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Podcast: For-Profit Education & Who-Do of the Month for July 2010

by | Aug 4, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback, Podcast, Who-Dos

Jamie Nacht Farrell contributed this week’s edition of Monday Morning Quarterback on HigherEdCareerCoach.Com, arguing that public and non-profit institutions could learn a thing or two from for-profit institutions. She’ll be one of our featured guests. We’ll also pick her brain about Senator Tom Harkins’ hearings on admissions fraud at for-profit institutions, and the recent GAO study mentioned in this Washington Post Article. We’ll also talk to Ed Cabellon, our choice for Higher Ed Who-Do of the Month for July 2010. Cabellon, Director of the Rondileau Student Union at Bridgewater State University, has been leading an online crusade to get more student affairs/higher ed professionals involved in social media through his blog, On the Go with Ed Cabellon. We have also asked Senator Harkin’s office for comment on the recent hearings, and requested a statement or guest from that office appear on the show. Why not, right?

Listen to internet radio with Sean Cook on Blog Talk Radio

Another Four Things Higher Education Needs to Learn

by | Aug 2, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback

It was Will Durant who stated, ‘Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance”. How then, are we to build successful higher education institutions if the institutions are not progressive and are not willing to admit their own ignorance?

Having managed recruiting (admissions and marketing), operations, and academic retention departments for both for profit and state universities, while also holding executive positions in Education Lead Generation ( marketing companies that advertise and collect information on prospective students looking for information and school options) and enrollment management companies, I have worked in every aspect of higher education and bring a unique perspective to the industry. That perspective is this:

The higher education industry is insane.  Our education system has been failing because we continue to employ the same methodologies that are not moving the country forward.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.  It’s time for the Higher Education Industry to stop being insane.  It’s time for innovation.

1. Don’t be pigs

Schools make a lot of money.  Society, as well as our government, places the blame on the for-profit universities and while they are called “for-profit”, a Bachelor’s degree from a for-profit university is less than half the price of a school like University of Michigan.  The reason we blame the ‘for-profits’ is because we can see their growth as they’re public companies, but just because we don’t see the Profit and Loss Statements for state universities, does not mean the money is not there.  Next time you’re at a state university and walk by the football stadium, think of the cost of building and maintaining it.  Now think about the unnecessary costs of the rest of the sports arenas or stadiums.  This does not come for free. There are innovative models  in the higher education space that are both affordable as well as profitable.  If a school like the American College of Education (for-profit university) can offer Regionally Accredited Masters degree programs for $6,950 and still be profitable; why does another for-profit school need to offer the same degree at five times the price?  Stop being pigs! If a school needs to, offer the program at two or three times the price; but more importantly, focus on how to decrease your costs pass those savings onto your students.  It starts with the commitment to innovation from within a University.

2. This simple concept will reap enormous results:

  • Higher Education Institutions cut their prices, more students will enroll.
  • Because you will have more “scale” or number of students to serve, you may have a smaller margin, but will bring in more operating income by year’s end.
  • Because the rates are less expensive, there will be fewer students taking out student loans; aiding the schools with the 90/10 rule as well as decreasing cohort default rates.
  • Ultimately, you’ll have a higher graduation rate (or net tuition revenue) because students will not be dropping out due to financial burdens.

The model has been proven to work.  Why have none of the other schools adopted it?

3. Surprise Educators!  Higher Education is a business

It may be a business that is non-profit, it may be a business we also consider a “service”, it may be a business with a great mission; but still a business. The academic community’s lack of progressive thinking is impeding the betterment of the higher education industry.  Many state universities and community colleges are realizing that it is less expensive, more convenient, and that more students are able to be served online, yet the academics are pushing back. Why?

