Like many of you, I am getting ready to head out on the road and as I prepare, I wanted to share a few tips on how to get the most out of your time in car and in those hotels.  So, here are 7 survival tips as you “road warriors” get after it for yet another year: Get a binder. Oh yeah, it seems really old school, but putting all of your travel-related information into a 3-ring binder is the way to go.  Snag one of those 3-ring pouches, and suddenly you’ve got a place to store all of those receipts you accumulate.  Expense reports are not nearly the same headache when you’re...

So, where did the summer go?  I feel as though just yesterday I was sitting with colleagues on the evening of May 1, grateful that another successful recruitment season had come to a close. Now here we are, on the cusp the next recruitment cycle, and I have to say — I’M EXCITED.  This year’s incoming class is the most technology-savvy, forward thinking group of students ever to be recruited for college.  They are ready for us to dazzle them with authenticity and to share with them our institution’s story and how it can be theirs.  That’s what we do, right?  We provide...

If you’re anything like me, May 2 always feels like the greatest breath of fresh air.  You’ve worked hard for the last year, trying to provide the best customer service possible so that your product (the college) can stand as tall as possible.  I think what’s most exciting about May 2 is that it means that the days ahead are the start of something new and just as important.  It’s about starting the process all over again, and getting better at it at the same time. So how will you approach your summer months? I know that I am definitely excited about spending a little bit of...

I had a great time both attending and presenting at the annual MACAC conference on April 30, held this year in Grand Rapids at the L.V. Eberhard Center on the campus of Grand Valley State University.  A good number of my colleagues attended as well, including Garrett Knoth, who gave a presentation on counselor recommendation letters and college essays.  I was also able to sit in on Nathaniel Hancock’s (see Zinch) presentation on social media (which happened to include an excellent nod to “The Office” with a reference to the “Dunder Mifflin Infinity” episode in season...

In my last post I talked about a recent survey that suggested that we focus our attention on our colleges’ websites, student search websites, and the like.  I argued that while those venues have their important place, sites like Facebook, student blogs, and YouTube also have a significant place when it comes to creating a recruitment culture in the age of web 2.0.  As promised, I’d like to discuss prioritization of social media within the context of your overall recruitment strategy. So here’s my main point, right up front: Every point of contact that a prospective student...