Fundamentals

Dan Sullivan is President (1996-2009) Emeritus of St. Lawrence University, former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), current Chair of AAC&U’s Presidents’ Trust—100 AAC&U-member presidents who agree to be visible advocates for liberal education nationally—and a Senior Colleague in Ann Duffield and Colleagues, a small higher education consulting firm. He is also former president of Allegheny College (1986-96), and at Carleton College (1971-86) he was on the faculty, then also Dean of Academic Development and Planning, and then Vice President for Planning and Development.

Throughout his career, beginning way back at Carleton in the early 1970’s, he has been an advocate for and practitioner of research evidence-based planning—especially in the areas of admissions and financial aid, but also college or university-wide. Among his many early writings in this area is a 1983 College Board-published book with Larry Litten and David Brodigan, Applying Market Research in College Admissions, which shows the power of good market research in the development and execution of admissions recruitment strategy.

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New World Order
by Jon McGee

The passenger railroad industry collapsed and died during the 1950s not because demand for travel waned, or because the rail experience suddenly became worse, but because the means of travel options and customer preferences changed. Others stepped in to fill needs that railroads either could not or would not meet. What does this have to do with us? Read on….

Expectations, They are a Changin'
by Jon McGee

The times, they have a’changed around higher education, transforming us from a luxury good to a necessity good. And the times, they are certainly a changin’ now. If only private colleges were as adaptable as Bob Dylan. To paraphrase Bob, private colleges must admit that the waters around us have grown, and we’d better start swimmin’ or we’ll sink like a stone.

Meditations on May 1
by Jon McGee

Our enrollment funnels by and large are based on and informed by our own organizational needs, not the way families really make decisions. Instead of the traditional admission funnel, I propose we think about a market-based selection matrix designed to help us more clearly understand value and reduce the incidence of selection by fate.