ACUHO-I News Blog

Ever challenged with a new project – creating and implementing a style guide, recruiting new professional staff, or launching a branding campaign – and knew you remembered hearing about another institution that did something similar?

The ACUHO-I Marketing and Communications Committee recognizes the need for resources to be your fingertips. Fellow professionals and their experiences are invaluable resources. The ACUHO-I Online Resource Library will provide just that; a showcase of successful communication strategies among its members. Our hope is to share examples of the following types of publications: view books, brochures, on-line promotions, media advertisements, direct marketing collateral and much more. Each example, whether a design or campaign, can be labeled under specific topic areas such as staff recruitment, room selection, branding documents, job descriptions, and marketing campaigns.

Everyone has an experience to bring to the table. We need you to provide examples of your publications, campaigns, media strategies and more. If you have examples (and we know you do!) that you think would be helpful to your fellow professionals, please submit to the online library. The submission form can be found here. Please submit your submission form and electronic publication sample to mccresource@gmail.com. If you are submitting multiple publications, please submit separate e-mails for each piece and/or campaign. The deadline to submit material is March 1, 2010.

We look forward to reviewing your submissions and appreciate your time in providing details of your work and/or campaigns.

After a hectic morning, the Veterans Administration is hoping the afternoon goes a little more smoothly. The fall administration of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was confusing for veterans, institutions, and, seemingly, the VA itself. Some payments were delayed as the agency dealt with an upswing in demand for education benefits. The increased demand was probably due to the more generous provisions of this bill compared to other recent G.I. Bills, and the slow economy.

V.A. officials say the have received 132,000 enrollment certifications for the current term, and 105,000 have been processed. They didn’t say how many veterans have their benefits in-hand. The agency has promised all veterans who submitted materials by January 19 will have received their benefits by February 1. Materials received after that will be processed as soon as possible.

There are still about 500 veterans who have yet to receive their fall benefits. The V.A. and institutions blame each other for the fall delays, and relations between them are frosty. The V.A. says it didn’t receive some enrollment certification forms until the late fall; institutions say the V.A.’s work was backed up well before the late fall, and that they offered students leniency, and even interest-free loans, to help veterans stay in school and pay for necessities.

Both parties are hoping things will be easier this spring; the V.A. is expressing confidence about this; institutions are expressing doubt.

Okay, that post title might be a bit cynical. But forgive me; it’s January in Ohio. I’m feeling a bit cynical, just like everyone in the Midwest does during these gray days of winter.

Anyway, once again America’s college freshmen have been surveyed for their opinions on everything from politics, to society, to what they’ll be when they grow up. According to the freshmen:

Most, 66.7%, have major or some concerns about paying for college. Just over 53% plan to cover some expenses with loans. Both of these numbers are up slightly since 2004.

Perhaps because of this, a vast majority of respondents, 78.1%, say “being very well off financially is an essential or very important goal.” According to the U.S. Census 2008 Current population survey, all those under 65 with a bachelor’s degree have mean earnings of $58,613, but y’know, bright eyes, bushy tails, all that. And $58K is hardly shabby.

So what have the future titans of America been doing in the meantime?

Well, 66.5% take notes in class; 53.9% ask questions in class; 57.8% support their opinions with logical arguments (that won’t be necessary for the 20.8% who plan to influence the political structure); and 30.9% research topics independently, when not required for class. While 51.2% “seek solutions to problems and explain them to others,” fewer are interested in  seeking solutions to problems they have: 47.3% look for feedback on academic work, and 46.6% revise their papers to improve their writing.

Many, 44%, identify as politically moderate. About 24% say they’re conservative or far right; 31.8% say they are liberal or far left. Students who identify with either political extreme are in a tiny minority; less than 4%.  On major issues of the day, 64.9% feel same-sex couples should be able to legally married; 62.8% feel only volunteers should serve in the armed services and 37.4% feel students from “disadvantaged social backgrounds” should be given preferential treatment for college admissions.

In addition to piles of money (perhaps to swim laps in, a’la Scrooge McDuck), most of our freshmen hope to have a family (74.7%), help others in difficulty (69.1%), and become authorities in their fields (58.5%). Fewer hope to excel in the creative arts; about 16% want to create artistic works, such as sculptures and paintings; 16% wish to become accomplished in a performing art, and 16% hope to create original works such as poems or novels. Hopefully, these students aren’t the same ones who find it extremely important to be wealthy. My post-college life has been very clear on one thing: creativity is nice, but it doesn’t bring in the big bucks.

