Tim Copeland's Blog on College & University Marketing and Enrollment Management

Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness – A View from Corporate America and the Nation’s Governors

I caught an interesting discussion last weekend on US Workforce Skills and Competitiveness on CSPAN.  As part of the  Governor’s Association Meeting, Governor Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), and Vice-Chair of the Education, Early Childhood & Workforce Committee hosted a televised session including presentations from executives from TPI-Composites, a manufacturing entity, and Microsoft. Interesting insight for colleges and universities programs serving adult learners.

CRM for Higher Education, What Does It Mean? - Upcoming Webinar

The topic of CRM is top-of-mind issue for many higher education professionals, from undergraduate admissions to professional and continuing education.

Facing an era of rapid and pervasive change, colleges and universities are struggling to balance the challenges of changing demographics, competition, and declining resources. With institutions increasingly competing on the same value propositions (e.g. quality, small classes, personalized attention), future success may hinge on the ability to differentiate by providing more and better service to students and constituents with the same of fewer resources.

On Friday, March 6 at 2:00 PM EST, I will be presenting a webinar entitled CRM for Higher Education, What Does it Mean? for SunGard Higher Education.

During this presentation, we will look at the art and science of CRM and context for higher education, recent research on the current relationship management practices of higher education, as well a best practices approach for moving CRM forward at your institution.

The webinar is free and is available to those currently working at colleges or universities (sorry, fellow vendors). Register now

New Warning for Collegiate Conferencing Directors: Corporate Travel is Being Cut Dramatically

Twice as many U.S. companies as previously expected are cutting their travel spending in response to the economic weakness and uncertainly. This according to today’s USA Today (Money, Section B). The Associate of Corporate Travel Executives says 71% of their member companies now plan to spend less on travel this year as compared to last. Less than five months ago, only 33% said they planned to cut back demonstrating the unprecedented shift in the economy future expectations.

Combine this market outlook with the strain on higher education resources and collegiate conferencing units are facing extraordinary times.

How do you move forward in 2009?

Balancing the Budget ... State Furloughs and Employee Ire

Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) acknowledged Monday what everybody at the Capitol already suspected: lawmakers won’t be able to balance the state budget without more furlough’s of the government’s 100,000 employees. This is according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution's James Salzer.

While many state agencies have forced employees to take days off with pay for months, this has not been the case for University system employees  (see Is the Academic World Sharing the Economic Pain?) ... to date.

Employees are now reacting online. Here's a sample of the comments: