Brain Waves Blog

February is a month of valentines, galentines, and if you’re in admissions, yieldentines! Yield is the stretch of time between students receiving their admissions decisions and choosing where they will deposit and, ultimately, enroll. While decision day on May 1 once signaled the end of yield, at many institutions this is no longer the case. Some students will deposit at multiple schools, and summer melt with ongoing offers is a new reality for many admissions teams.

In​ ​an​ ​era​ ​driven​ ​by​ ​24/7​ ​coverage​ ​of​ ​everything, college​ ​presidents​ ​must​ ​be​ ​accessible​ ​and responsive ​while also taking a ​careful​ ​and​ ​measured​ ​approach​ ​to​ ​their social​ ​media presence.​​ The​ ​president owns​ ​the​ ​brand​ ​and​ ​the​ ​messaging​ ​of​ ​the​ ​institution​ ​and​ ​can​ ​quickly​ ​and​ ​effectively​ ​convey​ ​the mission​ ​through​ ​social​ ​media​ ​posts​ ​and​ ​interactions.​

As higher ed insiders, we have a vested interest in understanding the individual and collective beliefs, attitudes, and relationships that alumni have with their alma maters. This knowledge provides valuable insight into their future actions and behaviors. As social media data analysts, we decided to conduct social listening analysis of alumni conversations to evaluate how they discuss their alma maters across various social platforms. We examined alumni conversation as a whole, then used multiple ways to segment the conversation to see how different characteristics revealed distinct types of conversation among alumni. 

There’s something about a good goal that really helps focus your behavior over a period of time—both consciously and unconsciously. In fact, studies on behavioral priming, (which is defined as “the incidental activation of knowledge structures … by the current situational context”), indicate that attitudes and other affective reactions can be triggered automatically by the mere presence of relevant objects and events (Bargh, Chen, Burrows, 1996). Set goals for the new year and keep your list handy, allowing the goals to seep into your day-to-day decision making. But on to the main act—how do you set goals anyway?

It’s a hot July day in Florida when Bella—we won’t use her last name—uploads a 17-minute video to her YouTube page. Bella has uploaded one video per month since July 2018, but this video, a year later, is her first video since February. It’s a point she doesn’t hide from her 171 subscribers.

Gratitude was not a word that I used as a child. But writing thank you notes was a common practice in our household. And always saying “thank you.” From a young age, the importance of expressing appreciation for the kind gestures of others was instilled in me. In turn, I've always had a fear of people not knowing how truly grateful I am for their kindness.