Don Akchin

What does the data tell you? How can you use it? The CoolData blog walks through an example of a college alumni office which learns that the number of times an alumnus visits the college website correlates to the size and frequency of his gifts.

Here is an interesting summary of how the higher education sector is adopting social media into its marketing. You’ll find plenty of ideas that might apply to your own sector and organization.

The “news” element is that even my own alma mater, LSU, is trying to strengthen its alumni support by going online. By the time a trend gets to Louisiana, you can be sure it’s mainstream everywhere else. What’s yet to be seen is whether universities know what to do with these networks: do they use them as one more way to “push” their own messages out, or do they let alums connect with one another and become self-empowered advocates for their schools? Your homework assignment: Could this model work for networking your own constituents?

The “news” element is that even my own alma mater, LSU, is trying to strengthen its alumni support by going online. By the time a trend gets to Louisiana, you can be sure it’s mainstream everywhere else. What’s yet to be seen is whether universities know what to do with these networks: do they use them as one more way to “push” their own messages out, or do they let alums connect with one another and become self-empowered advocates for their schools? Your homework assignment: Could this model work for networking your own constituents?

The “news” element is that even my own alma mater, LSU, is trying to strengthen its alumni support by going online. By the time a trend gets to Louisiana, you can be sure it’s mainstream everywhere else. What’s yet to be seen is whether universities know what to do with these networks: do they use them as one more way to “push” their own messages out, or do they let alums connect with one another and become self-empowered advocates for their schools? Your homework assignment: Could this model work for networking your own constituents?

(Shameless Plug Dept.)The Baltimore Collegetown Network commissioned two research organizations to produce a study of the economic contributions of its 16 member institutions. To be sure the findings were clearly communicated, designer Rick Pallansch and I produced a colorful, concise report, The Brains Behind Baltimore. The press conference releasing the report garnered good play in local media and has been well received. You can read it online.

(Shameless Plug Dept.)The Baltimore Collegetown Network commissioned two research organizations to produce a study of the economic contributions of its 16 member institutions. To be sure the findings were clearly communicated, designer Rick Pallansch and I produced a colorful, concise report, The Brains Behind Baltimore. The press conference releasing the report garnered good play in local media and has been well received. You can read it online.

(Shameless Plug Dept.)The Baltimore Collegetown Network commissioned two research organizations to produce a study of the economic contributions of its 16 member institutions. To be sure the findings were clearly communicated, designer Rick Pallansch and I produced a colorful, concise report, The Brains Behind Baltimore. The press conference releasing the report garnered good play in local media and has been well received. You can read it online.

Well, maybe this is not news. Maybe it’s a perennial story. But a survey of college admissions websites, complete with rankings, finds that not a single school website earns an approval rating higher than 74 on a 100-point scale. As students get more technologically sophisticated, the gap between what they expect and what colleges deliver is widening.

Well, maybe this is not news. Maybe it’s a perennial story. But a survey of college admissions websites, complete with rankings, finds that not a single school website earns an approval rating higher than 74 on a 100-point scale. As students get more technologically sophisticated, the gap between what they expect and what colleges deliver is widening.

Well, maybe this is not news. Maybe it’s a perennial story. But a survey of college admissions websites, complete with rankings, finds that not a single school website earns an approval rating higher than 74 on a 100-point scale. As students get more technologically sophisticated, the gap between what they expect and what colleges deliver is widening.