mortiz0010

By some definitions, higher education is truly crazed. Places of self-defeating insanity. For example, an educational leader I know loved to tell others that “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing that has failed over and over again and expecting different results.” He, like most every other higher education administrator really may have believed that so he, and they, repeated it every time it seemed to fit. But, when things demanded a solution such as increasing revenue, he actually did the same things that failed over and over again. For example, he believed that increased admission numbers would solve all the problems when they did not every year. Every year he would set higher and higher admission numbers even if the recruitment team could not reach the goals. He did not see that as insanity but as using tried and true administrative and academic approaches to solve problems – even if the solutions were ones that had failed or resulted in long-term disaster....

One of the most important parts of the enrollment sequence – the campus tour - is also one of the worst for many potential students and their parents. We have cited before that at least 12% of potential probable enrollees are lost as soon as the interested potential enrollees encounter the campus. The poor customer service of the tour is a major contributor. It is not the only one by any means, but it can be a major one. Most colleges relegate the tours to a group of students who likely start out enthusiastic and interesting but soon devolve into the bored rote voices of students who have more important things than this #$%ing tour on their mind. This is especially so for students doing the tours to make minimum wage. And the tour itself…. “Here is a typical classroom (yawn). A computer lab (Woopie! Computers in rows) This is a sample dorm room (which is almost always staged much better than any other room). This is our cafeteria (where the food sucks but I have to pretend it is fin...

I am attending and presenting at my first conference in a year-and-a-half since dialysis and getting a kidney transplant three months ago. I was tied down and weak for that time and did little work I fear but I am feeling fine and roaring to get back to work. The conference is one I recommenced to anyone interested in admissions, enrollment and retention.  It is the best on all the three topics I have been to in years. It is the Small Colleges National Conference on Enrollment but it really is not just for small colleges. The presentations would be helpful for any sized college. What the presenters brought forward were practical ways to increase admission's, enrollment and retention success and can be applied to any size college no matter what the scale. These people knew what they were talking about too. I attended sessions on Using Institutional Analytics to Improve the Effectiveness of Small College Admissions; Fundamentals for Student Success, Retention, and Completion, Incorpo...