Comparing International and Domestic Students

International students tend to report less satisfaction and report less learning has taken place when compared to (US) domestic students. Furthermore, international students respond in a similar fashion as visible minority students when asked to report their feelings about campus climate (at US schools). These were two points two colleagues and I made in a presentation at the NASPA 2012 conference earlier this month.

Comparing International & Domestic Students: Understanding Key Differences was a presentation that Darlena Jones, Deb Boykin and I gave at the conference. The session had four parts: overview of international students studying around the globe, then data gathered by EBI was shared, then stories were shared from an ACUHO-I study tour of China and finally Ryerson International Student Services' history book was shared. Here is the presentation:

2012 NASPA Comparing Domestic...

More PowerPoint presentations from Glen

Some of the key points to take away from the session includes:

• More students are studying abroad and more institutions from more countries are trying to attract international students. 
• International students are, typically, less satisfied and report less learning has taken place than US domestic students
• Minority and International students perceive their environments similarly
• All institutions will continue to see an increase in International student enrollment; especially from China

[Correction: For those of you who attended our session at the NASPA conference I want to correct one comment I made regarding retention rates. I indicated that the retention rate for international students at my school was higher than the general student population. I was mistaken. The reverse is true. Sorry for any misunderstanding this may have caused.]

Is it worth being linked in on LinkedIn?

You might think it would not be wise to take action that one of the top five most influential people in a field "doesn't get." I did it anyway. 

A few weeks ago Scott Stratten was invited to speak at Ryerson. Scott goes by @unmarketing on Twitter where he has nearly 120,000 followers, he has a best selling book and was recently identified as one of the top five most influential people in social media by Forbes. One comment he made in his talk was that he "didn't get" LinkedIn. It did not have have a simple and clear purpose in his mind whereas tools like Twitter or more recently Pinterest do. As a result, he felt LinkedIn will simply not be as successful and will not attract the rabid following of other tools.
 

Despite this anti-endorsement by an expert I decided my LinkedIn profile needed some attention (and had thought that for a while which won't surprise Scott). I had decided to put my name forward for staff representative of my institution's board and updating my LinkedIn profile was one way to convey my experience.
 

After less than an hour of internet searching I found a few suggestions (listed below) on how to improve my LinkedIn profile. Actions that I took which were not obvious to me before reading these tips included: making a powerful headline statement that was more than just my current job title, adding in as many specialties as well as skills and expertise to when others searching for qualified people and cleaning up the url that would direct others to my profile.
 

The basic LinkedIn stats show a significant increase in people viewing my profile over the past couple of weeks and some people outside of my network have discovered me as well. Furthermore, my profile has appeared in many more searches once the changes were made.
 

While it is too early to determine the overall effectiveness of these changes the initial feedback is encouraging. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

Sources Used:

5 Personal Branding Errors You Can Fix in 5 Minutes

Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn 

HowTo LinkedIn #2: Write a killer headline

Use LinkedIn Effectively

Traveling Through Time to See the Differences in Student Housing

A student housing professional who traveled back in time 20 years would find a different set of circumstance affecting the profession. To examine the changes that have taken place the most senior Canadian student housing officers gathered in Toronto in late November. This was the first time such a gathering was held with chief housing officers from across Canada.

To set the stage at the gathering I had an opportunity to share the following points with the group:

• Student housing looks very different today than 20 years ago. Today public-private-partnerships is an established option, real estate developers are actively targeting student housing and several Canadian schools have adopted a "first year guarantee" to assist recruitment efforts.
• The campus housing model is being scrutinized. For instance, CAUBO launched a study into the student housing business model which will culminate in a two day workshop this April.
• The rise of the public sector debt paints an uncertain future for publicly funded colleges and universities. The federal debt and most provincial debts are at their highest levels ever and post-secondary education funding continues its downward trend. 
• Canada enjoys some of the highest post-secondary education participation rates in the world, but when this fact is combined with enrollment pattern fluctuations the impact will affect institutions differently across Canada. For instance, institutions in urban centres, such as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, will benefit from larger populations in close proximity when it comes to enrollment but students who live nearby should have less of a demand for student housing. Conversely, institutions outside major cities may need to rely on student housing even more to help with recruitment. 
• The increasing focus on accountability has meant resource allocation and outcomes are monitored much more closely and work must be justified much more frequently. The introduction of the NSSE in the past decade demonstrates the new tools now in use to measure effectiveness in higher education. 

The changing landscape certainly presents new challenges for student housing professionals, but opportunities abound as well. Revenue generated from residence fees represent a significant revenue source at a time when traditional revenue sources are dwindling. Moreover, institution owned student housing has credibility with student and parents and there is a long history, especially in the US, of research that shows the benefits of living in a residence on-campus. It will be important for student housing professionals to work together to understand the changes taking place and leverage the opportunities that are presenting themselves now. Doing so will make for some great stories for the time traveler who visits from 20 years in the future.