If I were a teacher, I would want tenure. Tenure is part of the ‘business’ aspect of their jobs.  The more revenue a school brings in, the higher the likelihood is that their instructors will obtain tenure.  This is business.  Stop fighting it.  Teachers say that the reason they do not want to go ‘remote’ or ‘scale too quickly’ is because the students may not learn as much; there may not be as much interaction; they may have to change their syllabi.  Having taken and built online courses, I can attest that this is all not true.  If the teacher wants to have the same interaction as in their classroom, there  can be chat rooms, discussion boards, or interactive webinars.  There are hundreds of instructional and curriculum designers that have overcome all of the obstacles these teachers are running from. Academics preach to be proponents of learning.  However it would appear that the educators are balking against learning how to ‘teach’ in different ways.  This is a paradox that makes no sense.  We cannot continue to be public university elitists and not think about how to increase your student base while not decreasing your academic value.  It is the obligation and the job of the academic departments to aid in figuring out how to do this; not fight against it.

4. There are companies to help; Find them

Numerous companies foresaw a need;  a need for companies that serve all facets of the Higher Education Industry.  These companies are now thriving and while most of the for-profit schools utilize some of their services, state schools and community colleges have begun to as well over the last few years.  If you are an educator and reading this – find a company to partner with that can help you.   This is the only way you will stay competitive in the market and scale your school’s student base with no monetary risk to your school.  More importantly, these companies will not change your curriculum or requirements; your academic standard remains the same; these companies work with you to put your current curriculum online.  Companies like Presidium and ESM are support companies with extensive call center and business process knowledge.  While slightly different (Presidium is huge with over 700 clients-many which are community colleges-and offers not only support services, but also technology services; ESM is well-known for their focus on state schools and business processes), both are experts in the student support industry.  They both have the business intelligence and operational expertise to manage thousands of calls at any one time.  A school cannot afford to support this.

If you truly want to get in the game, there are then companies like Colloquy and Enrollment Online Services Corp (EOServe).  I refer to these as the “A to Z” solution.   Both partner with schools and manage all aspects of their programs; marketing, enrollment, financial aid packaging, retention support,  their own LMS (learning management system) and even work with the academic departments to implement their curriculum online.  Again, the academics do not change.  EOServe works with historically black colleges and utilizes the eCollege Platform.  Colloquy is the only player in the market that does not standardize their solution and has a global understanding and international presence.  The relationship between these companies and the schools are symbiotic.  They become the university; the relationship is transparent.  It is companies like this that every school should meet with.

As the government is furiously seeking out ways to better our education system, we, as an educational community have a choice:  We can either fight their ideas of regulation or we can be proactive and be proactive quickly, employing the methods above.  This is my challenge to the education industry; employ or test the methods listed above, even pick one or two to start.  You will not be disappointed and we, the industry, will continue to better lives  without the oversight of government regulations.

photo of Jamie Farrell

Jamie Farrell

Jamie Nacht Farrell is the Owner at BizRelationsEDU. Before becoming a consultant she served as VP of Marketing / Sales and Enrollment Services at Higher Ed Holdings / American College of Education, in Business Development and Operations at Education Connection (Kaplan Inc.), and as a  Call Center Director at Education Connection (Kaplan Inc.). She began her career working in Admissions with Kaplan University.

She is also a Top User on Brazen Careerist, where she earned a scholarship for being the most social user on that network.

You can follow her on Twitter @EducationNut and read her blog at http://bizrelationships.wordpress.com

Friday on the Podcast: What Higher Education Needs to Learn

by | Jul 29, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback, Podcast, Uncategorized

Please note the time change for this episode: 9:00 a.m. EDT Friday. Sean is going to his son’s Summer Camp wrap-up for parents at the usual show time. The show will return to its 11 a.m. Friday time slot next week.

In this episode, Higher Ed Career Coach Sean Cook talks with recent “Monday Morning Quarterback” guest columnists Scott Helfrich from Student Life Guru and Andrew Barras from Education Stormfront about their perspectives on the need for change in higher education. Please call in with your questions and comments to (347) 989-0055 or tweet them to @hiedcareercoach before or during the show.

Tuesday Time-Out: It's Our Blog Birthday!

by | Jul 20, 2010 | Career Skills, Coaching, Job Search, Monday Morning Quarterback, Podcast, Who-Dos

A year has somehow passed since I first registered HigherEdCareerCoach.Com and HigherEdLifeCoach.Com, so today’s Tuesday Time-Out is a recap of important events in our first year. Thanks to all our readers and guest posters, and to all the other people who have supported and sustained the sites through this critical first year.

