Past Innovators Talks
Innovators Talk: The College Admissions Ecosystem
Jeff Selingo, Journalist & Author of Who Gets In And Why: A Year Inside College Admissions
Jeff Selingo, Journalist & Author of Who Gets In And Why: A Year Inside College Admissions
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Key Takeaways:
What’s in Store for the Next Decade?: To open his Talk, Jeff discussed the evolution of what students and their parents have focused on when evaluating college options. From amenities to services and now towards experiences, institutions have invested in what they believe prospective students and their families are looking for and what would make them most attractive to these “customers.”
The Widening Gap: In his book, Jeff divides colleges into two categories: a multitude of buyers and the few, elite sellers. This pandemic influenced admissions cycle has widened the gap between the two in terms of number of applicants thanks to test optional policies. “No where is the virus’ impact more apparent in admissions than how it’s shaping testing right now,” said Jeff. As institutions determine their post-pandemic strategy, the future of the SAT and ACT and how they impact equity in the process will be something to watch.
The Way Students Are Entering the Funnel Is Changing: The digital natives of Generation Z are ignoring the traditional marketing that colleges usually employ to attractive leads and applicants. Institutions will need to “reach students by better meeting them where they are,” according to Jeff. “What do they want out of college and how do they want to discover the right fit?” Jeff shares some insights about Generation Z around the 23 minute mark.
These Consumers Know What They Want: The #1 reason students go to college is to get a good job. And the data they have at their fingertips allows them to dig into institutions and the post-graduation outcomes. Institutions have the opportunity to get in front of prospects early and often in order to tell the stories of the students and alumni who have earned that good job at graduation and the successful, fulfilling career.
Perhaps the largest impact that the pandemic had on admissions and enrollment is that it revealed what prospects and their families care most about in evaluating higher education. High school students and their families are now looking at colleges and universities armed with data and research on the career outcomes and the income of that institution’s graduates. They are asking where a diploma can take them before they even set foot on campus. And yet, prospects are still interested in the experience of college and finding where they might best fit on campus. By harnessing the stories in the community, institutions have the ability to courageously innovate and create new ways to reach prospects and achieve their goals.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove works to make the admissions and enrollment experience approachable and memorable for Generation Z.
Learn more about Jeff’s work at JeffSelingo.com and make sure you get a copy of his book Who Gets In And Why.
Innovators Talk: Unlocking Courage — Keynote Address
Ryan Berman, Founder of Courageous Brands
Ryan Berman, Founder of Courageous Brands
Key Takeaways:
Who is Your #1 Competition?: In reality, it’s time. So many projects feel so big that you could compare it to eating an elephant. Many would say you should eat that elephant one bite at a time. “Could you imagine going to your boss and saying ‘We’re eating that elephant one bite at a time...come back to us in 2028 and we should have [it] gobbled up by then,’” Ryan asked. We sometimes rely on the excuse of time to not tackle our real #1 competition...ourselves. Check out the “3 Big Bold Takeaways” chapter to see the real answer to the elephant question.
Learning Courage: Have you ever thought about why the word “nervous” is in the name of the Central Nervous System? During his Talk, Ryan shared his research into how we are literally wired to fear change. “When you break it down...central, at the core of you...system, you’re a computer...and right there in the middle is nervous.” If we can practice courage, we have the opportunity to rewire our systems and create a Central Courage System that becomes our competitive advantage.
Finding the Right Balance: Ryan suggests that there are three different levers that makeup courage: Knowledge, Faith, and Action. Each one of these levers; however, won’t come in equal measure — no matter how much we want them too. In higher education, we’re often hanging on and waiting for more knowledge before proceeding. Ryan challenged us to inject more faith into our decision making. Otherwise, we’re just doing what we’ve always done and playing it safe. See the “Defining Courage” chapter for more!
Creating Believers: Citing Phil Knight of Nike’s famous quote “Belief is Irresistible,” Ryan discussed just how powerful belief is when it comes to leadership. “There are so many challenges that you already have in higher ed,” Ryan explained, “you need people to believe! They need to be on the bus. They have to be on board if you’re going to accomplish what you want to accomplish.” See Ryan’s Big Bold Takeaway on Faith to see how you can create believers.
