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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.