Some milestone events during year 1:

2009:

  • July 11th, 2009. I registered higheredlifecoach.com with GoDaddy. Less than a week later, I decided that I wanted to host my site at Fatcow (aff. link), because they are geared toward small business, and host their servers with wind energy. I registered higheredcareercoach.com as well (this time through Fatcow).
  • August 4, 2009: Published 1st post on HigherEdCareerCoach.Com. First month: 35 readers total.
  • At the end of September and beginning of October, I attended the coach certification program, and posted a couple of video diary posts.

2010:

  • In the new year, I started blogging more regularly on both sites, and recruiting guest writers, to broaden the perspectives offered beyond my own.
  • As Placement season revved up, Higher Ed Career Coach began to feature articles on placement. In one, at the end of January, we began a ongoing Twitter hashtag conversation around the placement experience (#saplacement) to allow employers and prospective employees to share comments, questions, and tips related to job searching and the national and regional placement exchanges.
  • In February:
    • Bryan Koval became the first guest blogger, with the first installation of his “Doctoral Student from a Distance” series.
    • Shannon Healy began chronicling her job search in what would become an 11-part series on her student affairs job hunt.
    • Shonda Goward from FirstGenerationUniversity and I traded guest posts on each other’s sites. This would be the first guest post exchange for either site.
    • Broadcast the first episode of the Higher Ed Life and Career Show on BlogTalkRadio
      • The first episode had 10 live listeners and Bryan Koval guest hosted.
      • The highest number of live audience members was 34, for “The Value of Twitter in Your Job Search,” with guests Mike Severy, Becca Fick, and Mallory Bower.
      • So far, episodes of the show have been listened to 1,042 times.
  • In March, Mickey Fitch began writing periodic posts for both sites, followed in April by Mallory Bower. Regular contributors and guest posters are now a regular part of both sites.
  • In April and May:
    • We ran articles and did radio shows on dealing with disappointment in your job search, staying motivated, and starting over.
    • We also celebrated the graduation of many members of our reader and contributor community.
    • I introduced my first hybrid coaching program (“8 Weeks to August”) for job seekers starting over with their search, featuring online activities, 1-on-1 coaching, mock interviews, and the opportunity to be featured on a page of the HigherEdCareerCoach site, and to be interviewed on BlogTalkRadio. The first of these client pages will be posted soon.
    • Introduced the concept of differentiating “who-dos” from “gurus,” after a serendipitous exchange over Twitter with friends and an homage to the Australian band the Hoodoo Gurus.
  • June and July:
    • Began a comprehensive overhaul of all my sites, front end and back, including running a design contest on 99Designs.com (aff. link) for new logos that would be academic and fun, and imply coaching, and to bring in sports metaphors; a re-design of all websites related to my business, Cook Coaching and Consulting, and back-end stuff, related to Search Engine Optimization, site security and other stuff that is probably not all that interesting to readers.
    • Named Breakdrink.Com and their site creator, Jeff Jackson, as the first “Who-Do of the Month,” as part of an effort to identify a “Who-Do” of the Year in Higher Education. This person or organization will receive a new award, the “Who-Do” Highsman, plus bragging rights and some sort of other actual reward (probably money, but we’ll be taking suggestions and figuring that out over the next few months, based on community response.)
    • Introduced some new regular features to bring more voices into the conversation, starting with the “Monday Morning Quarterback” series. Scott Helfrich (of StudentLifeGuru) took the first turn in what will be a regular rotation. Each month, we’ll introduce a topic related to higher education and/or careers, and have guest columnists respond with their take on the issues put forth.
    • Discovered accidentally that, for at least one day, the blog ranked among the top 100 small business blogs on Technorati. Apparently, these rankings fluctuate pretty wildly, but seeing this blog listed just a few spaces away from Zen Habits (which is one of the most awesome blogs on the planet) was pretty freaking awesome. Maybe someday soon, we’ll do it again.

