I remember sitting in front of the blank Excel spreadsheet, provided by our CFO, with emotions ranging from a soaring sense of anything is possible to something that could be more closely described as that poignant scene from Oliver Twist, “please sir, can I have some more?” Budgeting in higher ed can feel like an…
It’s conference season. Over the past couple of months, we’ve held three Ideastorms (two private, one public) and presented at an Academic Impressions conference all about Communication Flow Planning. And now we are gearing up for our “Best Ideas” presentation at ACT’s Enrollment Planners Conference, our September Ideastorm at Marian University, and NACAC. It’s a…
Let me get straight to the point. It’s spring on your campus, or will be very soon. Now is the time you need to be shooting pictures to build and supplement your image library. “Wait!” you think. “We are taking pictures all the time, of events and groups and things happening on campus.” And you…
Not all big ideas are actually all that big, at least in the terms of how most people define big – expensive (big money), grand (big project), or revolutionary (big change). Some of the best, big ideas are notions that are much smaller or simpler in scale but do the work that makes a lasting…
Ideastormers! That was the rallying cry for our event last week, the 2nd Annual Ideastorm Summit. The session, held on the campus of Elon University in North Carolina (thanks again for hosting, Elon), brought together 14 different institutions and 25 enrollment leaders for a full day of rich idea exchange, discussion, trend reviews, and…
This summer (like the last several summers), H·A ThirtyOne presented at ACT’s Enrollment Planners Conference in Chicago. Our session, title “The Best 31 Enrollment Marketing Ideas of the Year,” was extremely well attended and saw us sharing great ideas with an overflowing audience, and collecting new ideas, too. In fact, it was the idea sharing…
Our blogs typically cover strategies and ideas for helping our higher ed clients reach and recruit students for their schools. Many of our client schools look to us for advice in reaching their parent constituents, and wisely so. Parents and families will have the largest influence on the college decision process. Developing effective communications for…
Every time I hit a milestone, I like to take a moment and appreciate it. Sometimes I can see the milestone coming and have a chance to mentally prepare, like that big birthday I had this year. Other times, the milestone happens without my even knowing it, and I can only celebrate upon reflection. I…
Last fall, during one of my client visits, I pulled onto campus and easily found the Admissions Visitor parking spots. For two reasons, I’m always careful to pay attention to how many spots a school has dedicated for visitors. First, I can offer an assessment of whether the placement and allotment of spaces is adequate….
One of the biggest audiences schools tend to ignore is…do you want to guess? It’s the audience that students generally listen to the most (especially Millenials). Yup. Parents. But even though most colleges and universities are well-versed in the traits and characteristics of Millenials—from their group ethic to their buying habits—institutions rarely engage the parents…