Office Hours With EAB

EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Kathy Ruby pull back the curtain to reveal how admissions professionals sift through thousands of applications and decide who gets admitted. The two differentiate between the approach typically used at highly selective institutions versus those that admit most applicants. They also explore how financial aid optimization works and the ways that institutions apply FAO to help fill and shape their incoming classes.

EAB’s Tom Sugar hosts a conversation with Carthage College President John Swallow. The two look back over their three-year (and counting) collaboration on EAB’s Moon Shot for Equity to share lessons learned in eliminating equity gaps that are having an enormously positive impact on students from more privileged backgrounds as well. They also offer advice to other institutions looking to apply proven strategies to improve graduation rates and close equity gaps despite potential pushback from those who may impede those efforts.

EAB experts Dr. Tara Zirkel, Dr. Christina Hubbard, and Allison Peeler discuss the major shifts and trends impacting community colleges over the past year. The three share specific examples of institutions doing innovative work and overcoming post-pandemic challenges. They also offer advice on what community college leaders can do in 2024 to improve student retention and modernize the student experience.

EAB’s Julianne Turpin and Brendan Mannix explore the many changes that have made modern student success software such a central component of student retention efforts. The two discuss newer features (including CRM capabilities, AI enhancements, and more) that differentiate a truly effective system from those that fail to wrap students at risk in an effective, coordinated care network. They also share a glimpse into emerging tech features that prepare students for a successful launch after graduation.

EAB’s Paul Gunther hosts University of Central Arkansas President Houston Davis for a wide-ranging chat about how to reach students and families who feel that a college degree is out of reach. They examine UCA’s innovative new program that creates a debt-free pathway to a college degree for all incoming Arkansas freshmen who qualify based on financial need. They also offer tips for higher ed leaders on ways to help students overcome learning gaps and other preparation issues to help them succeed on your campus.

EAB’s Sian Blake and Val Fox offer growth strategies for institutions that have grown increasingly reliant on their graduate programs to compensate for shrinking undergraduate enrollment. Sian and Val review best practices from schools that are finding success in growing graduate programs and offer tips on the best lead-generation tools you should be using. The two also share advice on smarter ways to set goals that are ambitious but still achievable.

Art Coleman, one of the nation’s foremost legal experts on affirmative action in higher education, joins EAB’s Tom Cakuls to unpack the recent Supreme Court ruling. Art also examines the recent guidance offered by the US Departments of Education and Justice and stresses that it is still permissible to consider facets of students’ experience, background, interest, and other qualities expressly associated with their race. Finally, Art shares his thoughts on what university leaders might do within the limits of the law to minimize some of the adverse impacts of the Court’s opinion.

EAB’s Beth Donaldson is joined by her colleague, Todd Heilman, to review findings from a new EAB survey of nearly 4,000 adult learners. The two review what we learned about the motivations and preferences of adult learners, and about how they research programs and colleges they might attend. The survey findings offer a wealth of information for universities on how to find, engage, and enroll these students. Todd and Beth urge university leaders to make their school website more helpful to adult learners. They also advise leaders to ensure they offer adult students maximum flexibility in course modalities and to highlight scholarship and financial aid opportunities that will make returning to college more affordable.

EAB’s Kate Manning and Matt Sheldon welcome Chad Steinkamp from Wichita State University for a conversation about ways to make your institution a top transfer destination. The three offer tips on marketing your school to prospective transfer students and making their transition as seamless as possible. They also discuss the merits of the dual-advising approach and its impact on the transfer student community.

Lola Mauer from Ball State University and Daniel Burgner from George Washington University join EAB’s Mark Shreve to discuss why they’re glad that US News and World Report no longer includes the alumni giving metric in determining its college rankings. They also examine how their schools are adapting in response to the philanthropic behaviors of Gen Z and millennials. Lastly, they share top advice for other advancement professionals about adjustments they might consider to boost fundraising efforts today, and in the years ahead.