Occupy Higher Ed: Movement spreads from Wall Street to the campus green

Occupy Higher Ed: Movement spreads from Wall Street to the campus green, University Business, January 2012

Choosing Telepresence: When and how to take the plunge

Choosing Telepresence: When and how to take the plunge, University Business, January 2012

Dollars and Sense: Tips for implementing financial literacy programs on campus

Dollars and Sense, University Business, October 2011

Ten Years After Sept. 11: New York-area higher ed leaders recall a tragic day

Ten Years After Sept. 11: New York-area higher ed leaders recall a tragic day, University Business, September 2011

Thwarting ID Thieves

Thwarting ID Thieves, University Business, July/August 2011

Biofueling Busses

Biofuleing Busses University Business, June 2011

Tree Campus USA Recognizes Green Thumbs

Tree Campus USA Recognizes Green Thumbs, University Business, June 2011

All Things Transfer

All Things Transfer: How institutions are evolving to meet the needs of a growing market, University Business, April 2011

Emotional Health Envy

The adage that the grass is greener on the other side could resonate with this year’s freshman class, who rated their emotional health in comparison to their peers’ at the lowest level in 25 years, according to results published by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA from its 2010 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) freshman survey.

The CIRP is administered to incoming freshmen during summer orientation or the first few weeks of class and is designed to gather information about students’ experiences leading up to college and their college expectations, life goals, attitudes, and experiences, says Linda DeAngelo, assistant director of research for the survey. The report reveals that the percentage of students reporting their emotional health was in the “highest 10 percent” or “above average,” when compared to their peers, dropped by 3.4 percent from 2009, from 55.3 percent to 51.9 percent—the lowest level since the question was first asked in 1985. Women are 13.2 percent less likely than men to report high levels of emotional health.

“This signals to us that students are perceiving that their emotional health is lower than what they think it should be, in terms of being lower in comparison to their peers,” says DeAngelo.

The HERI recommends higher ed leaders help combat these findings by encouraging students to be active and socialize with their peers, and DeAngelo says it’s important for college and university leaders to be aware of the implications mental health can have on being successful educationally.

“Students who are under emotional stress and overwhelmed don’t always make the best decisions in terms of time management,” she says. “Universities really need to think about how to outreach their wellness services so students who need those services can take advantage of them.”

The study—which also covers student financial concerns and views on the economy and politics; numbers of students identifying themselves as having a disability; beliefs on gay and lesbian adoption rights; and expectations of satisfaction and participation in college activities—was based on responses from 201,818 students at 279 colleges and universities. A summary can be viewed at www.heri.ucla.edu; the full report is also available for purchase online ($15 for a PDF, $25 for a hard copy). —K.D.

Originally appeared in the March 2011 issue of University Business.

Putting Students to Work: Meaningful on-campus employment the wave of the future?

Hard at work: Construction students at SUNY, Delhi built this fountain on campus as part of a seminar course.

It’s common to find students filing papers in campus offices, restocking library shelves, or checking IDs at the fitness center to make a buck. What’s a little less common is students replacing sidewalks and entranceways to dorms, building fountains, and constructing additions.

But that’s how SUNY, Delhi (N.Y.) is using the most literal translation of the term “work study” to benefit students’ learning experience—and the university’s budget. For decades, this small technology college has been equipping students with hands-on experience in exchange for construction work around campus.

“Without it our education is thin,” says Floyd Vogt, a professor of construction technology who has been teaching a capstone construction seminar to about 30 students each spring for the last 10 years. During the course, students design a project, sell their idea to the college, expedite the materials, and do all the manual labor in one semester, graduating fully prepared to take on jobs as construction managers. Students in other study areas, like masonry, complete projects in their fields.

“They leave here with technical skills, mind skills, and hand skills,” says Vogt.

Students have laid and repaired sidewalks, as well as built a bus shelter, baseball dugouts, and fountains. The construction is for-credit as part of students’ lab assignments, so the college is able to save around 50 percent on its project costs, says Joe Batchelder, director of capital construction. “The material costs are usually not high but the labor is what gets you on a smaller project,” he says. “It’s a real win-win.”

Student involvement in manual labor is not unheard of. For example, at the College of the Ozarks (Mo.), an institution in the category of work colleges that’s known as “Hard Work U,” students there work 280 hours per semester through a mandatory work program. A combination of private, institutional, and government aid provides cost-free tuition in exchange for students’ hard work in the college cafeteria or helping out with landscaping or construction projects.

While manual labor affords students the opportunity to acquire life skills, it’s not the only way to accomplish that. There appears to be an emerging trend of student workers taking on meaningful tasks.

Patricia Klauser, executive director of career development and placement at Sacred Heart University (Conn.), says the institution has really been emphasizing connections between the curriculum and the world of work.

“The university itself is a community, and it’s a business, and it’s a perfect placement site,” she says. “So we’re expanding the kinds of opportunities on campus and even upgrading the work-study positions so that we can help students further develop workplace readiness skills like critical thinking, leadership, and the ability to communicate.”

One example of this is at The Factory, Sacred Heart’s tech-support center, where students outnumber the full-time technicians and gain hands-on tech experience.