““Change is hard. The hardships that come from not changing will be harder.””
Most in higher education would say that their institution is in “Preservation Mode,” especially given all the events of 2020. But those same events have made courage that much more important to the survival of institutions. Yes, change is hard, but the cost of not changing will be very high. Rewiring ourselves and our teams to act courageously will not only be key to an institution’s survival but also serve as a competitive advantage for that team and that institution. It starts with an understanding of courage as knowledge + faith + action. If we can find the right balance of those levers while creating believers in the people around us, we can enact tremendous student-centric change that delivers and differentiates.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove works with courageous institutions to enact lasting change.
Learn more about Ryan’s work at CouragouesBrands.com and make sure you get a copy of his book Return on Courage.
Innovators Talk: Resilience in 2020, Courage in 2021 — A Discussion with Students
A Discussion with Students
Kaiya Mitchell, University of San Diego, Class of 2024
Seo Young Lee, Georgetown University, Class of 2022
Cole Sabaot, Ryerson University, Class of 2021
Andres Puente, University of Texas at San Antonio, Class of 2020
Key Takeaways:
New Challenges & New Opportunities: Students were forced to navigate difficult circumstances in the transition to the new normal. From holding onto a campus job to maintaining continuity in a leadership role, each of the student panelists shared how they handled incredibly difficult circumstances. However, they also shared the new opportunities they discovered along the way — like the opportunity to build a more personal relationship with a professor or simply having the time to exercise. These students made the best of a challenging situation.
Imposter Syndrome?: All of the student panelists have been influenced by their mentors and connections, and they now find themselves in the position of being that same resource for others. While initially intimidating, each of them have found that they have much more to contribute to fellow students than they thought. “You don’t need to be an upper-year student or an industry professional to be a mentor to someone,” Cole Sabaot shared. “As long as you have experiences that can provide insight to someone who is about to experience something similar and you can offer them the lessons you’ve learned from the mistakes you’ve made and help them avoid making that same mistake, then you can be a mentor.”
Many Different Forms of Courage: No two students have the same experience, and each of the panelists reflected that fact in how they’ve found courage. From bravely joining a community 3000 miles away to allowing oneself to step away from “the plan” and find new learning opportunities, it’s important to recognize just how students have demonstrated courage this past year. “I almost feel like a better question would be ‘how have people not been courageous in 2020!’” Kaiya Mitchell exclaimed.
Advice for Higher Education: Each panelist offered a unique piece of advice for institutions while encouraging higher education to be more proactive in helping students be more aware of available resources. From mental health assistance to career support, the panel pushed the audience to ensure every student knows of the resources available to them, even as soon as they join the community. “Encourage freshmen to think more about the end as the beginning…” Seo Young Lee shared as she described a career preparation course she took as a sophomore. “Why not make something like that required or available to freshmen?!”
““Don’t advertise your services and supports just for the desperate students, these services should be for everyone! So if you have career mentoring services, don’t just offer it for students who are struggling to get a job, offer it to students who just want to utilize it.””
Every student needs to have a clear understanding of their path ahead. Too often, we have relied on the students themselves being proactive in seeking advice they need. While that reliance may work for some, it does not work for everyone. This is particularly true of students from vulnerable populations who have been told that the college degree in itself will lead to the economic mobility they seek. The structures we build in the post-Covid world can not rely on proactive students. Rather the challenge before us is to create systems where we are the proactive ones and get in front of ALL students to provide better understanding of the role their education will play in their futures.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove works with institutions to actively provide and scale that guidance.
Innovators Talk: Preparing for the World of Work
featuring Michael Collins, Vice President, JFF
Michael Collins, Vice President at JFF
Key Takeaways:
The College Conversation: Is how we talk about college giving students the wrong impression? For many students, particularly those from vulnerable populations, our national conversation has created the idea that a college degree is the finish line instead of a part of the journey. “Helping people understand the variation of different types of credentials and what your employment prospects and earning prospects are... I think that’s really important and I don’t think it happens.”
