Higher Voltage

Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Ed Comms - Kevin Tyler and Alice Cheng-McConnell

Higher ed marketers want to portray their schools as diverse and inclusive. But how do they do that in a way that is authentic and doesn't misrepresent the actual makeup of their student bodies? Kevin Tyler and Alice Cheng-McConnell explore with our host, Heather Dotchel on the latest episode of Higher Voltage.

Accessibility in Higher Ed Communications – Alexa Heinrich and Erika Boltz

Accessibility in Higher Ed Communications – Alexa Heinrich and Erika Boltz by Volt

The Pandemic and Higher Ed Professional Development – Gail Towns and Catherine Feminella

Higher ed marketing professionals love a good conference. So how are folks connecting and learning from one another with the traditional conference calendar blown up?

Social Media, Non-Stop Crisis Comms & Mental Health – Jon-Stephen Stansel and Krista Boniface

The Volt podcast returns, as guests Jon-Stephen Stansel and Krista Boniface explore the toll that managing higher ed social media communications takes on the professionals on those front lines. Host Heather Dotchel is our guide, as Higher Voltage (formerly the Hashtag Higher Ed podcast) kicks off.

Ep35. What Does it Mean to be Creative? - Amma Marfo - Fun Enterprises

When was the last time you were creative? Did you take a moment to recognize your own accomplishment? Did you share that feeling with others? Creativity is a sticky subject; difficult to identify and harder to hone. And yet, we are surrounded by it, personally and professionally. In the season 2 finale of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Amma Marfo, speaker and consultant at Fun Enterprises, joins the show for a special in-studio episode to talk about all things creativity. We discuss how to recognize your own creativity, getting comfortable with sharing your projects and accomplishments, why higher education is ripe for new ideas, and how to breed an environment that lends itself to creative thinking.

Ep34. Getting Transparent about the Cost of Attendance - Nate Hibma - Calvin College

According to the 2018 e-Expectations report, cost/tuition information and scholarship opportunities are the two primary reasons prospective college students visit your website. And yet, across higher education, financial aid pages are littered with insider language, fine print, and confusing instructions. But Calvin College has taken a different approach. In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Nate Hibma, Assistant Director of Web Services at Calvin College, shares the story behind Calvin's take on college affordability, “Cutting the Price Tag.” We discuss the casual voice and tone of the content, how Hibma and his team structured the page for scannability, and why talking talking to students (and parents) about financial aid in a style they understand is more important now than ever. See the Page: https://calvin.edu/offices-services/financial-aid/affordability/

Ep33. Content Repurposing on Campus - Justin Laing - University of Queensland

Across higher education, marketers are routinely being asked to increase their content production. And yet, in a 2018 survey by TerminalFour, the majority of marketers said their marketing team and budget had either not changed or decreased in the past 24 months. How can marketers work smarter, rather than just harder? In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, Justin Laing, Senior Manager, Strategic Marketing and Communications at the University of Queensland, discusses his initiative to repurpose content, with a goal of producing ten pieces of content from one hour with a researcher on campus. We talk about where this idea came from, the logistics of repurposing content, and Justin’s advice for implementing this idea on your campus.

Ep32. Alexa, are Voice Assistants the Next Big Thing on Campus? - David Hakanson - SLU

Whether you personally own a voice assistant or not, you’ve certainly heard about their growing popularity. One in six US adults (or around 39 million people) now own a voice-activated smart speaker, and 50% of all searches are projected to be voice searches by 2020. But can voice assistants work on campus? Do we need them to? In this episode of the Hashtag Higher Ed Podcast, David Hakanson, Vice President, CIO, and Chief Innovation Officer at Saint Louis University, discusses the decision to place Amazon Echo Dots at SLU’s 2,300+ residence areas, how his team implemented the deployment in just three months, how students are using these devices, and how SLU is balancing access to information with student privacy concerns.