Feb 1st 12 Posted by Eric Sickler

President Barack Obama on Higher Education Marketing?

“So let me put colleges and universities on notice:  If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.” If you heard those words live during the president’s State of the Union speech last week, there’s a good chance something inside... read more

Jan 24th 12 Posted by Bob Sevier

A Subtle Shift of Tsunami-Size Proportions

Over the last 12 months, I have noticed a subtle shift in the willingness of boards and senior leaders at colleges and universities to take a realistic look at core issues of cost, mission, and economic sustainability. Interestingly, while these conversations began some years ago with examinations of extracurricular, co-curricular, and administrative issues, they are now slowing, perhaps grudgingly,... read more

Jan 24th 12 Posted by Brenda Harms

Preparing for Battle Adult Student Conversations on Campus

Okay, so we all know I tend to lean toward the overly dramatic, but really, I’ve been there. I know how hard some of the conversations can be on college campuses surrounding issues on the needs of adult students. What are schools REALLY doing to make sure that adult students do more than register for classes, but actually graduate—or as Dr. Mark Milliron, chancellor of Western Governors University... read more

Dec 29th 11 Posted by Brenda Harms

Resolutions for the New Year

I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions; they always feel more like wishful thinking than true commitments.  But I know for some of you these resolutions are serious and cause you to alter your behavior (often for the better) as you look to a new calendar year as a bit of a clean slate.  I want to suggest to you a few professional resolutions that you may want to consider as we move into 2012. ... read more

Dec 27th 11 Posted by Brenda Harms

Critical Website Content for Adult Students

As many of you will remember from previous Stamats Adult StudentsTALK™ Research, the web is the place where adult students are most likely to go to find out more about your institution. Even before they call you, they check you out online. I know this may strike panic in your heart as many of you have shared with me over the years that you are not at all confident in what your institutional site... read more

Dec 22nd 11 Posted by Brenda Harms

Record-Breaking Registration, but WHY?

For those of us around Stamats involved with the Adult Student Marketing Conference, we had a pretty exciting week that I would like to share with you.  As some of you may be aware, our fourth annual  Adult Student Marketing Conference will be held in Austin, Texas, February 27 –29.  The early-bird registration deadline for this conference was last week and, as any former enrollment professional... read more

Dec 20th 11 Posted by Brenda Harms

Leveraging the Holiday Rush

It’s that time of year again and, no, I don’t mean the winter break.  I mean what I refer to as the holiday rush for adults to jump back into higher education.  Certificate programs, degree completion programs, and graduate programs alike tend to have a flurry of activity as time moves forward toward the January start, more commonly known in higher education as second semester.  When do adults... read more

Dec 15th 11 Posted by Brenda Harms

Digital Marketing Best Practices on Tour with NERCOMP and Stamats Catchfire

It’s true! The digital world really does bring us together. I am always delighted to see constituents reaching out to colleagues from across campus to leverage their knowledge in a way that will positively impact their institution. Stamats Catchfire is partnering with  the Northeast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP), an organization historically serving the educational needs of IT professionals,... read more

Nov 14th 11 Posted by admin

Print is Alive!

People have been asking me when I am going to retire for quite some time. I am nowhere near retirement age (I like to think), but they usually say it with that dark, sad “sorry to hear about the death of your good friend, print” look on their face. The fact is, print is alive and well and nowhere near retirement age. The effect of the Internet and variable data printing has kept print... read more

Nov 14th 11 Posted by Brenda Harms

Embrace Discomfort!

Change creates discomfort, and as simple as that may sound it is often our fear of being uncomfortable that keeps us where we are.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for those of us who work with adult students in higher education, we do not have the luxury of being comfortable or digging in our heals and holding our ground.  For those colleges and universities that have tried, they have watched... read more