Over-Indexing in Tough Times: It’s a common trend during challenging economic times to focus on degrees and credentials that make someone immediately employable, such as STEM degrees. However, data shows that after 10 years those with liberal arts degrees catch up and surpass, in both earnings and prestige, their peers with STEM degrees. Why? “I would argue that they have more of the skills that suggest mental dexterity: they’re problem solvers, they’re critical thinkers, they synthesize...all of the things that we know will be important for the future of work.”
Digging Deeper to Help Vulnerable Populations: Michael provided some wonderful insights during the Talk into the challenges facing vulnerable populations, especially Black learners and workers. He challenged us in higher education to look beyond some of the statistics and really understand where members of those populations are struggling. For example, we may see that the rate of Black learners finishing their degree has increased substantially since the 1970s, but the Black unemployment rate is still nearly double that of the White unemployment rate. Additionally, the jobs that most Black Americans hold are mostly low-wage with little opportunity for economic advancement. “The mobility narrative of higher education is not actually true for Black Americans. What are we going to do to disrupt these numbers?”
The Variable of Social Capital in the Mobility Narrative: Social capital is often missing from the conversation. The narrative of economic mobility needs to include the fact that you have to cultivate a network. “People who don’t have [social capital] are really at a disadvantage. We know...that if you come from a family in the top fifth of income, you’re more likely to have parents who are educated...they can open doors for their children that people from low income backgrounds can not.” We have to focus on structures that help students from low-income backgrounds build this capital and support.
Either/Or Should Really Be Both/And: The argument that higher education is either about getting a job immediately or about “civics, and being an educated person, and being a humanist” is a flawed juxtaposition. If we are going to provide foundations for vulnerable populations to be successful in the short, medium, and long terms, we have to combine a focus on employability with the more liberal arts aspects of college that create adaptable graduates.
“The question for all of us today is how are we going to partner, how are we going to ally, how are we going to use our organizational capacity and our individual capacity to disrupt patterns [of inequality in our systems].”
Every student needs to have a clear understanding of their path ahead. Too often, we have relied on the students themselves being proactive in seeking advice they need. While that reliance may work for some, it does not work for everyone. This is particularly true of students from vulnerable populations who have been told that the college degree in itself will lead to the economic mobility they seek. The structures we build in the post-Covid world can not rely on proactive students. Rather the challenge before us is to create systems where we are the proactive ones and get in front of ALL students to provide better understanding of the role their education will play in their futures.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove works with institutions to actively provide and scale that guidance.
Innovators Talk: Back to School
Janet Kinard, Vice President for Engagement, Georgia Tech Alumni Association
Mario Vela, Executive Director of the University Career Center, University of Texas at San Antonio
Eva Blanco Masias, Vice President for Enrollment Management Santa Clara University
Janet Kinard, Vice President for Engagement, Georgia Tech Alumni Association
Mario Vela, Executive Director of the University Career Center, University of Texas at San Antonio
Eva Blanco Masias, Vice President for Enrollment Management Santa Clara University
Key Takeaways:
Change Accelerated: As we’ve heard across our Innovators Talks, the panelists shared how Covid-19 accelerated work that was already in motion in each of their institutions. “We had been moving to adopting new technologies to scale our programming,” Mario Vela shared. “What the pandemic did for us was accelerate all that.”
Feedback Loop: In pivoting during the spring semester, many institutions innovated and experimented in different ways. Our panel highlighted how important it is to hear from the constituents they serve. “They tell us what works and what doesn’t,” Mario Vela said. As institutions implement strategies to support their communities in the new student journey, creating a feedback loop is crucial and gives constituents a voice in the process.
Forming Impactful Partnerships: Gone are the days where one office can go it alone. If initiatives are going to scale and reach as many constituents as possible, they have to be the result of strategic partnerships across offices. “The partnership aspect is really important for us because it amplifies the impact we’re able to make,” Janet Kinard shared. “That was a recognition that we were not going to be able to do this alone.”
This Fall Builds the New Foundations: We’re entering into a new era in higher education. With the value being questioned and other options in the market, what we create this semester is vital to ensuring we deliver on the experiences and outcomes students demand. Institutions should be intentional and strategic with how they support students this fall and not just treat this semester as another “stop-gap” until things go back to normal.