As for their parents, 46.5% of respondents have fathers who do not have a college degree; 45.2% of their mothers don’t have one either.

During their first term, most plan on living in the residence halls (79.5%); 14.2% live with family, 2.8% live in a private apartment or house and 2.7% live in some other form of campus housing.

To see these numbers and more, check out The American Freshman: Fall Norms for Fall 2009, published by the University of California – Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute. The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Higher Education Research Institute have conflicting numbers when it comes to how many students were surveyed and how many institutions were involved. If we can get some clarification, we’ll post it here.

And keep in mind, if they were in Ohio in January when the survey was conducted, their answers might have been a lot different.

A body, likely that of one of the students from the Lynn University group who was in Haiti for a service-learning project, was recovered, and her parents were informed. The students and faculty members were at their hotel when the earthquake occurred. A layer-by-layer recovery of the hotel debris will begin soon. Three other students and two faculty members are still unaccounted for. One of the missing students had a 20th birthday was recently: A sawhorse on her parents driveway, with a sign requesting privacy, was festooned with Mylar balloons. Eight other students were found and have returned to the United States. Lynn University is maintaining a site with updates.

This week on Inside HigherEd, institutions assist Haitian students, fewer freshmen are choosing to study business, and there have been historic cuts to higher education in many states, among other news items.

FRESHMEN ABANDON BUSINESS: Amid recession, incoming students find field of study less appealing than ever, according to national survey.

HISTORIC DECLINES: Study shows extent of state cuts to higher education and key role of federal stimulus funds in minimizing (but not preventing) absolute drops in support over last two years.

HELP FOR HAITIAN STUDENTS: Colleges in New York City and Miami rush to provide counseling and other services to large populations of students affected by last week’s earthquake.

FREEZER BURN: Tuition freezes may be politically popular, and even appropriate in emergencies, but they often lead to dramatic hikes in future years.

SPORTS SUBSIDIES SOAR: At time of financial peril in higher education, ‘USA Today’ data show level of institutional financing for athletics programs is large and growing.

Ball State University has an emerging media living learning community, which is discussed in this short article. We’re not familiar with any other communities like it. However, there’s probably a lot of unusual living-learning communities out there. The often-seen living-learning communities–those based on a major or profession; ones for freshmen; for honors students–are great support systems for those students. But sometimes an unusual theme for a living-learning community can say a lot about the student, staff or faculty population at a certain institution or the area around it. Do you have an unusual living-learning community? Tell us about it!

Perhaps given the popularity of Glee, Yale University is trying the musical-theatre approach to recruiting. The production, created by current and former Yale students, touts the residential colleges too.

The musical-recruiting made James Baumann think of some other productions they could stage: West Quad Story, Joseph the RA and the Amazing Technicolor Pass Key; Quadspell; and The Phantom of the Study Lounge. That got me thinking: There’s A Cafeteria Line and Seven Credits for Seven Hours. If another university wishes to follow suit, they could try Oklahoma…State! If they wished to branch into plays, and reach transfer students, there’s You Can’t Take Those Credits With You.

Got any for us?

The UD Daily, a website operated by the University of Delaware’s media relations folks, has posted a story about the positive experiences three of their graduate students had with internship programs last summer. All the students mentioned in the story are majoring in counseling and student affairs in higher education. Two of the students were involved in ACUHO-I’s Internship Program. Carly Day went to Jacksonville University, Florida; and Christina Busse worked at the University of Minnesota – Deluth. A third student landed a National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) internship: Sara Jaques was at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Today’s Doonesbury strip mentions retention issues among college students: family, work, children…and the circus?

More bookstores are renting more textbooks; keeping student health affordable, a report states that minority students haven’t benefitted enough from aid given to public research universities, and other stories are at Inside HigherEd this week.

TEXTBOOKS FOR RENT … EVERYWHERE: Major bookstore chains announce plans to launch or expand rental programs, suggesting a market shift.

KEEPING STUDENT HEALTH AFFORDABLE: Higher ed asks Congress to tweak its bill to ensure that college-based plans aren’t classified as pricier “individual” policies.

