As the economy recovers and #HigherEd moves forward, we will see growth in agencies/vendors (in terms of staff headcount and revenue), and a corresponding need for campuses to partner with them to achieve their goals. Why?

Many of the talented specialists are leaving campus. Agencies/vendors who are willing to invest in balanced, supportive, innovative work environments with the option for remote employment are able to have their pick of talented campus employees who are experiencing a return to restrictive work environments, low pay, no balance.

It’s long been my personal opinion that we shouldn’t have most students on campus this fall. But it’s not my job to decide. As a higher ed adjacent professional, I’ve made a choice to support this industry.

Challenge and support, yes. But ultimately, support. Not shame. Continually restating my opinion or publicly dragging leaders whose choices I disagree with isn’t helpful. I ultimately want to help the industry, not harm it.

The industry may be causing itself enough harm this year. It doesn’t need me to cause more harm.

Systemic racism exists, and it make life harder, unfair, and more dangerous for non-White people every day. White people must recognize and dismantle systemic racism, because we were the ones who created the systems that perpetuate it. Need some examples? Ok, let's go. <thread> Black people (especially if they have "black sounding names") are less likely to receive responses to job applications than white people.

Evidence:
2003 - nber.org/digest/sep03/w…
2017 - hbswk.hbs.edu/item/minoritie… - also includes Asian applicants

Yesterday I had a really great call with a VP of Marketing and Enrollment at a small, private, liberal arts college. He said his cabinet colleagues expected Communication to “be all knowing regarding what is being said about campus.” While recognizing how challenging that is, He said, “and I think I want that too. Can @CampusSonar help me with that?”

Of course, my eyes lit up. While we can’t promise you will be “all knowing,” we can promise you’ll know more and feel like you have the pulse of conversation about your campus at all times.

White people: The uncomfortable feeling you're feeling right now... just wanting the protests to end and to "go back to how things were." That's White fragility. Recognizing for a moment that you are not more important than anyone else because of the color of your skin. The first time I was confronted with this and felt it was in graduate school at Marquette, when we read "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh. If you haven't read it yet, I urge you to read it now: racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/…

Per usual, I’m thinking about higher education.

I’m going to say some things that will make some people mad, and others question my sanity. But I’m usually a pretty level-headed thinker so I’m forging ahead and saying some things that need to be said.

Thread time. I fear that if campuses aren’t planning to offer their high-quality education experience fully online for an entire academic year, they may be signing their own death warrant.

#HigherEd furloughs and layoff announcements are starting. Don't pretend it's not happening. Support affected colleagues. Prepare yourself in case it happens.

It's helpful to know the difference between the two terms and how they affect employees--and how we can help each other. A furlough is a way for an organization to find immediate budget savings without reducing their workforce. Furlough = forced time off without pay. It will often be announced as a # of days per year or per pay period. It is time you're not being paid for and not allowed to work.

Thread alert! I'm at the #AMAHigherEd opening keynote. Very excited to hear from @brandonbusteed. Talk title: "How to Sell Higher Ed." Settle in folks, I've got a keyboard ready to go. @brandonbusteed His keynote starts silently. @brandonbusteed is leading with data. Data that tells a story that the expectations and economics of higher education are misaligned. "I'm going to start by saying that I believe it's my job and your job to fix it."
#AMAHigherEd

A rant is brewing. It’s not the most coherent thread I’ve ever published, but I’m going to throw it out to the internet tonight. I’m not subtweeting or throwing shade. Just thinking out loud on a topic that’s been eating at me for years.

AHEM:

Products & services cost something And often, the cost is correlated with the quality. But we (higher ed, social media pros, marketers) have been spoiled with a glut of tools and resources that appear to be free.

Free social media platforms.
Free management software.
Free analytics.
Free CRMs.
Free training.