“In terms of importance, I’d give this semester a 10...I’d give it an 11 if that was your range. I think it’s a mistake to think that we’re ever going to go back to normal. I think that this has altered — from an individual standpoint — just how we look at the future. What our future hopes and dreams and aspirations are. So that’s true with students. They’re looking at the prospect of higher education in a number of different ways, so that behooves us as institutions to constantly be thinking about how we’re going to be relevant to make that impact that both students are seeking and that we as institutions should be making in our societies.”
What we build this semester will be the new normal in higher education for generations to come. As students evaluate institutions looking specifically at outcomes, we have to ensure that we are delivering and demonstrating our value at every turn. Our communities are the most important part of that value. By forming strategic partnerships, creating informative feedback loops, and building a culture of innovation, institutions can scale the impact of these communities at each step of the student journey. And when the day comes, the digital communities we cultivate today can “flex” between the offline and online with ease.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove is building these foundations across the new student journey.
Innovators Talk: Bridging the Gap
Jim Dickinson, Assistant Vice President for Career Services, Loyola University Maryland
Catherine Voss Plaxton, Interim Associate Vice President for Student Services, San Jose State University
Christian Garcia, Associate Dean and Executive Director, Toppel Career Center, University of Miami
Jim Dickinson, Assistant Vice President for Career Services, Loyola University Maryland
Catherine Voss Plaxton, Interim Associate Vice President for Student Services, San Jose State University
Christian Garcia, Associate Dean and Executive Director, Toppel Career Center, University of Miami
Key Takeaways:
“Infinitely Adaptable, Immediately Employable:” Whether the model is T-shaped, I-shaped, or based in three phases of career development, our panelists agree: adaptation is essential in today’s workforce. “We’re really trying to get students to think of continually adapting and being prepared for whatever changes and new opportunities come up,” said Catherine Voss Plaxton.
Self-Efficacy: In looking at the students who engage in career services, they are often those who rate highly in self-efficacy. So even though a majority of students say they are going to college to launch a career, there is work to be done in making them confident enough to leverage the services at their disposal. So, as Catherine Voss Plaxton said, “how do we get students to grow confidence in as many ways as possible?” This is the core question in the work of career services.
One Model: Our panel discussed how our learning and experiential systems are converging into flows rather than individual, discreet experiences. So by bringing together networking and real-world experience in one model, we can ensure that students make the most of both opportunities. Through a mentor’s guidance and reflection, it also allows students to see what they are learning in real time and understand the purpose behind an experience — even if the purpose is to help a student see what they don’t want to do.
“Showing Up in Students’ Spaces:” In any student service, it’s important to build trust with the students. Our panelist shared how important it is to reach out to students and engage with them in their forums — particularly for students from traditionally underserved communities. As Christian Garcia shared: “We have to show up in their spaces and not sell career services. But to just be there and show them that we have an interest in them as individuals and in their organizations, and that we want to learn about their issues. Because that’s how you build trust.”
“If I had to put this into a mathematical equation, it would be: ‘Advice from Trusted Mentors + Real-World Experience = Personal Growth Through Learning by Doing and Getting Actionable Feedback.’ I think it’s that combination that is really powerful to see all together in one place.”
At each stage of career development, pairing project based work experience with connections and mentorship provides immense value for students. It allows them to explore fields and functions by networking with available resources. They can then prototype that exploration in a low-risk way by engaging in a short-term project guided by trusted connections. Finally, they can launch their careers leveraging the competencies and skills gained through their experience and with the help of the open doors offered by the network they’ve built. In today’s world, ensuring connections and experience are paired together in one cohesive flow is vital to ensuring success in the new student journey.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove and the BridgesAlliance is building this new ecosystem of purpose, connection, and experience.