Similarly, at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, students are trained to work in a call center, answering important financial aid questions from incoming students instead of just running errands for the department. —Kristen Domonell

Originally appeared in the March 2011 issue of University Business.

Budget Season Means Hefty State Cuts to Higher Ed: What institutional leaders are saying to lessen the blow

The recession has left states bogged down by daunting deficits. With budget deadlines nearing, higher ed leaders in money-crunched states have been actively trying to persuade against cuts that could be detrimental to their institutions.

In the famously broke California, where the budget deficit has reached $25.4 billion, higher education is facing a proposed $1.4 billion cut by newly elected Gov. Jerry Brown. The California State University and University of California systems would each lose $500 million in state support and the state’s community colleges would lose $400 million. Robert Turnage, vice chancellor for budget at CSU, says the proposed budget would bring the institution’s state funding to a level that is 23 percent lower than it was in the 2007-2008 fiscal year, or a decline of $680 million.

“Chancellor [Charles Reed] and I met with Jerry Brown as he was putting his administration together and preparing for the transition,” explains Turnage. “I don’t think we were under illusions of the nature of the state’s fiscal problems when we met with him, but I think we’ve done our best to make him understand that there are consequences if there are cuts. We are going to have to look at a lot of things that people will find painful,” such as cutting programs and limiting enrollment.

In Nevada, Gov. Brian Sandoval hasn’t said how much he would reduce state spending for higher education, but Daniel Klaich, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, says he’s expecting “very substantial double-digit reductions.”

“We have tried to point out very clearly that investing in higher education produces a tangible return to the state that shouldn’t be overlooked,” he says.

The Nevada system suffered significantly in the past three years, losing 20 percent in general fund appropriations. During the first round of cuts, the system deferred maintenance, tightened up on administrative positions, and enacted a salary freeze. Klaich says that by the most recent round of cuts, the system was forced to close several research centers and terminate programs and professors, including, in some situations, tenured professors.

“We want to first let everyone know that the system is in service to the state and for the state,” says Klaich. “We want people to know that the cuts, to this point, have been impactful, have changed the institutions, have changed lives, and have changed the abilities of students to naturally progress toward degrees.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a graduate of The Ohio State University, isn’t ruling out reducing higher ed spending to help with the state’s $8 billion budget deficit. Ohio State CFO Geoff Chatas says the $400 million in state funding each year—less than 10 percent of the university’s total budget—is “incredibly important” for helping the university grow, and his arguments against reduced spending mirror those of higher ed leaders in other states.

“The university is an economic growth engine for the state of Ohio,” he says. “We are one of the largest creators of jobs in the state, we’re one of the largest employers, and we touch every part of the state with students from every county.”

Beyond pointing out the economic boosts higher ed provides, Washington’s Council of Presidents—a coalition of the six four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institutions in the state—is teaming up to present a consistent message to Gov. Chris Gregoire and legislators.

“I think even in these times of very difficult budget discussions with the state, we are trying to say that it’s important to get a higher education,” says Phyllis Wise, interim president of the University of Washington. Her state is facing a 4.2 percent reduction in higher education spending, as well as salary cuts and pension limits where making up the difference to employees will prove costly to institutions.

—Kristen Domonell

Originally appeared in the February 2011 issue of University Business

http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1749

How One Institution is Seizing a Unique Building Opportunity

Built in 1971, the Highland Mall was the first real mall in Austin, Texas. Since then, newer malls with shinier versions of the same stores have opened in more affluent neighborhoods in the city, creating a major decline for the once popular Highland Mall. That’s where Austin Community College came in to turn demise into opportunity.

Less than a week into 2011, the college announced it had purchased Macy’s, one of the last remaining anchor stores in the mall. “It’s not a great location for a retail mall anymore, but it’s a great location for us,” explains Ben Ferrell, executive VP for finance and administration at ACC.

For $5 million, ACC has expanded its property ownership by 13 acres, including 12 acres of parking. In May 2010, the college purchased a Dillard’s at the mall for $4 million. Without Macy’s, the mall will be 71 percent vacant. Many of the remaining stores in the shopping center are involved in lawsuits trying to break their leases and it could only be a matter of time before ACC owns all the space. “If the price is right and we weren’t buying a lot of trouble, then yes, we would be interested in considering additional facilities there,” says Ferrell.

The purchase fits into a districtwide facilities master planning effort that has been in the works since 2007.

“The plan in part of that was to do land banking for near- and long-term purposes,” says Ferrell. “We kind of keep a scan going on constantly for opportunities because the district has been growing rapidly for a long time.”

ACC had 44,000 credit students and about 10,000 continuing ed students enrolled last fall in eight campuses throughout the city.

It will be two to three years before ACC does anything with the Highland Mall buildings, but Ferrell says the college envisions using the space to enhance continuing education and consolidate district administration offices. If the entire property falls into the college’s hands, it will be redeveloped into a mixed urban use area, providing a boost for both the college and the community. —K.D

Originally appeared in the February 2011 issue of University Business
http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1749&p=4#0