The development of these sites, (and my coaching practice) would not have been possible without the support of an awesome community of readers, contributors, friends and colleagues. You’ve helped the blogs “find their voice,” attract new readers, and explore new territory in our efforts to play a contributing role in discussions about the emerging directions in higher education, career development, and professional development and training for higher ed professionals.

In the next few weeks, you’ll see even more changes, including:

  • A new tab where you can find more information on upcoming live webinar classes for job searchers and professionals starting their new positions, short courses, teleseminars, and the next editions of our hybrid coaching programs. (Another for students hoping to attend placement next Spring, and one on getting your act together to apply for graduate programs.)
  • A new provider (aWeber) for our mailing list, and free e-mail “short courses” for new subscribers
  • E-books, videos, and audio content, including interviews with higher ed professionals about their career development.)
  • A membership area for premium content, career discussion forums, and online coaching.
  • New sites in our web portfolio, including HigherEdCoach, a site for coaches and consultants working in higher ed to share their tips for getting into coaching and consulting, and to learn from each other. The site will also have a directory for coaches and consultants, that will hopefully assist those in need of coaching and consulting in finding someone appropriate to their needs.

Help celebrate our blog birthday! Your support and encouragement keep us going. Here are some great ways you can help us kick off Year 2:

  • Tell a friend or colleague to check out the sites.
  • Even better, send out links to your favorite articles from the last year to your Twitter List, or “like” them on Facebook (you can use the Wibiya toolbar)
  • Go back and comment on your favorite post.
  • Add our sites to your blogroll if you have a blog.
  • Write a guest post.
  • Sign up for an upcoming webinar class or coaching program.
  • Give the gift of coaching to a friend, colleague or family member who needs a motivational kick-start in their job search.
  • And most importantly, keep reading!

Thanks for everything! We’re looking forward to Year 2!

Five Lessons Institutions of Higher Education Need to Learn

by | Jul 19, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback

Questions were posed last week on “Monday Morning Quarterback” related to accountability, institutional change, and what institutions of higher education need to learn for the future. These are  very critical and timely questions, given the current status of the economy, and its impact upon institutions of higher learning.

Here are five lessons that institutions of higher education (IHEs) need to learn:

1. How to better provide for the global developmental care and success of its students.

It is my contention that IHEs need to learn how to better provide for the global developmental care and academic success of their students, which in many ways has been lost. When I say “global developmental care,” I am referring to intentional and planned initiatives to help students successfully transition into adulthood in all aspects of their lives: emotional, spiritual,vocational, intellectual, physical, financial, etc. I think everyone can agree that a college career naturally lends itself to much more than simply book learning. It truly does indeed touch every area of a student’s life. And I think I can safely say that most college and university mission and vision statements were originally written with this in mind.

Unfortunately, it has been my experience within the realm of higher education that there is a growing sense that the ultimate developmental care and academic success of a student  is “somebody else’s” responsibility: a veritable “tag-you’re-it” type of mentality. Once the admissions folks get them in the door, everyone and no one is responsible for that student. However, when a student has a goal, we should ALL share it. If  a student has a  problem, we should ALL own it. Student success is systemic, and we ALL have parts to play in it. As they say, it “takes a village” to raise a child. I urge that it “takes a village” to develop a successful college student.

Additionally, with a fever-pitch consumerist mentality of parents amidst an ever-increasing litigious atmosphere, IHEs in many regards have been making decisions that may be antithetical to educational success. Now this is not to say that every professor and administrative staffer needs to be on their desk inspiring students to vehemently recite “O Captain! My Captain!” Furthermore, this does not mean that a student is not ultimately responsible for his or her own success. But I think there needs to be better coordinated efforts between all institutional employees, to develop S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Limited) outcomes and corresponding educational interventions and programs for our students.

