Office Hours With EAB

EAB’s Chief Partner Officer, Sally Amoruso, is joined by Brian Elliot, the head of the Future Forum, a consortium launched by Slack to help companies reimagine work in the new digital-first world. The two discuss key takeaways from a recent virtual gathering of more than 125 university leaders EAB hosted to explore the future of work on college campuses. They share tips on ways to offer campus wor...

EAB’s Kathy Dawley and Brett Schraeder discuss the significance of National College Decision Day and share initial thoughts on successful strategies colleges are using to meet enrollment targets during one of the most challenging recruiting cycles of all time. They stress the importance of virtual engagement with admits as a means of reducing summer melt. Kathy and Brett also share findings from E...

Enrollment at for-profit colleges has increased or remained flat, while enrollment at community colleges is down nearly 10 percent since the onset of the pandemic. EAB’s Christina Hubbard and Larisa Hussak share key takeaways from a recent “secret shopping” experience with for-profit institutions and explain their applicability to community colleges. They talk about the dos and don’ts of onboardin...

EAB’s Danielle Yardy and Anushka Mehta unpack the meaning of “digital transformation” and its relevance for higher education. They argue that the key drivers of digital transformation should be to streamline operations and improve the student experience. They also offer tips to generate the biggest bang for your IT bucks and spur wider and quicker adoption of new technologies across campus.

EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney returns to the podcast to moderate a discussion with her colleagues Jackson Nell and Kathy Ruby on what the American Rescue Plan means for higher education. The three talk about what we’ve learned from previous federal stimulus bills that might help schools begin to chart a path forward, even as we wait for much-needed guidance from the Department of Education. They urge univ...

EAB’s Meacie Fairfax returns to the podcast for a conversation with College Possible CEO Craig Robinson. The two discuss the power of community partnerships in giving underserved students greater access to higher education and stronger pathways to successful careers. Mr. Robinson suggests that colleges must be willing to change their mindset in order to serve their students and their communities m...

EAB’s Carla Hickman and Colin Koproske have been working together and studying the phenomenon of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, since 2012. On today’s episode, the two discuss Coursera’s recent IPO-related financial filings. Carla and Colin also examine the extent to which MOOCs and the companies that provide them represent a threat to higher ed, or whether more colleges should be looking...

College enrollment dipped this past fall as most people expected. However, the decline was not equally distributed across all demographic cohorts or types of institutions. Journalist Jon Marcus joins EAB’s Madeleine Rhyneer to examine the data which show surprising enrollment trends that have not received the media attention they deserve. The two discuss ways that college recruiting has changed fo...

EAB’s Kaitlyn Maloney and Ron Yanosky discuss what we’ve learned over the past year through our collective experiment in mass teleworking. They then dig into some of the unique challenges colleges and universities face as they explore more flexible approaches to space utilization, hiring, and HR policies. While a few best practices emerging from the private sector can easily be replicated across h...

EAB’s Jeff Martin is joined by Penn State University Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations Richard Bundy. The two talk about the state of university fundraising and key takeaways from EAB’s latest survey of college fundraising professionals. Mr. Bundy provides insight into how his team shifted strategy and tactics to adapt to an entirely virtual fundraising environment. Finally, the t...

EAB’s Tom Sugar talks to Paula Short from the University of Houston about lessons they learned launching Houston GPS, the nation’s first regional consortium of two- and four-year schools working together to improve transfer pathways and college completion rates. They also talk about how they are applying those lessons to EAB’s new Moon Shot for Equity.

EAB’s Kathy Dawley and Al Newell discuss the role that parents play in the college recruiting process and share findings from a recent EAB survey about their communication preferences. They talk about how different types of information become more or less important to parents as they get closer to the application deadline. Kathy and Al also urge colleges to focus on communicating how they support...

Noted author Nathan D. Grawe talks about his new book that explores how college recruitment and retention efforts are evolving to meet demographic and other challenges.

EAB’s Megan Adams and Will Lamb discuss growth opportunities and the competitive landscape in the master’s and graduate degree markets.

Two emerging stars of academia--Dr. Lila McDowell Carlsen from Pepperdine University and Dr. Rénard Harris from College of Charleston--share what they’ve learned by participating in EAB’s new Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship.

EAB’s Sally Amoruso is joined by Dr. William Tierney, University Professor Emeritus and Founding Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. The two discuss a range of topics addressed in Dr. Tierney’s new book, “Get Real: 49 Challenges Confronting Higher Education," including Dr. Tierney’s contention that universities have become too focused on pr...

EAB’s federal policy experts outline the major components of the latest federal relief package and offer guidance to university leaders still struggling to determine what it means for their institutions and students.

Dr. Rufus Glasper, president and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, joins Dr. Christine Hubbard, EAB’s leading expert on community colleges. The two talk about the extent to which future enrollment trends will be influenced by external factors, like the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the economy, versus the need to innovate and deliver a more flexible and engaging educational...

Dr. Richard Irwin from the University of Memphis talks to EAB’s Max Milder about the school’s unique collaborations with FedEx and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. These partnerships offer employees, even those without a high school diploma, a guided pathway to earn a college degree.

Rob Sentz, Chief Innovation Officer at labor market data giant, Emsi, shares strategies for preparing college students to find their niche in an unsettled economy.

Student success guru Tim Renick discusses GSU’s journey to eliminating equity gaps and shares scalable, replicable best practices other institutions can follow to do the same.

EAB experts explain how to integrate financial aid services into the broader student support network to help more students graduate with less debt.

Representatives from The Urban Alliance and Streetwise Partners join the podcast to discuss how the pandemic and recent civil unrest have impacted volunteerism. They also share tips for institutions looking to motivate more employees to participate in community services activities—and why volunteers from the ranks of higher education can have an outsized impact on the lives of young adults.

Michael Koppenheffer joins the podcast to discuss ways employers are virtualizing campus recruiting to overcome social distancing restrictions. He also offers tips to universities on how to partner with employers who may be looking to broaden their campus recruiting footprint.

EAB experts examine the good, the bad, and the ugly from campus repopulation efforts this fall and suggest changes university leaders may need to make before the spring semester.