As colleges and universities are getting ready to open for late summer or fall classes, three essential steps to take to ensure both employees and students are as comfortable and confident of resuming their roles: 1. Emphasize your Higher Purpose consistently. The higher purpose needs to be emphasized as you reinvigorate your institution to […]
Now is the time to redefine your university culture. When schools are given the go ahead to open again, for many it will be like starting over. If you weren’t happy with the culture you had, it will be a perfect time to create the culture you want. Delivering a student experience that wows and […]
Many colleges are starting to host Open House Days for students that have been accepted for admission to their school and also inviting students who are still deciding on which school to choose. Most higher ed institutions are thinking about how they are being compared to other higher ed institutions and many feel good that […]
For a long time we have known that the student experience is a key factor in graduation and retention rates and for a long time this fact has been ignored by most institutions. Be it Tinto’s study that showed while SAT and high school grades were good indicators of academic success, they were […]
Every college or university I have visited complains of the silos between departments. These silos are like invisible walls that prevent co-workers from working together and building relationships. These walls create a competition between departments and people that makes it so much more difficult to deliver a wonderful experience to the student. The student […]
The subject NYT opinion piece should be a watershed. It starts off with the perfunctory attacks on business practices in education, reformers, market solutions and competition. But, after aimlessly meandering through the woods, it then remarkably, makes a U-turn and announces that education could learn from the time-tested business strategies of Dr. Deming. Dr. Deming […]
More and more, as I work with colleges and universities, I am hearing the word “transparency” coming up as a needed service standard. This implies to me, that currently, there is little to no transparency. Is it that we live in such a non-transparent world today that people are wowed by the organization that actually […]
A happy student is a more successful student. Good customer service does not mean giving students an “A” grade if they don’t deserve it, good customer service means creating an experience that surrounds the learning opportunity in the classroom so the student is able to be more focused on the […]
A recent article in Slate on Southern New Hampshire University tells a tale of two cities. SNHU was on death watch. SNHU was a struggling private school with declining enrollment, weak finances, and no name recognition. This is not such an uncommon position as over 1/3 of finance officers from America’s colleges and Universities report […]
1. Remember their name or show familiarity whenever you see them on campus or talk to them by phone. 2. Identify with their emotions first, then try to meet their needs. For example, “John, I can see you are frustrated, let me see what I can do to help you.” By addressing their emotions […]