What Engagement-Focused Fundraising Looks Like Source: Academic Impressions Only 52 percent of alumni believe their alma mater keeps them closely connected and values its alumni relationships. We asked Jim Langley, president of Langley Innovations, to comment on how institutions can rethink engagement. Social Networking Nudge Source: Inside Higher Ed A recent survey by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth found that 98 percent of higher ed institutions are on Facebook, and 84 percent are on Twitter. Foursquare, the most popular of a new class of "geo-social" websites, is included on this year's iteration of the UMass-Dartmouth study almost as an afterthought. Encouraging the Success of Online Students Source: Academic Impressions In a recent interview with Academic Impressions, online learning veterans Kristen Betts (Armstrong Atlantic State U) and Mark Parker (U of Maryland University College) suggest that the some of the most critical steps in encouraging the academic success and persistence of your online students involve setting and managing faculty and student expectations around workload and interaction within the online course. Competing for students, colleges turn to tours to seal the deal Source: Philadelphia Inquirer "The competition for talented college students has escalated to unprecedented heights," said Gil Villanueva, dean of admission at the University of Richmond. "Most colleges will do anything to get them on their respective campuses." That includes hiring consultants like TargetX, a firm that works with 250 schools to create tours that are authentic, memorable, and fun. Company research shows the campus visit is the most influential factor in where a student decides to attend college.
