Spring admission is an undergraduate admissions strategy for traditional incoming freshmen. "Spring admission is a strategy to fill spots that empty in the spring when students graduate early or study abroad" (Hussain 2017). Admitting spring students is also a way to replace tuition dollars lost due to fall-admitted students'…

The oldest Millennials are now well-established in their careers, requesting flex schedules so they can take their kids to soccer practice in the afternoons; they have little in common with the typical 18- to 22-year-old undergraduate in many college classrooms. For faculty at campuses serving primarily traditional students, it seems like a good…

In today's financially strained higher education landscape, the student services infrastructure is often supported by fewer staff, less money, less experience, and less knowledge. Gone are the days when higher education staff professionals acquired the necessary education pieces, apprenticed in positions, and waited patiently for promotions. Most…

The University of Wisconsin-Madison registrar's office was already well on its way to building a progressive office culture when it took yet another step toward modernity, and opened the door to telecommuting. In this article the authors discuss how it happened when one staff member and her supervisor made the most of an unanticipated opportunity.…

Current college-aged students, broadly referred to in this article as Gen Z, are entering adulthood with the concept of gender as a spectrum rather than a binary. However, student information systems (SISs) in use throughout U.S. higher education institutions were built with retention and collection practices relative to binary sex and identity…

This article discusses the conflict that arises between rising enrollments and meaningful college learning. The author highlights data on students' response to the college environment, and offers a number of innovative ideas for fostering intellectual growth among a more diverse student body. These include: early declaration of major; rethinking…

Being a woman leader in higher education has many challenges. The author often reflects on the careers she has attained and the advice she has given to students and colleagues only to realize she has always been an advocate for improvement, advancement, and fairness. She gives advice on how women can lead authentically: (1) Take care of your body;…

A review of the literature reveals that low-income students encounter barriers to higher education. Common barriers include the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, n.d.; College Board 2010; Dwyer 2015; Feeney and Heroff 2013; Goldrick-Rab 2016; Nagaoka, Roderick and Coca 2009; Perez-Antonia 2016)…

Certified college funding specialists™ are part of a growing list of professionals who specialize in college planning. This list includes but is not limited to high school counselors, independent college advisors/consultants, and admission and financial aid representatives. This article reviews the college funding specialists and their…

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) examined nine research areas of interest to its members in 2017. Six took the form of 60-Second Surveys; one was a career profile; another examined community college completion initiatives including student attitudes about community college; and one was completed in…

In Afghanistan, the education system from primary school to higher education has faced longstanding problems related to access, quality, limited resources, and equal opportunity. The nation is one of the most impoverished, ravaged, and beleaguered in the world. Since 2001 and the collapse of the Taliban, both the government and the international…

Mentorship is a critical and necessary practice in the journey of a leader. However, there is a dark side of mentorship that includes misaligned expectations and general negative consequences. In higher education, as with any industry, those who have attained leadership roles are not always models to be followed. It is important for mentees and…

Mentoring in higher education takes many forms--faculty to student, student to student, and faculty to faculty (Phillips and Dennison 2015). Usually, we think of programs involving student mentoring as those aimed at student success, and, thus, as improving retention. This article posits that faculty-to-faculty mentoring programs also have an…

Millennials: a generation always in the news--and not just in mainstream media but in the more powerful and influential news outlet, social media. This generation has attention unlike any before (at least not since the Baby Boomers), and it is changing our world in ways we have yet to fully realize. Millennials are challenging the norms of…

The number of transfer students in U.S. postsecondary education has been growing. Of students who transferred from four-year institutions, 52 percent transferred to two-year institutions. Although transferring is an imperative for many students, little about the whereabouts of transfer students is known beyond descriptive statistics. Coupled with…