Pam Royall joins Madeleine Rhyneer to examine findings from EAB’s most recent survey of first-year college students. The two discuss what the survey tells us about overall student satisfaction with the college experience and about the impacts of test-optional policies on application activity. They also highlight survey findings that show parents have greater influence over their children’s college search process than they did just a few years ago.
Jun 07, 2022•31 min
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax hosts a conversation with Melissa Burwell, Executive Director for Student Success at Carthage College, about the potential risks of using student alerts as a one-size-fits-all blunt instrument. The two discuss Carthage’s rollout of their early alert system to faculty, advisors, care units, and staff, and the adjustments they made based on analysis of data that showed significant variability in how those alerts were raised and resolved across different student populations. Me...
May 31, 2022•39 min
Graduate enrollments across 2020 and 2021 grew at the fastest rates in nearly a decade. However, roughly one-third of institutions experienced declines. EAB’s Will Lamb and Brian Schueler dig into the data to highlight the degree offerings, formats, and pricing models driving much of that growth. Will and Brian touch on the explosive enrollment growth among Black and minority graduate students, which helped to offset declining enrollment among foreign students during the pandemic. The two also o...
May 24, 2022•36 min
EAB’s Hersh Steinberg welcomes two of the top recruiters in the nation who specialize in placing higher education leaders. Jay Lemons from Academic Search, Inc. and Kenneth Kring from Korn Ferry share their thoughts on ways to improve succession planning and on the pros and cons of bringing in a change agent from the outside. They also offer tips on ways to honor the shared governance model without sacrificing candidate confidentiality or overcomplicating the executive search process.
May 17, 2022•43 min
Black Male Student Success Audio Blog by EAB
May 13, 2022•11 min
EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a conversation with James Kvaal, President Biden’s Under Secretary of Education. The two discuss the need for greater federal support of HBCUs, proposals for convincing more high school graduates to pursue higher education, and the impact of free community college programs. Mr. Kvaal also touches on a range of administration proposals for reducing student debt and making college more affordable to help more students from all backgrounds earn a college degree.
May 10, 2022•26 min
Each spring, EAB shares with partner institutions the company’s latest research on the most urgent threats and opportunities across the higher education marketplace. EAB’s Larisa Hussak and Brian Schueler share key takeaways from that research. Topics include strategies for attracting and retaining talent amidst the great resignation, tips on how to compete in the growing (but hyper-competitive) graduate degree market, and how to handle one of higher ed’s greatest competitive threats: the growin...
May 03, 2022•36 min
David Croom from Ascend at the Aspen Institute joins EAB’s Meacie Fairfax to dispel myths around today’s student-parents who comprise more than 20% of total undergraduate enrollment. Student-parents tend to have higher GPAs than their childless peers despite having 50% less time on average, to devote to their academics. David shares compelling success stories and recommendations on creative ways for institutions to partner with local businesses and community leaders to offer more support and wra...
Apr 26, 2022•40 min
Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik highlights the news stories he believes will have an outsized impact on higher education in the months and years to come. Jaschik is joined on the podcast by Carla Hickman, whose take on these issues is informed by her role as head of EAB’s Research division. The two explore issues ranging from the massive challenges facing community colleges to the game-changing legal fight over affirmative action in admissions.
Apr 15, 2022•36 min
EAB’s Sally Amoruso hosts a conversation with outgoing UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski that traces his beginnings as an academic prodigy and participant in the 1963 “Children’s March” organized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to his transformational leadership at UMBC. The two discuss UMBC’s well-earned reputation for producing more African-American undergraduates who go on to earn PhDs in science and engineering than almost any other institution. Finally, they discuss the mindset it takes to b...
Apr 12, 2022•38 min
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and the University of Rochester's Dr. Robert Alexander explore the challenges of managing a successful team and department during a tight labor market. The two discuss the importance of building trust and promoting effective collaboration. Robert and Madeleine also reveal strategies for assessing your team’s inclination (or resistance) to adapting and embracing change to overcome performance gaps.
