “pandemic pricing,” the best way for schools to distribute financial relief to families, and the importance of communicating the rationale behind tuition prices.
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Jul 28, 2020
WSJ Reporter Melissa Korn Discusses the “Varsity Blues” College Admissions Scandal
Melissa Korn from The Wall Street Journal talks about her new book, “Unacceptable,” an in-depth examination of last year’s “Varsity Blues” bribery and admissions scandal.
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Jul 23, 2020
How 100+ University Presidents Worked Together to Prepare for Fall 2020
BONUS CONTENT: Dr. Christine Riordan, president of Adelphi University, shares what she’s learned from a unique collaboration of more than 100 independent colleges and universities across New York State to help each prepare for the fall term.
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Jul 21, 2020
One of Higher Ed’s Top Medical Leaders on the Science Behind the Virus and What That Means for Fall
EAB’s Sally Amoruso is joined by the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Chancellor Dr. Jeffrey Gold, who is a leading expert on containing the spread of viruses and other dangerous pathogens. The two discuss how university leaders can access and interpret data on the community spread of the coronavirus to help shape their plans to welcome students, faculty, and staff back to campus.
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Jul 14, 2020
The Future of Higher Ed—According to 100+ University Presidents
EAB’s Sally Amoruso and Hersh Steinberg share takeaways from their recent discussions with more than 100 senior university leaders. Hear, for example, how progressive presidents are making deep cuts but also investing in a few key areas that will position their institutions to emerge from the current crisis stronger than ever.
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Jul 7, 2020
Can Campuses Safely Reopen This Fall?
EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney and Ann Forman Lippens talk about campus plans to “de-densify” classrooms, dorms, and dining halls so students can social distance this fall, as well as how COVID-19 will impact recent progress on sustainability.
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Jun 30, 2020
5 Biggest COVID-19 Strategy Mistakes
EAB’s Melanie Ho and Carla Hickman identify the five biggest mistakes higher ed leaders must avoid with their COVID-19 strategies.
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Jun 23, 2020
Mitigate the Pandemic’s Impact on Equity Gaps this Fall and Beyond
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax and Ed Venit discuss equity gaps in higher education and ways the pandemic and recent social unrest threaten to widen those gaps unless universities take swift action.
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Jun 16, 2020
Race, Education, and Protest: A Conversation with Hamline University’s President
Dr. Fayneese Miller, president of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, joins EAB’s Sally Amoruso to discuss how her experience growing up as an African American woman in a segregated city informed her response to recent protests in her community.
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Jun 9, 2020
AASCU President Addresses Equity Gaps in Higher Ed
AASCU President Dr. Mildred García talks to EAB’s Dr. David Attis about how to address the equity gaps made worse by the pandemic and about her own experiences as a first-generation college student.
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Jun 2, 2020
Inside Higher Ed’s News Editor on the COVID-19 Stories You Should Know
Paul Fain, news editor at Inside Higher Ed, joins EAB’s Carla Hickman to share the COVID-19 stories that have gotten the most attention, what that says about college and university leaders’ greatest concerns, and the stories we should expect to see soon.
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May 26, 2020
Leadership Voices: Mount Saint Mary’s University President Ann McElaney-Johnson
Dr. Ann McElaney-Johnson, president of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, talks about how a recent crisis prepared her team to handle the current coronavirus pandemic and shares tips to change your mindset and meet students' needs.
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May 19, 2020
Yield Your Class During a Time of Uncertainty
Madeleine Rhyneer joins Carla Hickman to discuss challenges colleges face in meeting fall enrollment targets and offer strategies to yield your class during a time of uncertainty.
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May 12, 2020
Back to School: Colleges Consider What Fall 2020 Will Look Like
Carla Hickman and David Attis discuss why schools are communicating their intent to welcome students back to campus this fall and about the scenario planning work they’re doing to prepare for any eventuality.
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May 5, 2020
COVID-19 Threats to Campus Cybersecurity
EAB’s Chief Information Security Officer Brian Markham covers everything from technical challenges posed by campus closures to “Zoombombing” to the latest phishing scams.
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Apr 28, 2020
The Best (and Worst) COVID-19 Crisis Communications
EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney and Michael Fischer discuss how colleges and universities have handled crisis communications during the early days of the pandemic.
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Apr 21, 2020
How Colleges Can Plan for and Adapt to Campus Crises
EAB experts Melanie Ho and Michael Fischer continue their discussion on the unique leadership challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Apr 14, 2020
4 Unique Leadership Challenges Posed by the Pandemic
In part one of this two-part discussion, EAB experts share four reasons why the coronavirus pandemic is a different type of crisis than any faced by higher ed before—and discuss effective leadership in an extended crisis.
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Apr 7, 2020
Will the CARES Act Save Higher Ed?
EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney and Michael Fischer talk about why the CARES Act really isn’t a stimulus package for higher ed at all, but a stop-gap measure that may not keep at-risk colleges and universities afloat long enough to survive the current crisis.
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Apr 1, 2020
The Early Impacts of COVID-19 on Higher Ed
Carla Hickman and Dr. David Attis discuss the immediate effects of COVID-19 on higher ed, as well as long-term impacts on enrollment and multi-modal learning.
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