Monthly Archives: November 2014

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Higher Ed Marketing Messages Matter

In today’s environment, colleges and universities must reach out and market their programs.  The higher education landscape is crowded with many different types of institutions and offerings.  Moreover, there has never been a period of more diversity in the types of students pursuing postsecondary opportunities.  The traditional student today is what we used to call the non-traditional student.  Adult students, immigrants, minority students, and first-generation students all attend now more than in the past.  As a result, higher education has increased marketing efforts to reach these students.  However, colleges also must remember that higher education marketing messages matter.

Photo courtesy: InsideHigherEd.com

Brand image is important to companies and higher education institutions.

The social responsibility of higher education means higher ed marketing messages matter more than usual.

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5 Easy Steps for How to Choose a Dissertation Topic

For a student pursuing a doctoral degree, selecting a dissertation topic can cause an existential crisis. You spend your entire academic career learning more and more information. Then, you have to select one narrow topic to spend your life on for the next year or two. Additionally, one of the most common questions that you’ll get after graduation is, “What did you write your dissertation on?” — even years after completing your degree. Selecting a topic doesn’t have to be stress inducing. I want to share 5 easy steps for how to choose a dissertation topic.

Photo credit: David Blaikie

Most students see a sea of options and have no idea how to select a great dissertation topic.

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Future of Student Consumerism in Higher Education

In today’s post, I want to share an excerpt of a chapter I contributed to Knapp and Siegel’s The Business of Higher Education.  The chapter explores student consumerism in higher education, which I consider one of the most important trends influencing our institutions.  The excerpt suggests steps for universities considering how to deal with consumerism.

Photo credit: Tax Credits.