Apr 05, 2022•36 min
EAB’s David Bevevino and Ed Venit share results of a new poll that shows surging interest among student success leaders in applying analytics to boost retention and graduation rates. David and Ed suggest that institutions may finally be moving out of pandemic crisis mode and turning their attention to improving how they identify and communicate with students who appear to be falling off track. The two offer advice on more effective ways to track performance around student alerts, outreach, and i...
Mar 29, 2022•41 min
Seramount President Subha Berry hosts a discussion on DEI and the evolving role of the Chief Diversity Officer. Subha’s guest on the program, Microsoft Chief Diversity Officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, shares her perspective on the renewed urgency on DEI efforts in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the ensuing racial justice protests. Both Subha and Lindsay-Rae also offer advice to DEI leaders at all kinds of institutions on ways to set goals and prioritize their efforts.
Mar 22, 2022•47 min
EAB’s Brooke Thayer and Michael Fischer examine best practices emerging from the pandemic in terms of space utilization and integration of technologies that give students and campus employees the flexibility they want. Brook and Michael touch on innovations in classroom design, clever integration of new wellness spaces on campus, and the cultural change that has to happen to make campus office spaces function better. They also identify impediments, including cost as well as labor and materials s...
Mar 15, 2022•31 min
EAB’s Sally Amoruso is joined by Lisa Gevelber who leads Grow with Google, a $1-billion enterprise that has helped more than 70,000 students strengthen their earning potential by completing Google Career Certificates. Lisa was a featured speaker at EAB’s recent Presidential Experience Lab, an event that attracted more than 100 college and university presidents who gathered to discuss the rise of alternative credentials. Sally and Lisa examine opportunities available to higher education leaders w...
Mar 08, 2022•30 min
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Dr. Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, discuss recommended changes to admissions policies designed to improve college access. Dr. Pérez talks about his own educational journey that began in Puerto Rico and continued in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the South Bronx before a chance encounter with a high school guidance counselor helped set him on his present course. The two also discuss Dr. Pérez’s recent Forbes op-ed a...
Mar 01, 2022•31 min
EAB experts Alexa Silverman and Meacie Fairfax examine why traditional student-advising approaches and early alert systems may be perceived negatively by students of color. Meacie and Alexa offer suggestions on ways to build trust and engagement with these students early on, so they are more receptive to offers of support. The two also discuss the importance of enlisting multicultural student groups as advocates in helping to normalize conversations with university officials about academic, fina...
Feb 22, 2022•35 min
EAB experts Meredith McNeill and Ben Court examine recent data on K-12 learning disruptions and their impact on college readiness. The two share tips on how to prepare to serve students who may present a broader range of needs and abilities than those from years past. Meredith and Ben also discuss the data on adolescent mental health and the kinds of support today’s students will need when they arrive on campus.
Feb 15, 2022•36 min
EAB experts Kate Cudé and Dr. Jenna Dell discuss the recent rise and long history of student activism. They explore the power of social media to amplify student demands and offer reasons why this technology presents both challenges and opportunities for university leaders. Kate and Jenna also share strategies for advancement teams on how to approach difficult conversations with major donors when their convictions do not align with institutional values.
Feb 08, 2022•24 min
EAB Experts Brett Schraeder and Sarah Le Duc provide insight into how financial aid optimization (FAO) works and how universities leverage FAO strategy to balance institutional goals. The two separate fact from fiction and explain how schools use FAO to optimize revenue from wealthier families so they can afford to be more generous in awarding financial aid to students from historically underserved populations. Finally, Brett and Sarah share advice for the 99% of institutions that depend on FAO ...
Feb 01, 2022•28 min
EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer and Lex Ruby-Howe share strategies to help admissions teams boost yield by identifying students within their admit pool who are highly likely or highly unlikely to enroll, versus those who are genuinely undecided. By leveraging simple surveys and more advanced analytics, schools can focus their resources and tailor their outreach efforts to greater effect. Madeleine and Lex also touch on the importance of being nimble in adjusting financial aid strategy as another critica...
