Brain Waves Blog

How to dig into the strategy and mine the report for proactive communications and outreach on your campus.

Community colleges in the United States have long been underfunded and understaffed. That hasn’t stopped them from serving as a vital resource to their local communities while educating a student body more diverse than many four-year campuses can claim. 

Nurturing relationships with your alumni is a key component to the future success of your campus. Proud alumni can share their experience with others to potentially sway an undecided student or make a gift to help current and future students shine even brighter on campus.

As part of ongoing professional development, it's important to keep up to date and learn from the successes and failures of colleagues in higher education and other industries. I've gathered lists of communities, podcasts, blogs, and conferences I regularly recommend to social media professionals, ranging from free and on-demand, to annual fee-based events. And there are so many fantastic resources, I’ve broken them into two posts so I don’t overwhelm you. First, I’m covering communities and podcasts, then stay tuned for part two: blogs, newsletters, and conferences.

What comes to your mind when you hear the words measurement or metrics? I've actually asked a lot of people that question and go into some of their answers in our new book. As a community, we need to get serious about measurement. If campus leaders aren't requesting metrics that accurately assess the results of your work, it's up to you to help them understand what metrics actually matter. They likely aren't easy metrics to measure—but they should help us make important decisions. 

Who didn’t spend 2020 wondering what the heck was going on? COVID-19 was top of mind for everyone. College students included, especially with the disruption of college applications, campus tours, and the “traditional” college experience. That said, let’s dig deeper into our 2021 admissions research to explore and compare COVID-19 conversations to non-COVID-19 conversations that surfaced on social media (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube) and forums (Reddit and College Confidential) among 4-year college prospective and admitted students between August 1, 2020 and October 31, 2020.