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Are we Reaching Students Through Their Preferred Channels?

It feels right to create support departments, on campus, that are staffed with friendly, caring and efficient staff to assist your students. But is that based on an old communication paradigm? Do they really need us when they’re already on campus – or would they be more inclined to engage with us actively if they […]

Faculty – The Career-Readiness Missing Link

We recently attended a fabulous day of faculty development at West Tennessee Business College.  Michael Brandwein, an Emmy Award winning author and speaker, entertained and taught a room of eager faculty and staff.  The focus of his teaching was on engagement strategies for learners — how to make the classroom as engaging as possible. The […]

Innovative Idea — Admissions and Placement

In the work we do, we are lucky to work with innovative companies.  One of our clients is currently exploring new products in the Career Services space for higher education. While conducting market feasibility studies for this new product line, we encountered an innovative new idea that solves several challenges… The Challenges: a) Students want to […]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I’ve been invited to speak at the annual California Association of Private Post-secondary School Conference in Pasadena, CA this week and as I meet with new and old friends one recurring theme keeps striking up; “we’ve got to get these students working”.  This reminds me of the old expression that the definition of insanity is […]

Moving So Fast… but are we Going Forward?

I heard a presentation about the future of higher education – the crux of the speaker’s assertion was that college would cease to exist the way it did in my day — you know, the dormitories, classrooms, chalk-and-talk lectures, and hushed libraries. I don’t doubt this, although I am sad.  Not sad to see the […]

WOW! Exciting Things in Education

I recently attended Pearson’s on-line learning conference, CITE, in Orlando, and was fortunate to have been included in their keynote panel on student services.  It was very exciting to hear what colleges around the US are doing to serve students and improve student outcomes in the online learning space. What really knocked my socks off […]

What’s Cookin’ at The Sparrow Group

We are very excited to have put the final touches on our innovative “Ready 4 Work” program.  This program leverages what we’ve learned through our highly successful “Portfolio Project” and the “WOW” incentive program — and creates one comprehensive, two-part program that covers every component of Career Services effectiveness. From Admissions to Alumni Relations, the Ready […]

Next Step to Teach at the Next Level

No matter what your current role you have the opportunity to teach other people.  Whether through small one-on-one moments, or in large-group settings where you are officially a “teacher.” The challenge in these situations is that so often we assume the lesson is learned by just telling the information — and that is rarely the […]

Excellence in Placement Outcomes — It Takes a Village

Placement outcomes have oft been relegated to the career services department on campus.  That department lives or dies on their relationships with students, and the preparedness of same, yet other departments on campus are rarely accountable to preparedness measures and/or placement outcomes. In the new college environment, employment outcomes must be at the forefront of thinking […]