Resources Referenced in the Panel
Book describing the "atomization of jobs" and the creation of project-based work happening in organizations: McGowan, H.E., & Shipley, C. (2020). The Adaptation Advantage: Let Go, Learn Fast, and Thrive in the Future of Work
Book on how cognitive bias may affect choices to engage in career development (given that the benefits may seem uncertain and time-delayed to students) and why we need to consider the incentives we provide to engage: Thaler, R.H., & Sunstein, C.R. 2009. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
Self-efficacy theorist and researcher: Albert Bandura (numerous publications)
Innovators Talk: Networked Networks
Julia Freeland Fisher, Author of "Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students’ Networks", and Director of Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute
Julia Freeland Fisher, Author of "Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students’ Networks", and Director of Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute
Key Takeaways:
Inherited Networks: Students are arriving on your campus with access to an inherited network. These are connections that their parents or family members may have that a student subsequently has access to as well. Of course, the size of that network depends on many different factors. It’s important to ensure that students without a substantial inherited network (or none at all) receive guidance on how to build the social capital that grows into opportunity.
Strong Ties vs. Weak Ties: A strong tie is a relationship that can be very personal and where there is a high degree of trust. These relationships can also require a high degree of bandwidth. On the other hand, weak ties may be less personal, require less bandwidth, but provide access to new information and new opportunities just the same. Cultivating both in an individual’s network can provide the most benefit to a knowledge and opportunity seeker.
Integrated Student Support: How intentional is the support structure for students? Instead of aid efforts that address a point-in-time for students on their journey, higher education should seek to “surround students with a web of support” that is continuous. This not only advances their academic success but also helps “combat some of the isolation that a first-generation student might feel on campus.” By strategically creating this web, colleges and universities can create a powerful network of support that lasts throughout a student’s journey and beyond graduation.
Institutions as Brokers of Social Capital: Higher Education has traditionally been a non-purposeful broker of this capital. Colleges and universities create a space (the campus) where people can run into each other and make organic connections. Now, we need to think critically about creating spaces for connections to continue to flourish — both digitally and in-person.
“This to me is a really important organizing philosophy. As you think about how are we doing as an institution in brokering and building our students networks...not everything has to be a mentor capital relationship to be valuable to your students. It can be an array of relationships that students are accessing to serve different purposes and open different doors in their lives.”
As we look at the new student journey, surrounding students with a variety of relationships can best ensure they feel supported and that they have access to the knowledge and opportunity that will enable them to be successful. This is too critical to be left to chance. Institutions need to intentionally and strategically build integrated networks where students can access this web of strong and weak ties that will lead them to success.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove is supporting higher education in strategically building these webs.
Read Julia’s latest piece in the Hechinger Report and learn more about Julia’s book Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students' Networks.
You can also visit the Christensen Institute's website to learn more about this research at https://whoyouknow.org/.
Keynote: ReimagineU Change Accelerated
Farouk Dey, Vice Provost for Integrative Learning and Life Design, Johns Hopkins University
Susan deMuth, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations, Johns Hopkins University
Farouk Dey, Vice Provost for Integrative Learning and Life Design, Johns Hopkins University
Susan deMuth, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations, Johns Hopkins University
Key Takeaways:
Connections and Community: The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the focus on connections and community that higher ed has seen over the last 10 years. While the education is important, institutions had previously recognized that the vastness of the university network was just as crucial to ensuring students thrived after graduation. With campuses currently closed, that community is more important than ever.
Social Mobility: The next ten years have to be about making those connections and communities accessible to everyone, regardless of circumstance or economic background. “Higher Education’s mission has always been about closing that gap and it is even more critical today in a post-COVID-19 world.”
Outcomes Over Inputs: Value in higher education has to be measured by the outcomes of our work rather than just what we put into it. “Outcomes meaning that we can't just look at how many people showed up to a thing, the numbers of engagement. We need to understand what has that engagement done for that person.”
“The connections and communities movement started out of the housing crash and economic downturn of 2008 when we realized that simply graduating students with degrees and knowledge is not enough. We need to connect them to opportunity and to one another and to people who can open doors for them.”
The democratization of the college and university community is more important than ever. Our keynote speakers challenged us to innovate and ensure that each and every student has access to the opportunities they need to thrive, even in these challenging times.
Visit our website to learn more about how we transform connections into opportunity.
PeopleGrove: How Innovation Comes to Life. Future Product Roadmap.