FLOGGING THE FLAGSHIPS: Despite well-publicized expansions of aid, public research universities have made too little progress in expanding representation of low-income and minority students, report asserts.

SHIFTING GROUND ON THE SIDELINES: As 3 football coaches lose jobs for mistreating players, have the rules about acceptable behavior — and the balance of power in college sports — changed?

HISTORIANS, SONS, DAUGHTERS: A panel of parents and children in the same academic discipline consider their field and their generations.

Colleges and Universities in the United States and elsewhere have tried, with limited success, to contact their Haitian counterparts, and students, staff and faculty traveling in Haiti. Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL, and the University of Florida have not been able to account for all their associates in Haiti.

A group of Lynn University students and faculty members had traveled to Haiti for a service-learning project; they were scheduled to return today. A friend in the Untied States received a text from one of the group members shortly after the quake saying the group was safe, but there has not been communication with them since.

The University of Florida has heard from two profesors in Haiti, but not from two journalism graduate students who were filming a documentary there.

After an anxious three-day wait, Blue Ridge University, in Weyers Cave, VA, received an e-mail that four people, two students, a faculty member, and staff member were safe.

Is your institution waiting to hear from someone in Haiti? Let us know, and know ACUHO-I’s thoughts are with you.

Some community colleges are reporting an marked increase in their male enrollments. This is the first time in years such an increase has been observed. Women have outnumbered men at community colleges and four-year institutions, and the growth of their population has been higher too. This year marks the first in a long time that men’s enrollment at community colleges grew at a quicker pace than that of women. Could this be the beginning of a trend, or a recession-era blip?

Are single-sex bathrooms a girl’s best friend? Is it okay to use “hostesses” to sell an institution’s football program? Do mentoring and female faculty influence students? Also, U. Mass modifies its ban on face coverings. These and many other important questions and answers, this week on Inside HigherEd!

A BATHROOM OF HER OWN: A student’s suit over lack of single-sex facilities raises the question: Do college women deserve some spaces where men won’t be disrobing?

BE THEIR GUEST: Investigation into U. of Tennessee’s football recruiting practices raises questions about the continued presence of “hostesses” — female students responsible for entertaining recruits– on some campuses.

PROOF THAN MENTORING MATTERS: Study of economists — complete with control group — shows impact of coaching women on the process or getting published and winning grants.

COLLEGE REVERSES VEIL BAN: Massachusetts institution adds a religious exemption to its rule barring face-obscuring head coverings.

ROLE MODELS AND STEREOTYPES: Study both backs up and challenges conventional wisdom about whether presence of female faculty members influences female students’ choice of major.

Colleges and Universities employ a myriad of programs aimed at retention; many, not all of these, are in the student affairs area; plenty of those are in housing. Living-learning communities, mentoring, tutoring, freshman introductory programs, second-year experience programs, et cetera, are all aimed at getting students to graduation and improving their experience along the way. The success of these programs is often measured on retention and graduation rates. But that’s not the only way to measure success; there’s also the more business-like (or callous?) way: do the students who stay (and continue paying tuition and fees) make up for the monies spent on the programs? For the most part, they do, says a report, Investing in Student Success, sponsored by Jobs for the Future and the Delta Project on Postsecondary Education Costs, Productivity and Accountability. Thirteen institutions allowed their retention programs to be evaluated using a costs-to-returns calculator. While the return of a programs could not be accurately calculated because of a lack of necessary data, most did very well, their returns outstripping the costs considerably.

If there is one thing that college and university housing professionals understand, it is roommate conflict. So it makes sense that when MTV and its “True Life” documentary series went looking for subjects for their upcoming project on battling roommates, that they would ask ACUHO-I if we had any suggestions.

The producers are looking for people between the ages of 16-28 who have serious roommate issues (those who are interested, or know someone who may be, can e-mail MTV directly at roommate@mtvn.com). The producers promise a non-exploitive look at how conflicts can develop and what can (hopefully) be done to help roommates find resolution whether it is through conversation, mediation, or intervention. They sounded particularly interested when background about roommate selection processes was shared, as well as different potential solutions that can be available for students in conflict.

What are some of your most time-tested approaches to roommate conflict? Share in the comment section.