News Archives

Registrar for Stephens College

 Career Opportunity   Registrar   Our Vision: Founded in 1833, Stephens College is the second-oldest women's college in the United States, dedicated to providing innovative, experiential, and career-focused education across various disciplines. Located in Columbia, Missouri, Stephens College continues

Financial Aid Modeling – Do You Have It Correct?

Education is Important:  The Challenges of Financial Aid First, a little stroll down Memory Lane -- in the 1980’s and 90’s, the cost of attending private institutions outpaced the inflation rate, making it harder for institutions to enroll students.

Records Retention Program – Imperative for Higher Education

Records Retention Program – Imperative for Higher Education Retention of student academic records used to be straightforward.  Student records were typically physical documents.  There was an actual document, either paper, microfiche, or pdf.  Documents were easy to move to

Process Mapping: A Strategic Approach for the Optimization of Work

Process Mapping:  A Strategic Approach for Optimization of Work The consulting team at focusEDU has the process mapping expertise to assist the leadership of higher education.  Can higher education improve admissions, financial aid, registrar and student financial services? When

Increase Enrollment by Diversifying Student Cohorts

  Increase Enrollment by Diversifying Student Cohorts Increase enrollment by diversifying student cohorts. While higher education continues to face headwinds driven by economic, demographic, and social shifts, we are beginning to see some positive trajectory in key areas, according

Bruce Cunningham Promoted to Vice President at focusEDU

Bruce Cunningham Promoted to Vice President at focusEDU The Advisory Board of focusEDU accepted the recommendation of Mr. Herb Riley, President and CEO of focusEDU LLC to promote Sr. Consulting Director, Dr. Bruce Cunningham from Sr. Consulting Director for

P.A.C.T. – The Standard for Student Service

P.A.C.T.  -  The Standard for Student Service P: Prompt and Patient service PROMPT Students expect and deserve to be waited on as quickly as possible as a standard for student service. This principle is true for both in-person office

Summer Melt — Missing a Few New Students?

Melting in the Enrollment Climate For many of us, the summer heat was scorching. For many colleges, summer melt and management was a searing annual reality once again. According to the Strategic Data Project at Harvard University, 10 to

Higher Education Consultant – Is It You?

Higher Education Consultant – Is It You? You have had a successful working career in a higher education administrative position; you have been a leader in your professional associations; you have received institutional recognition and awards for your excellent

Step 1 – Define the Engagement

Every engagement starts with a confidential discussion to understand the specific facts and circumstances of your situation. Then, we send out a written agreement which outlines the terms of service, the expected time to complete the work and the

Best Higher Education Search Firms

Choosing The Top Higher Education Search Firms 5 Important Factors to Assist You The team at focusEDU has the higher education search consultant expertise to assist the leadership of higher education.  Choosing the best higher education search consultants can

Higher Education Strategic Planning

Insights on Higher Education Strategic Planning Higher education strategic planning is a cornerstone for institutional success.  A Strategic Business Plan is a needed, useful and mandatory tool for articulating an institution’s mid to long-term goals and directions. An institution’s

Step 3 – Proposal for the Engagement

focusEDU will prepare a Proposal for the engagement that will outline objectives, a time-line, scope of services and provide a pricing quote for institutional review. Once there is mutual agreement of the terms of the engagement, the document is

Step 2 – Meet the Consultant(s)

Based on the initial engagement, focusEDU will assess institutional needs as were discussed in Step 1 and arrange an audio/visual meeting (usually Zoom, but we do use all similar platforms) with institutional leadership and the selected focusEDU consultant(s)/advisors to

Financial Aid Equity and Institutional Revenue Impact

Financial Aid Strategies and College Revenue Impact In the 1980’s and 90’s, the cost of attending private institutions outpaced the rate of inflation, making it harder for institutions to enroll students. The cost was far greater than what families