Tori Funkhouser, VP of Product, PeopleGrove
Adam Saven, CEO, PeopleGrove
Tori Funkhouser, VP of Product, PeopleGrove
Adam Saven, CEO, PeopleGrove
Key Takeaways:
The Community Matter at Each Step: At every point of a student’s journey, the community is crucial in supporting that student. From enrollment through their alumni experience, access to knowledge-sharers has a big impact on ensuring that knowledge-seekers can reach their goals.
Interconnections: With all the connections a student needs in one place, PeopleGrove creates a place where multiple forms of connection are available whenever a community member needs help.
Innovating Together: Many of the products we build is in collaboration with our own partner community. We constantly seek feedback and ideas to best help prospects, students, and alumni.
Insights Throughout the Journey: We know how important it is for you to be able to ensure your community is active and engaged. We also know how important it is to connect all that data and get it to those who need it. GroveConnect: the Apps & Integration Marketplace allows you to integrate your systems to ensure your institution supports the community effectively.
“We care very deeply about innovating along with you and building along with you.”
So much of the innovation we have been a part of has been collaborative. Not only among our PeopleGrove team, but the 300+ institutions that make up the PeopleGrove Community. That collaboration and innovation has created a tool that helps students find success no matter what stage of their journey.
Visit our website to learn more about our partners and how they bring their knowledge-sharers together to support prospects, students, and alumni.
Enrollment Panel: Authentic Voices from Day 1 of the Journey
Austin McKinley, Admission Communication Supervisor, University of San Diego
Molly Feeney, University of San Diego, Class of 2020
Austin McKinley, Admission Communication Supervisor, University of San Diego
Molly Feeney, University of San Diego, Class of 2020
Key Takeaways:
The Power of the Story: USD has focused on storytelling as a key aspect of how they share their brand. Brand ambassadors play a key role in that effort has prospects want to hear the story of those who are experiencing life on campus, rather than look at data or pour over statistics. “It’s much more powerful to use that channel of storytelling and connection in order to make that impact and share the brand overall.”
The Value of Your Institution: An education is just one part of why someone chooses higher education. “I don't think anyone really goes to college just for classes. I think people go to college for extracurriculars and meeting people.” Technology has allowed students like Molly to not only help recruit new students to the community, but also stay connected to what makes college special.
The Passion of the Community: Molly Feeney shared her advice about launching ambassador programs to bring the community to life in the virtual space. “I think everyone should realize that you have passionate students at your university, they're just waiting to be utilized.”
“Let’s face it, the real reason you pick a school goes far beyond what happens in the classroom. It was the people I met on campus that gave me confidence that USD was the right school for me - even though it meant moving across the country.”
Your students and alumni are passionate, and want to help. Imagine giving prospective students access to 100 Mollys who can share their love of alma mater and tell their story.
Learn more about making the spirit of the visit day available to all by visiting our website.
Student Success: Socially Distanced Student Support
Sharon Balke, Director, Career Education at Strategic Education, Inc
Amy Buechler-Steubing, Manager, Center for Academic Success & Excellence at Capella University
Sharon Balke, Director, Career Education at Strategic Education, Inc
Amy Buechler-Steubing, Manager, Center for Academic Success & Excellence at Capella University
Key Takeaways:
Variety is Important: Capella and SEI have found that offering a variety of different options for learning and engagement works best in the remote environment. It helps personalize the support and allows students to find the help they need when they need it.
Learning Communities: From career interest groups to established mentoring programs, peer-to-peer connections are vital to ensuring distance learners are successful. It’s often more valuable to work on a project with a near peer rather than receive “official” guidance from a professor. Again, a variety of connection options is important to best facilitate those interactions.
Collaboration is Key: As students move from one stage of their journey to the next, it should feel seamless and smooth. Partnering with colleagues to ensure alignment is vital to ensuring that transition. “We don't run into each other in the hallway or in the elevator anymore. So being really intentional about identifying who are the people to connect with, who are the people to build relationships with, and not being afraid to reach out and schedule those virtual coffee chats.”
“Being able to offer videos and synchronous support options can really help personalize support and help students feel more connected, which is even more important now with all that is going on in the world.”