Jan 25, 2022•32 min
EAB’s Meacie Fairfax and Ed Venit explore pandemic ripple effects that will continue to impact student persistence at colleges and universities for the foreseeable future. They cite studies showing that student feelings of isolation, disengagement, depression, and other mental health challenges—a growing concern for years—have all worsened during the pandemic. They also point to learning challenges that have plagued K-12 students during the pandemic, as well as the recent plunge in community col...
Jan 18, 2022•40 min
IUPUI Chief Enrollment Officer Dr. Boyd Bradshaw joins EAB’s Owen Crean to talk about the importance of strategic enrollment management and the challenges of getting everyone on the same page within a distributed leadership structure. Dr. Bradshaw outlines the structure of a modern enrollment management program and talks about how to break down silos that can hamper recruiting efforts. Finally, he and Owen share tips for engaging campus stakeholders to fix data inconsistencies, set realistic goa...
Jan 11, 2022•32 min
Rowan University has emerged as one of the fastest-growing research universities in the country with two medical schools and nearly double the total enrollment they had in 2012 when Dr. Ali Houshmand became its president. Dr. Houshmand talks with EAB’s Hersh Steinberg about the power of partnering with businesses and other institutions in ways that keep them invested in the success of your school. The two also discuss Rowan University's support of 3+1 programs and how the launch of their own hot...
Jan 04, 2022•33 min
EAB’s Brittany Motley and Meacie Fairfax share what they’ve learned from working with the ten schools (so far) that have signed on to EAB's Moon Shot for Equity and dedicated themselves to eliminating equity gaps by the end of this decade. We also hear from front-line staff at those institutions about how they’re integrating Moon Shot initiatives into their workflow, about challenges and unexpected blessings they have encountered along the way, and about how they are engaging other campus leader...
Dec 14, 2021•35 min
President Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon of Carleton University and Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Carol Henderson of Emory University discuss how universities across Canada and the United States are reckoning with their historical ties to slavery, indigenous dispossession, and racial oppression. This discussion was excerpted from a November 2021 EAB webinar moderated by EAB’s Kurubel Belay. The webinar was the first in a series of engagements EAB is leading as part of a new research eff...
Dec 07, 2021•37 min
Dr. Roderick Heath explains how his own experience and his study of noncognitive behaviors inform his work as Director of the African American Male Initiative at North Carolina Central University. In a conversation with EAB’s Michael Schwengel, Dr. Heath discusses how he combines data, technology, and a range of motivational tactics to engage these students and foster a sense of belonging he says is crucial to their academic and personal development.
Nov 30, 2021•34 min
EAB’s Sally Amoruso talks with Colorado State University President Joyce McConnell about ways to drive greater diversity in higher education leadership. McConnell traces her own journey to becoming the first woman President at CSU and shares her thoughts on effective ways of recruiting and cultivating diverse talent. Amoruso and McConnell also touch on the importance of building a culture of trust that empowers staff at all levels and from all backgrounds to speak openly, to listen, and to colla...
Nov 23, 2021•34 min
The typical university campus has tens or even hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space begging for a makeover. With so many campus employees working remotely, schools have a golden opportunity to transform that space with less disruption. EAB’s Elizabeth Denny and Michael Fischer offer advice to help university leaders think through their options whether they’re looking to pilot a few modest changes or completely reimagine the way that people study, live, work, and interact on their...
Nov 16, 2021•30 min
Tom Sugar is joined by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone, for a look back on lessons learned during year one of EAB’s “Moon Shot for Equity.” Tom and Dr. Mone discuss the importance of going beyond articulation agreements to make it easier for students—and the credits they have earned—to transfer between schools. They also point to two important reasons so many colleges fail to make progress on improving graduation rates: Working in isolation rather than partnering with othe...
Nov 09, 2021•38 min