2. How to be more transparent about the perils of higher education.

Additionally, I feel that IHEs must also be more transparent and forthcoming about the challenges that a college education can bring. While admissions personnel are hard-working warriors for their team’s cause, I have witnessed (and have personally experienced) admissions staffers veritably telling parents and students what they want to hear so that they attend that particular institution. But in the 18 years that I’ve been in the higher education environment, I’ve never heard an administrator talk to a visitation group about the statistics related to post-secondary education, including low graduation and large attrition rates, the staggering amount of debt a student can face after college, and the possibility that their student will not find gainful employment in their field of study (or any employment at all!) Also, the pitfalls related to alcohol and other drug use are rarely discussed either.

While making students and their parents aware of the perils and pitfalls related to the college experience, administrators can balance this discussion by also providing strategies for how students can be more successful, including the possibility of advising NOT to go to college, attend at a later time, OR attend another institution more suited for a student’s particular goals.

3. How to promote reasonable expectations.

It should be the duty of institutions of higher education to establish a set of rights and responsibilities as well as fully explain what students and parents can expect from their institution. The online shoe and apparel company Zappos is well-known for offering employee trainees $2,000 to NOT work for the company. They do this to ensure that all employees that work for the company are there because they truly believe in the vision of the company, and that they will truly contribute to the company’s culture and core values. Although I’m not advocating that colleges and universities offer money to potential students for not choosing to attend their institutions, I think it is crucial to be honest and up-front about what is expected of a student at that particular institution AND what the student can expect from their school. This conversation should be revisited throughout a student’s time there, if they choose to attend. Thomas E. Miller, Barbara E. Bender, John H. Schuh and Associates offer more insight on how institutions of higher education can align student and institutional views of the college experience.

4. How to make the experience prestigious and sacrosanct again.

It was not all that entirely too long ago that college and university students would all go to class in business casual wear. Going to the cafeteria was almost a formal occasion in which students would dress up and be on their absolute best behavior. And I’m not simply referring to the elite Ivy League-type schools. This also included public institutions all around the country. Now students go to class un-showered, adorned in pajamas and flip-flops. Granted, you don’t have to be clad in a suit and tie to learn the liberal arts, but I think there is something to be said about the perception that colleges and universities once conveyed. Aside from a smattering of “old school” institutional culture across the country, that sense of prestige and formality is all but gone.

Anyone that can fill out an admission application (and not necessarily accurately) and pay a fee, has the ability to attend numerous institutions without any question. Does it dilute the product if anyone can attend (especially when statistics illustrate that many high school graduates are not all that ready or prepared for the experience)? Does this become a more salient issue when more tax-paying dollars are being spent on individuals that are not taking the experience all that seriously (potentially depriving more worthy students, who may have a greater financial need)?

5. How to capitalize upon educational psychology and student development theory.

Theory should inform practice. However, there are scores of administrators and faculty members alike that do not have a grasp of the literature that illustrate how students best learn, develop, and benefit from the college environment. With an ever-growing, diverse student body attending our nation’s colleges and universities, it is crucial for all higher education employees to have a working knowledge of student success research.

Does a mechanic need to know how to drive an automobile in order to know how to repair an automobile? Not necessarily. But knowing how to drive an automobile will offer other insights that can indeed lead the mechanic to troubleshoot an issue more quickly, and potentially repair the automobile more soundly. In regard to knowing student development and learning theory, I would say the same would hold true for physics professors, admissions and financial aid counselors, theatre arts professors, maintenance personnel (yes, they are responsible for student success as well!) and every other employee at the university.

Some may balk at this assertion, but in actuality every interaction at the institution is a potential learning opportunity, and shaping the institutional environment will ultimately affect what a student takes away from their college career. This is not to say that every higher education employee needs to have a doctorate in ed. psych or college student development; but again, there needs to be a coordinated effort of institutions to have EVERYONE participate in the student outcomes discussion.

Conclusion:

American higher education has recreated itself many times since the 1630’s when the first college was established on our shores. Given that there are multiple competing priorities in today’s economic climate, higher education is going to have to again reinvent itself before the bubble bursts. With that being said, institutions of higher education will indeed have to learn many things quickly in order to avert a potential crisis. What else do institutions of higher education need to learn?

Photo: Scott Helfrich

Our first "Monday Morning Quarterback," Scott Helfrich.

