The Buzz - Capture's Podcast for Higher Ed

In this episode we have a special treat for our listeners. Our hosts, Jack Klett, Jamie Gleason and Amanda Scott have moved on from Capture recently but we wanted to give them a proper send-off from our Buzz audience. So we have gathered a TOP FIVE list of our best clips from The Buzz podcast. Please sit back enjoy and give a happy cheers to our former hosts and all the success we're sure they will find in their future endeavors.

Clip 01: Episode 10 – Creativity and Higher Education

Clip 02: Episode 14 – The Slow Crawl – Evolving the Higher Ed Service Model

Clip 03: Episode 08 – Higher Ed & Sustainability

Clip 04: Special Episode – Maximize Virtual Engagement During COVID-19

Clip 05: Episode 11 – Future. Forward. Together.

This episode, we will discuss Joe Biden’s tech priorities. Specifically, how will a Biden Administration deal with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and data regulation? How will this effect higher ed’s adoption of ed tech and other data tools?

Joe Biden is the President-Elect, and as with any new administration, there are changes coming for higher education. How will promises made on the campaign trail manifest themselves as legislation? What does the current balance of power in Washington mean for college access and affordability? How does a distinctly different approach to international relations impact international enrollment trends? How does oversight and regulation regarding data and privacy impact higher ed marketing, recruitment and enrollment.

Last episode, we discussed college affordability and access, and how likely campaign promises are to become enacted legislation. This episode, we will discuss international student enrollment and the impact of a Biden administration on the globalization of our campuses. Plus, The Buzz Crew is back for our quick-takes, and a peak behind the curtain – Capture style.

Joe Biden is the President-Elect, and as with any new administration, there are changes coming for higher education. How will promises made on the campaign trail manifest themselves as legislation? What does the current balance of power in Washington mean for college access and affordability? How does a distinctly different approach to international relations impact international enrollment trends? How does oversight and regulation regarding data and privacy impact higher ed marketing, recruitment and enrollment. Over the next three episodes, the Buzz crew will unpack how the new administration will influence and affect students, and the institutions that serve them.

Today, we look at college affordability and access, and how likely campaign promises are to become enacted legislation. Plus, The Buzz Crew is back for their quick-takes, and a peak behind the curtain – Capture style.

We are once again at an inflection point where there is much debate about the future of American higher education. From coast to coast, large public university to small private college, no institution is immune to the implications of the pandemic.

Colleges and universities across the country spent 2020 reacting to ever-changing conditions. The response was a period of innovation focused on fulfilling the mission of the institution, albeit online and remote. In a year when even the best laid plans were derailed, we turn forward. 2021 brings with it the promise of restoration; returning to our strategic planning; bringing with us some new tricks; and focusing efforts on even greater innovation as we plan for the “Next Normal.”

I’m Jack Klett, Capture’s Director of Graduate & Online Initiatives filling in for Amanda Scott who usually has our hosting duties. As usual, I am joined by my Buzz Crew colleagues Kevin Bauman and Jamie Gleason. For this special episode of the Buzz, we are joined by accomplished professionals within enrollment management and advancement.

Tim Whittum is Assistant Vice President of University College of Southern New Hampshire University; Julie Zulewski serves as Dean of Enrollment at Daemen College; and Chandler Vandenberg is Director of Development for Major Gifts at The University of Texas at Austin

The demands on college and university staff are significant during the pandemic. Most institutions still have faculty and staff at home in a remote working capacity. Adding to the workload is the anxiety and stress of the uncertainty about the upcoming fall term. With schools, summer camps and child care shuttered, remote workers are also dealing with family demands. In this episode, the Buzz crew discuss managing during uncertainty. They share tips to destress your teams, and to destress yourself. New student search strategies are also covered as part of your peak behind the curtain.

We at Capture Higher Ed are excited to announce our latest podcast! Join host Amanda Scott, Senior Director of Market Management, and Capture’s team of enrollment and advancement experts and thought-leaders every month as we talk all things trending in higher ed admissions, advancement, technology, breaking headlines and so much more.

