University Business - October 2011 - (Page 16)

Behind the news P E O P L E W AT C H Former U.S. Secretary oF DeFenSe robert m. Gates has been named the 24th chancellor of the College of William & Mary (Va.), effective February 2012. He led the defense department under President George W. bush and President barack obama before retiring this summer. … Having served in the texas Senate and texas House of representatives, as texas railroad commissioner, and as Robert Gates texas comptroller of Public accounts, John Sharp can add chancellor of The Texas A&M University System to his list of public service positions, effective September 6. … mary beth Hanner has been named provost and chief academic officer at Excelsior College (n.y.), and Dean of assessment Patrick Jones has been promoted to the position of vice provost. … Lee H. melvin has been associate vice provost for enrollment at Cornell since September 15. —K.D. U report: actions for completion The ofT-noTed sTaTisTics are grim: only abouT half of college students complete any degree or certificate within six years, according to the information center for higher education Policy making and analysis. in the fall of 2010, public policy firm hcm strategists and the bill & melinda gates foundation launched a series of conversations for institutional leaders dedicated to increasing success for students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. hcm staff also conducted interviews with 30 campus leaders. a new report, “beating the odds: What it means and Why it’s important,” summarizes the themes that emerged from the interviews and meetings: • Preparation and access. colleges that are beating the odds are focusing on preparation and access through outreach programs (such as summer bridge academics and dualenrollment opportunities), career- and college-ready collaboration, and transfer policies. • Student retention and remediation. many presidents mentioned implementing more and different assessments to identify students’ skill deficiencies, blurring the line between remedial education and credit-bearing courses, offering accelerated movement between levels of education, and having contextualized curriculum. • Innovation and new models. These include alternative ways to finance education and ensure on-time graduation, such as rethinking course prerequisites. • Leadership driving culture. Presidents at the model schools send consistent and clear messages about the completion priority to boards, staff, and faculty, use the budget process to drive and execute priorities, and use data to inform decisions and increase accountability. “opportunity to enroll” has become “opportunity to earn a credential of value.” The report also profiles 32 institutions considered models for student success efforts. for more on the completion conversation, see www.completionmatters.org. —M.E. Presidential Brand Power The PresidenTial Primary calendar is kicking off in just a couple months, and this is good news for those colleges and universities able to leverage the momentum of the presidential election process every four years to help gain visibility. The University of New Hampshire takes advantage of its proximity to the new hampshire primary by offering unique, handson political coursework. The unh survey center conducts and disseminates survey research throughout the election. “The survey center brings tremendous visibility to the university of new hampshire in primary years more than any other parts of the university combined, including athletics, in terms of citation in the media,” says andrew smith, associate professor of political science and director of the unh survey center. “That’s a real value to the university.” The primary also gives students a front-row look at the campaign process. every four years in the fall semester before the new hampshire primary, smith teaches a course covering the nomination process and importance of new hampshire’s role in it, and the history and political science of the new hampshire primary. students are encouraged to work outside of class with a campaign of their choice. 16 | October 2011 “it helps them really understand what makes a campaign work and what doesn’t,” he says. other institutions in the northeast, namely Quinnipiac University (conn.) and Marist College (n.y.), house polls that garner national attention—especially during election season. lee miringoff, director of the marist institute for Public opinion, says the marist Poll is first and foremost an educational resource for students, but that it has the added benefit of having a newsworthy component. “it helps generate name recognition in a positive way.” survey results are sent out to thousands of media contacts, and miringoff is regularly asked to describe poll results to major news outlets. “it’s a wonderful branding of a college, and when information goes out from a variety of [campus] sources, the name recognition and the credibility that we have is very important for laying a foundation for all those things,” miringoff adds. and while this visibility may not directly impact students’ college choice, the value is still there. “students don’t go to an undergraduate university to become george gallup,” he says. “but [the poll] has been an important vehicle.” —K.D. universitybusiness.com http://www.completionmatters.org http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - October 2011

University Business - October 2011
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Human Resources
Cloud Email
Tuition Setting
Campus CFO
Independent Outlook
End Note

University Business - October 2011