Brain Waves Blog

I love regional public universities—I’m the product of one (Go Pointers!) and an incoming alumni board member. During my 20+ years in higher education I’ve worked with many regional publics and understand the outsized role they play in the industry.

Social intelligence is a growing global industry. Insights gleaned from publicly available online conversations inform billion-dollar entertainment productions, real estate and technology decisions for new restaurant chains, and product formulary for food and beverage companies amidst emerging consumer health concerns.

What movements are gaining momentum within higher education, and why? 

Educators have discussed social intelligence for over 100 years. So why am I still asked to introduce the topic to leaders so often? Perhaps because language has evolved in ways that make it hard for us to recognize the innovative application of a century-old concept that now means more than one thing. I bet you’re just as nerdy as me; let’s break it down.

Your social media manager isn’t the right person to determine how you use (or don’t use) social listening. And they’re not the only end user of insights—far from it.

Everyone with an interest in postsecondary enrollment or the health of the industry seems to be talking about research methodology these days. A 5.5% increase in first-year student enrollment was misreported as a 5% decline due to a data coding error announced by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Professionals are frustrated that “a thermometer for a feverish sector” could have such an inaccurate reading; some maintain that a preliminary report created in response to a worldwide pandemic and possibly carried forward due to its headline-grabbing nature should never have been considered a reliable industry indicator.