Scott M. Helfrich has been a full-time higher education professional for the past 10 years and has presented nationally and internationally on Student Activities, Student Government, Residence Life, and mental health-related topics. He has been published in the Journal of College Student Development, Student Leader Magazine, Programming, and has been a training module developer and writer for various colleges & universities, online companies, and higher education organizations. He has also been recently accepted to be a guest blogger on the Huffington Post College blog. Scott is currently a doctoral candidate (ABD) in the higher education program at the Pennsylvania State University. You can read more of Scott’s work at studentlifeguru.wordpress.com and connect with him via Twitter at @studentlifeguru

“Monday Morning Quarterback” is a new regular feature on Higher Ed Career Coach. Every few weeks, we’ll introduce a topic related to higher education, student affairs, and/or career development, and dedicate the next 2-3 Mondays afterward to allowing guest bloggers to share their insights on the topic. If you are interested in  writing a column for “Monday Morning Quarterback,” contact sean@higheredcareercoach.com.

What Do Institutions of Higher Education Need to Learn?

by | Jul 12, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback

Over the last few years, as the economy went into the tank, our public discussions about the future of higher education have increasingly been about budget cuts, rising tuition, and the need for accountability. A central talking point in these discussion has been the need to implement outcomes-based measurement.

This new emphasis has changed the way we plan programs and services in higher education. At many schools, everything must be matched to an outcome, and every outcome must be assessed in some way. Institutions then use this data to drive decisions about funding and priorities, and to justify their programs and services to state legislatures, donors, accreditation bodies, incoming students, their parents, alumni and an ever-growing number of watchdog groups like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

So, like it or not, we live in interesting times. This can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, and it’s my opinion that we need to find the blessing in this situation, and to be thankful for the opportunity today’s political and financial environment provides. Change isn’t easy, and in our personal and professional lives, we all have periods of doubt. There are healthy and productive ways of dealing with this reality. Wanting things to stay the same is not one of them.

As a career coach, I help individuals work through these issues, by discovering their purpose, and finding ways to align that purpose with their work. This involves discussions about a person’s background and professional history, but more importantly, it requires exploration and discovery. The process that gets people unstuck is co-creative. Coaches ask the “big questions” and give activities that help clients explore them. We challenge assumptions, conclusions and doubts. We work through blocks. We help people explore new interests, research them, and focus on creating new, more positive patterns of behavior. We try to integrate the important parts of a person (talents, skills, abilities, interests and values) into each individual’s plan to move forward, and to help clients set S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Limited) goals.

The best part of being a coach is that for the most part, clients come to you when they are ready to change. The discussions and activities are geared toward helping the client define, in real and measurable terms, what success means, and how they will know when they achieve it.

But lately, I’ve been wondering if higher education, as a field, is really ready to be coached. Furthermore, I’m not quite sure who should be coaching. I don’t think the state legislatures should be doing it, because they aren’t  looking at the big picture, only at the cost of doing business, and who should be paying it. And politicians are more worried about re-election (their S.M.A.R.T. goal) and what institutions shouldn’t be teaching, than how they should be teaching. Watchdog groups like FIRE are often most passionate about the what than the how, and many times, their approach shuts down discussion, or erodes into a chaotic and mind-numbing clash of talking points or a game to be won, rather than a co-creative, purposeful process of discovery.

Here are three resources that really got me thinking about these issues.

I’d like to start a dialogue on this topic. Please share your thoughts and questions by commenting on this post. Take whatever direction you like, but here are some questions to get you started:

  • What’s the purpose of higher education these days? Has it changed from in  the past?
  • What do institutions of higher education need to learn?
  • Is higher education, as a field, ready for change? (And if so, is higher education “coachable?”)
  • What learning outcomes do you think are most important?
  • What S.M.A.R.T. goals should the field set for measuring improvement?
  • Where should higher ed look for coaching on these goals? The legislature? The federal government? Professional associations? Somewhere else?

And if you have perspectives you’d like to share on these topics, in an upcoming guest post on Monday Morning QuarterBack, send me a message at sean@higheredcareercoach.com. I would ideally like to have guest posts on this topic each Monday for the next 2-3 weeks.