What Advancement Leadership and CIOs Should Know About Modern Advancement CRM Systems
A tremendous number of higher education institutions have upgraded their advancement CRMs in the last two years, migrating away from legacy systems of 20 or more years. A key factor precipitating this flux of activity is that several widely used legacy advancement systems have been sunset. Another even more causative factor is the inability of […]
Financial Aid Needs More IT Support
It is no secret that financial aid is foundational to the relationship between an institution and students. Financial aid packages are one of the core factors that students and families use when deciding where to enroll. In today’s increasingly competitive enrollment environment, institutions face even more pressure to elevate the student financial aid experience and […]
The Plumbing of IT: Implementing an Integration Strategy
You have a request from your business area to integrate your student information to a new system. You ask your development team to assess it, and they determine that they can clone a batch interface that already has four versions that are running for four other departments. It will take six weeks and require forty […]
The Art of Onboarding
According to a 2017 survey by Korn Ferry, the average tenure for a CIO across industries is roughly four years. It’s no surprise then that, given my twelve years as a CIO, I am entering my fourth institution of higher ed. I’m clearly a walking statistic (ahead of the curve even!) and feel pretty confident […]
Augsburg University and Luther Seminary: Approaching Three Years of IT Shared Services
Background In 2016, the presidents of Augsburg University and Luther Seminary decided to start exploring shared services, because, as President Paul Pribbenow wrote to the Augsburg campus, “through rethinking and improving our operations, we will be able to deliver on our distinct missions and allow both schools to provide exceptional teaching and learning for our […]
Supercharging Student Success
It’s true that graduating from a university or college is an undeniable accomplishment. But, Oral Roberts University (ORU) has a longer-term vision and plants the seed for success to reach beyond commencement day through its student success program. While working with many stakeholders, ORU’s Dr. Kathaleen Reid-Martinez, Provost, and Mike Mathews, Vice President of Technology […]
Using Chatbots to Increase Student Engagement
If you happen to be a parent, do you have a screenager or know one? If so, how are you communicating with them and is it effective? Sheenah Hartigan deals with this generation of student (a.k.a. Gen Z or iGeneration) all day long every day at Ocean County College. Students are changing as is technology. […]
Collaborating in a Changing IT Environment
Smith College is in the early stages of a multi-year plan to transform its overall technology. Collaboration is more critical than ever in its changing IT environment, according to Samantha Earp, Vice President for IT and CIO. Earp is also the 2019 Tambellini CIO Award winner. This podcast is a great opportunity to hear her […]
Rethinking IT in the World of Cloud
If you’re busy trying to keep your old legacy system going and are in a perpetual state of adapting to meet your campus’s needs, you’re not alone. Colby College realized two years ago that things had to change. CIO Cindy Mitchell faced it head on. Her strategic plan includes “the things that eat our lunch” […]
A CTO’s Role in Driving Transformation
Simon Blackwell didn’t have a long-standing career in academia before he became Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) of Mount Saint Mary’s University. His background included ecommerce banking, aerospace, and Wall Street. The institution brought him on initially as a consultant, saw promise, and the rest is history. Whether small or large innovative projects, his approach is […]