Stay tuned for the first episode — dropping next Monday, July 22— to hear the latest buzz in higher ed. Subscribe to The Buzz wherever you stream your

Brad and Thom raise their glasses one last time for the farewell episode of the Weightlist Podcast. We thank you all for joining us on this fun ride!

A great deal of social science research utilizes statistical testing. This research probably wouldn't have gotten published if its effects were not "statistically significant".

In this very special episode of The Weightlist, Brad and Thom celebrate the Kentucky Derby!

Are you primarily assessing recruitment and marketing outcomes using first source attribution? Then you need to listen to this episode of The Weightlist, Brock Tibert.

Thom and Brad take the show to our nation's capital for a conversation with Justin Draeger, President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. In this episode, we discuss policy positions on a variety of topics including the Pell Grant, whether there's a student loan crisis, free college, and the similarities between The Weightlist and Good Morning America.

33% of public high schools in the United States employ guidance professionals devoted exclusively to post-secondary counseling. In this episode, Thom and Brad discuss the art and science of modern school counseling with Ross Wolfson, School Counseling Department Chair at Westborough High School in Massachusetts. Topics covered range from the politics of the GPA, how to maintain school profiles, and a fascinating discussion using baseball and stats to help families understand college admissions.

Campus visit programs are often the biggest influence point for prospective students. What can enrollment managers learn from research in the hospitality field that might inform how to wow campus visitors? Thom and Brad chat with Dr. Edwin Torres, Associate Professor in the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, about the importance of understanding a prospects zone of tolerance and why customer delight is replacing satisfaction as the standard measure in the field.

Recorded LIVE at NACAC: In part two of the NACAC 2018 episodes, Thom and Brad host Jen Dewar, Head of Strategic Engagement for the Duolingo English Test. Throughout this episode the trio discuss their first NACAC conference, data, admissions and enrollment and more. Grab a beer and join the conversation!

Recorded LIVE at NACAC - Thom and Brad host Heath Einstein, Dean of Admissions from Texas Christian University. Throughout this episode the trio discuss their first NACAC conference, data, admissions and enrollment and more. Grab a beer and join the conversation!

Human beings, as Dan Ariely wrote, are predictably irrational — even enrollment managers. From recruitment event feedback forms (good to meet you sampling bias), to predictive models (hello false causality), and all those early deposit incentives that only seem to encourage enrollment melt (good day Cobra Effect). Thom and Brad list the 4 biggest data fallacies in enrollment management and how to avoid them. Along the way of course is beer and all the reasons you’ll ever need to eat that dessert first.

While return on investment remains a key consideration for directing prospective student recruitment dollars, a standard definition has been missing in the enrollment management space. How do you track what is spent to recruit your class, attribute success to various initiatives, and know what was yielded from your investment? Thom and Brad walk through how Capture tackled ROI and how we approached this measurement problem that lives at the intersection of economics and marketing attribution.

The enrollment management nerd-o-sphere needs more people in the conversation. If you have ever thought about organizing and publishing a podcast, then this episode is for you. Brad and Thom celebrate The Weightlist's 25th "silver anniversary" episode by walking step-by-step through how they make and distribute the podcast so hopefully, you can create your own show and add your voice to the enrollment management conversation. We want to hear from you, so pull up a barstool, grab your microphone and join.

What does it mean to be current in the field of enrollment on issues of data and technology? How does a leader foster a data-driven culture in enrollment and mentor young professionals to level up their data skills and stay in the field? Jennielle Strother is the Associate VP for Enrollment Services at Concordia University Texas, Adjunct Professor at University of the Incarnate Word, and co-founder of #emchat community. She joins Brad and Thom to explore how modern data leadership looks from the AVP seat.

In part two, we learn about how secondary school learning management system data can be leveraged to create a drop out early warning system. Dan Jarratt walks us through the process used to find a data signal in a dataset of 8 million students using machine learning and what they learned about drop outs. He explains how commitment to understanding people and relationship building are the real key ingredient to the effectiveness of any data project. Oh, and we used data science help optimize your cocktails.

