Archive for 'General'

During the free-on-friday’s webcast last week, a question was posed to the group, “what will next year’s admissions world be like – better or worse?”  I answered, “different” and was subsequently mocked for copping out.  But I stand firm by my answer.  As we go beyond the tipping point of change in college recruiting from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market, the environment is going to be different – better for some (state schools, community colleges) and worse for others (expensive, less well-known small private colleges and perhaps some name-brand, yet expensive universities.

A couple of years ago the NY Times posted a letter from a father to Northeastern University sharing his son’s decision to attend the ...

For many years now I’ve been told that we should write a book. If you know the team at TargetX, we’re big on pushing the envelope and getting colleges to see things differently (heck, our company motto is “Overthrowing Dead Culture”, so we have an opinion or two on something).

The idea of sitting down to write a book on this stuff seems daunting to me, at the very least. Who would read it and how would it be different, practical, forward-thinking and timely?

Despite these lingering questions, a couple of months ago we got the process started and we’re hoping to publish the book later this year. But I thought I’d take some time to solicit some help from ...

On the drive in today, I did my normal Monday routine listening to the latest TWIT podcast recorded Sunday night (TWIT stands for “this week in tech” and is hosted by my favorite tech expert, Leo Laporte).

About 13 minutes into the podcast they discussed the news that President-Elect Obama is going to have to give up his Blackberry, to which he is apparently addicted to like many of us smart-phone users are.

The conversation turned to how the President would communicate with the public during his tenure.  He has already created a new website and posted his first Continue Reading

As you’ve probably already read, TargetX hosted an event called iThink at NACAC in Seattle in the morning of Thursday, September 25th the Seattle Public Library.  Our objective was to get people talking about issues instead of just coming to hear so-called “experts” speak.  

We had more than 150 senior enrollment offers attend.  We intentionally setup the room with the chairs facing each other with one aisle down the middle in order to get people to talk with each other.  Topics revolved around the growing economic crisis, the importance of the campus visit and the need for internal communication and support on college campuses.  

Coincidentally, the event was held in the Washington Mutual Meeting ...

On November 8, 2002, Ray Ulmer (TargetX’s Vice President for Communication) launched An Email Minute – a weekly email message that takes no more than 60 seconds to read. Today, I can’t tell you how many people approach me on the road saying “I love those emails I get every week”.  I share the same opinion – Ray has an amazing gift for taking sometimes complex ideas and craft them into a quick read.

But 302 weeks and 281 Email Minutes later, it’s time for a change.

Today’s Email Minute announced a change to the thousands of weekly subscribers.  The Email Minute will now be called the “Recruitment Minute” to reflect a more appropriate shift in topics to be ...

Long time TargetX friend and talented storyteller, Michael Vitez, joins me, Jeff Kallay and Adrienne Bartlett on this podcast recording to discuss the power and impact of stories in marketing and recruiting. Michael is the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist at the Philadelphia Inquirer and author of the really awesome book, Rocky Stories. In February Michael provided the lunch time keynote address at our annual user’s group meeting and was a tremendous influence on the attendees.

Tip: If you are part of organizing an industry conference, be sure to add Michael Vitez to your list of possible keynote addresses. It’s an important topic and he’s an ...

Just posted a really fun conversation I had recently with long time friend Dr. Joe Merante, former enrollment manager at Duquesne University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Southern California, Loyola University Marymount, and the director of the Snowmass Institute for the past 24 years.

Joe is now retired from enrollment management and provides a context to where we are today. He has an amazing understanding of the power of technology in recruiting and provides a challenge to get admissions offices to get rid of wasteful recruitment travel. It’s worth taking a few moments of your time to listen.

Subscribe to the Podcast Here

Today we posted podcast episode #34 – an interview with Gina Bianichini, CEO of Ning and recent Fast Company cover story, the social networking platform TargetX utilizes to power our eXpressNet admissions social networking sites.

Gina and I talk about the differences between setting up a Facebook or MySpace group vs. building your own fully branded social networking site, how to generate and keep traffic flowing on the site, where things are headed with respect to social media, and what she’s going to do now that Ning is valued around $500 million! We want to than Gina for taking time out of her very busy schedule to join us and share her thoughts.

NOTE: We’re regularly ...