Navigating higher ed through Ontario's financial labyrinth

Ontario's financial fate could mirror that of Greece according to articles in both the Globe & Mail and Macleans. Hardly an enviable comparison! With a debt of $230 billion now in place the government sought advice through the Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services. The Drummond Report, as its become known because Don Drummond was chairperson, was made public last month.

One of the 20 chapters in the extensive report was dedicated to post-secondary education (PSE). A total of 30 recommendations for PSE are made which are grouped into the following seven categories:

1. Contain government funding and institutional expenses;
2. Use differentiation to improve post-secondary quality and achieve financial sustainability;
3. Encourage and reward quality;
4. Revise research funding structures;
5. Maintain the current overall cap on tuition-fee increases, but simplify the framework;
6. Re-evaluate student financial assistance; and
7. Generate cost efficiencies through measures such as integrating administrative and back-office functions.

It is encouraging to see the report acknowledge the important role PSE plays in Ontario and that resources are required to address five critical challenges that lie ahead, such as the need to "educate a rising share of the population; help equalize economic and social outcomes across the population; provide an important component of lifelong learning; be an engine of innovation; and deliver quality education in an efficient manner."   

Responses to the report continue to be published. Here are links to responses to four prominent PSE related groups:

• Council of Ontario Universities
• Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario
• Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance
• Colleges Ontario

Getting Involved by Running for the Ryerson BoG

"Get Involved!" is a common phrase told to college and university students to get the most out of their student experience. When new professionals have sought my advice on how to move their career forward I often remind them to "Get Involved" in your career by presenting, volunteering or taking on additional responsibilities to learn, network and develop professionally. 

I decided it was time to try getting involved in my career in a new way by putting my name forward to represent staff on Ryerson's Board of Governors. The election campaign begins today and I thought I would share the statement I prepared for my staff colleagues:

Ryerson's reputation and influence on the community has risen a great deal in recent years. We are becoming an increasingly important player in Canada and around the world. I am excited to be part of this change and believe that it has important implications on Ryerson staff. For this reason it is essential that staff representatives make strong contributions at the board level and I believe I am the person to make these contributions.

My work at Ryerson began in 2005 but I also have the advantage of having worked at the University of Guelph, McMaster University and Georgian College. While at Georgian I was responsible for creating the first student housing department to open the college's first residence. This experience set me up well at Ryerson to establish the new Student Community Life cluster of four units in 2008.  

Outside of work I gained my MA in Education with a focus on post-secondary education administration. Furthermore, I represented my Ontario and Canadian student housing colleagues on two boards over six years; four years at the provincial level and two years internationally. I am the only person to serve at the international level who was the Ontario region President. My peers in both organizations recognized my efforts with awards: one for innovation and vision and the second for helping to globalize our profession.

Serving at the highest level of leadership at Ryerson demands someone who has experience, perspective and an ability to tackle complex issues. Working at other institutions, creating departments, serving on professional boards and being recognized for my contribution gives me the background to be a strong staff representative. Vote for Glen Weppler in this election so I can represent staff and engage with other board members who share the common goal of making Ryerson a great university.

Best of luck to everyone who has put their name forward for a position. 

Leveraging Junco's Infographic - The Relationship between Facebook & Student Engagement

Facebook can positively influence student engagement according to Rey Junco's December post Facebook and student engagement infographic. 

To help student affairs and faculty colleagues appreciate the power of social networking I have found myself referring to this infographic many times over the past couple of months. Two simple figures I have shared include the fact that students sign into Facebook nearly six times a day and that they spend over 100 minutes per day on the site. This resource is full of great nuggets of information that can be used to showcase the influence that social networking has on student engagement.

Several student affairs colleagues I've spoke with have heard about Junco's blog which has been great to discover as he has a lot of good information posted. Check it out if you have not read it: http://blog.reyjunco.com/
 

Keep your head up smartphone users

Ever seen some, typing away on their smartphone, walk into a post? Have you ever done that? With the rapid growth of smartphones we are bound to see it happen more often.

After watching the first Shift Happens video three years ago I was a big fan. The videos were produced by a US high school teacher to show the impact that technology was having in the world now and in the future. You should find a few minutes to watch these videos if you have not seen them. Five different versions now exist.

Version 4.0, which was uploaded in 2009, was the first in the series to have a significant amount of content on smartphones and mobile technology. It now seems that everyone has a smartphone on their hip or in their hands. Its amazing how much influence these devices now have in our lives--and funny when we are so focused that we forget how to walk!

Not surprisingly, research from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) published recently indicates that the rapid growth of smartphone use will continue over the next few years. Key findings of the research shared by Marketing include:

• Canadian web traffic is set to quadruple from 2009 levels by 2014
• From 25.8 million people in 2010, mobile subscribers are projected to increase to nearly 30 million in 2014
• Mobile internet subscriptions are predicted to go from 5.5 million in 2011 to 14 million in 2015

You obviously use technology if you are reading my blog and my guess is that you will have some form of smartphone so personally you can appreciate the power of mobile technology.

How have you adapted professionally to smartphone use is the question that intrigues me. I would love to hear how smartphones are impacting your work in student affairs or more generally in higher education. Please share your comments and questions... but watch where you walking though ;-)