Dan Jarratt, Data Scientist with Infinite Campus discusses how his background in admissions lead him on a journey to push the education space. How can a commitment to data science help enrollment managers build better relationships with those they serve?  How could we create a Netflix-style recommender to help prospective students discover more best-fit colleges? In part one, we walk through how a data scientist orders the world and how serious problems can be solved using data science.

The inaugural Resolve Enrollment Technology Conference was the setting for a live session of The Weightlist. During the episode, hosts Thom and Brad fielded questions from conference attendees, like, will AI replace EM professionals? How can technology lower higher ed costs? And what would data science and enrollment management be if they were a beer? Ever been to an enrollment management conference session where the presenters distributed beer? This episode of The Weightlist will let you listen to one.

Take a look at an application from your institution from 10 years ago. How different is it from your current app? In many ways, the application and the processes around it have change dramatically over the past decades, but the centrality and importance of the application itself has changed very little. Why is that? Ken Anselment, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Lawrence University grabs a beer with Thom and Brad to discuss. Apologies for feedback echoes in the audio, we tried everything!

More than half of American workers do not take all of their yearly allotted vacation time. The work of an enrollment manager is rewarding, but indeed exhausting and the end of the year (which is really the half-way point of the academic calendar) is a great time to reconnect with your passion for this great work you do. Thom and Brad offer up a toast to you this Holiday season and chat about how to get the most out of your time off.

Recruitment campaigns in a university enrollment management shop tend to be large comprehensive endeavors. What if we told you that $7 worth of text messages could make the difference for your institution hitting its enrollment goals? Thom and Brad discuss how Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler’s work on nudge theory could be the simple difference maker for you this year.

Enrollment at America’s community colleges has been in steady decline since 2011 and although there is national attention garnered from some tuition-free programs, a new way of thinking about enrollment at 2-year colleges is desperately needed. Brad and Thom welcome Julie Marlatt, Dean of Enrollment Management at Parkland College in Illinois Andre Richburg, executive director of enrollment management at Northampton Community College to assess the state and future of EM at community colleges.

There are data silos and then there are educational data fortresses, each separate from each other as students traverse the P-20 pipeline. But the Data Quality Campaign and it’s President & CEO Aimee Rogstad Guidera are breaking down decades of barriers and facilitating access to key decision data for educational leaders, students, and parents.

If artificial intelligence and smart automation can change the way dairy farmers approach their work, why can it not do the same for enrollment managers? How can Enrollment Managers cut through the noise and analyze AI and automation options that are available now, not in some distant future? Thom and Brad invite you in to grab a cold one and join the debate in this latest episode of The Weightlist.

Enrollment management, at its core, is a prediction business. Annually, thousands of admissions officers polish off the crystal ball and project what the enrollment future holds for their institutions. Yogi Berra often quipped that “The future isn’t what it used to be” and no where is that truer than in higher education enrollment predictions. Thom and Brad walk through the primary ways the enrollment prediction industry has missed the mark through antiquated methodology and folk theory. Modern machine learning techniques require a new mindset about how we as professionals think about our future. What can The Farmer’s Almanac, Ron Popeil’s rotisserie chickens, and Uber teach us about enrollment predictions? Pull up a barstool and join the conversation.

Beers:
Thom: Pabst Brewing Company, La Crosse, WI, oldstylebeer.com, Heileman’s Old Style Lager
Brad: Bauhaus Brew Labs, Minneapolis, MN, bauhausbrewlabs.com, Stargrazer Schwarzbier

Links: The Numbers

Brad: 2015 National College Football Attendance
Thom: Closure Concerns and Financial Strategies: a Survey of College Business Officers Inside Higher Ed, July 17, 2015

The Sustainable University, Bain and Company

Additional References:
The 5 Ways Enrollment Predictions Are Putting Colleges Out of Business
Jordan Ellenberg, How Not to Be Wrong: The power of mathematical thinking
How Accurate Is the Farmer’s Almanac’s Winter Forecast?

Music:
Artist: The Insider
Track: One Fine Day

Used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, No revisions made.