Think back to when you were 8 years old. For me that was 1976, the year after we moved from Buffalo, NY to Malvern, PA (about 35 miles outside of Philadelphia). I had started to ride my bike and had a habit of riding a little further each time away from the house. Doing a cursory Google Maps Pedometer look up, I figured I went at most about 2 miles on bike and 1 mile on foot without an adult. Those were different times than today or when our grandparents were the same age. Just ask George Thomas.

• How children lost the right to roam in four generations

When George was ...

Did you know there’s a place for college recruiting professionals gathering online? It’s TargetX’s Knowledge Center – the nearly 10 year old site where we post all sorts of free goodies, advice, links and no sales stuff. Earlier this year we turned it into a social networking environment for folks to gather, ask questions, share ideas, post success.

http://knowledgecenter.targetx.com

As I write this, there are 292 members and growing daily. A recent post by Marisa asks folks about their thoughts on improving a college counselor visit program. TargetX’s Dara shares online widgets to make your site your own. Sarah wants to become more of a strategic thinker and is looking for advice. And Layna is ...

For many of you reading this, you’re planning your summer retreat with your staff, trying to figure out why your recruiting plan worked or didn’t work. And for some there are factors that are creating the perfect storm that needs immediate attention. What are these factors?

• The number of students graduating from high school has begun to decline (particularly in the northeast)
• The most competitive colleges have gone deeper into their waitlist than previous years
• The financial situation of families and college lenders has created a great unknown
• The rising cost of running a college – employee benefits (especially health care), energy, etc.
• The access to information online about your college that is not the “official line”
• The rise of the GenXer parent who is ...

We’ve been talking for a few years now that colleges need to be more focused on the yield part of the enrollment funnel than anywhere else. Much of the budget gets put toward the top of the funnel and converting those prospects into applicants. But none of that matters unless they enroll. And doing so for many this year has proved to be a challenge.

Last night I sat on the porch with my neighbors whose daughter, Katie (as you may remember from previous posts) is a high school senior. She has made her choice for where she’ll attend next year, but you may be amazed at how the process went near the end. I thought ...

Today we officially announced a new philanthropic effort at TargetX called “The Power of X”. It’s based on an ingenious program started in 2000 by Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff. There are three pieces to the program – 1% of equity, 1% of product and 1% of time.

To be honest, I’m a bit embarrassed that we didn’t start this program sooner – 2008 is the 10th anniversary of TargetX. But as the saying goes, better late than never. And the entire TargetX team is excited about what we’re able to do from our success to help others.

To learn more about our program, click here:
http://www.targetx.com/powerofx

A couple of weeks ago I received information about a speech I’m giving to an international conference on recruiting and marketing. They sent along a PowerPoint template I’m required to use as well as tips on proper presentation technique.

Let’s put aside for the moment that I …

(a) hate PowerPoint (I’m a huge Apple Keynote fan)
(b) been giving presentations at national conferences since 1993
(c) taught graduate classes on effective presentation skills, and
(d) value a plain black background on my slides with as little content on them as necessary.

I don’t like to give out handouts and I don’t stand behind a podium. I want my audience to think – not just read, not just listen – but ...

I was talking with a colleague at another firm today who said he has flown 80 times so far this year. Yikes! That reminded me while I’ve been traveling a little bit so far in 2008, Sunday begins the Spring/Summer travel season for all of us higher ed vendors.

I join my colleague Jeff Kallay at OACAC in Columbus, OH Sunday. Looking forward to it. There are so many great colleges in Ohio! Then I’m off to NAGAP in Denver – one of my favorite cities and where the speaking circuit all started for me back in 1993 when I spoke on what “WWW” meant to a crowd of easily over 450 ...

Each year we follow two students to see what they are receiving – this year it’s Bob Mootz’s son, Craig, and my stepson, Julius. They forward their emails they receive to us and give us their mail when they’re done reading it (most of the time unopened).

I’ve always had a nagging and irritating question about search campaigns that try to be cute (any campaign for that matter). Today Craig received two emails from two different colleges with similar subject lines that really bug me.

Here are the subject lines of five emails that bug me (trust me, there are others that bug me, but I’ve decided to focus just on these for the moment):

“Are you getting my emails?”
“Is this Craig’s ...

This week, TargetX launched a new Knowledge Center today to replace one of the most popular pages on our website. This time it’s embracing the social revolution. Check it out at http://knowledgecenter.targetx.com, log in, and participate in the conversation!