Students want to feel like their university knows who they are and can meet their individual needs. Online institutions have been doing this at scale for years. It’s time we take a page from their playbook.
Learn more about how PeopleGrove ensures student progress and brings together siloed support systems below.
Career Services: Critical Work - What are the student experiences we must not leave to chance?
Susan Brennan, Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Career Education, Wellesley College
Jen Pollard, Director of Operations & Analytics, Career Education, Wellesley College
Susan Brennan, Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Career Education, Wellesley College
Jen Pollard, Director of Operations & Analytics, Career Education, Wellesley College
Key Takeaways:
Defining Critical Work: Research from Gallup identified six college experiences that lead to a prepared and thriving graduate. All six center around two categories: experiential learning and mentoring. This moment has given leaders and opportunity to expand on that critical work. “In many ways, with a new lens, we're able to look at these questions and think about how can the virtual reality that we're in now allow us to make these opportunities even more accessible to our students.”
Moving the Critical Experiences Online: As higher education becomes virtual, simply putting things online is not enough to meet students’ needs. It requires innovation and creative thinking to create new, dynamic opportunities for students. It also requires the support of the community to provide these innovative opportunities.
Bridging the Divide: These critical experiences have often been siloed in higher education. By providing students with a guided pathway that helps them make the most of their experiential learning and mentorship opportunities, institutions can ensure those crucial variables are not left to chance. “It's allowing us to launch into this technology-based but really human approach to how we prepare our students for or the life of work that they have ahead of them.”
“This led us to this new thought that it is not mentorship in isolation from internships or experiential learning. The two have to collide in this moment.”
Wellesley’s model weaves together experiential learning, mentorship, and guided pathways to ensure students find their passion and understand the value of these experiences. This helps bridge the gap and make these experiences more valuable and more equitable.
To see how PeopleGrove helps institutions like Wellesley provide equitable access to those opportunities, visit our website.
Alumni Engagement: Realities and Opportunities Ahead
Jeff Minhas, Executive Director, Alumni Relations, University of California, Irvine
Megan Frisque, Associate Vice President for Alumni and Parent Relations, Southwestern University
Lisa Vacarelli, Senior Partner, Plus Delta Partners
Susan deMuth, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations, Johns Hopkins University
Jeff Minhas, Executive Director, Alumni Relations, University of California, Irvine
Megan Frisque, Associate Vice President for Alumni and Parent Relations, Southwestern University
Lisa Vacarelli, Senior Partner, Plus Delta Partners
Susan deMuth, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations, Johns Hopkins University
Key Takeaways:
Demonstrating Value: The change accelerated in this moment for alumni relations has been in demonstrating the value that the work provides to institutions. This is particularly true of the social connections that alumni associations traditionally focused on. A more critical lens is now focused on alumni relations and “the question of what our value both to the institution and to our constituents has become even more prominent.”
Campus Partners: So much of the work of alumni relations is about building relationships among our constituents. Our panelists encouraged us to model that relationship building with our own teams and partners. “Talk about your team and your students and the way the partners are coming together. That builds community. That builds team, and that's going to really be a foundation to grow on as we move into the future.”
There is no Going Back: In these times, there can be a tendency to simply try to get through it and then go back to normal. Our panel encouraged attendees to use this time to evaluate their work and drive lasting meaningful change. What are aspects of your work that might be ready for innovation in this new student journey?
Be Nimble: While higher ed may not be known for agility, now is the time to create a culture of adaptability. “I think it's more critical now than ever that we be creative and innovative at leveraging technology, leveraging expertise of others on campus and maybe off-campus, our alumni, and really lean into our partnerships across campus to figure out how we can be as nimble as possible.”
“Going forward means you got to bring some of the past with you, absolutely, but you’ve got to take these new challenges on. But you’ve got to be your best cheerleader. You’ve got to do it.”
Alumni are unique in that they are both supporters and often in need of support themselves. It’s on us to call in the cavalry, build partnerships, and bring to life a community where they can get the help they themselves need and pay it forward to students at the same time.
Learn more about how this community engages and inspires alumni by visiting our website.