See You in San Antonio
As I prepare to leave for the 2010 Stamats’ Adult Student Marketing Conference I am so excited for the opportunity to come together with professionals whose day to day responsibilities involve working with adult students. In one of the early pieces I wrote for Stamats a few years ago I referred to adult students as afterthoughts at many institutions. While I believe many colleges and universities treat adult students as afterthoughts, I have also seen some real progress in bringing the role of adult students to the forefront of our minds for those who work in higher education.
Case in point. At the 2010 Council of Independent Colleges President’s retreat three college presidents and I spoke about how important adult students are in higher education. The conversation was lively. I walked away with the idea that there are pockets of higher education that are very committed to serving this population. The other point that was made (at least in my mind) was that many institutions recognize that the way adult students have been marketed to, recruited, and served for many years is somewhat outdated, not competitive, and at the moment, not at the level that adults expect. AND, many institutions are ready to do something about it. It is that type of institution, that type of professional, who will be represented this year at the Stamats Adult Student Marketing Conference – and personally, I can’t wait for the conversation!
For those of you I will see at the conference – travel safe and be prepared for several days of engaging conversation, different ideas, and new ways to look at old problems. If you aren’t able to join us this year I am truly sorry, this is a great event that I hope you will plan to attend next year. See you in San Antonio!
Photo by UCT Summer School SS60
