bodner089

The 19 th meeting of the National Association of Branch Campus Administrators (NABCA) was held in Delaware last week, and as usual, it was a fine success.   The meeting was hosted by Wilmington University, with attendance approaching 100 individuals.   Special credit goes to our extraordinary executive director, joyce gilley gossum, as well as to President Faimous Harrison, Conference Chair Rebecca Burton, Vice Chair Ali Crane, and site hosts Melanie Baldwin and Tom Hurd. The program was excellent, as we’ve come to expect.   In particular, the two keynote addresses were both entertaining and inspiring.   On Thursday, educator Scott Paine spoke on “Where the Story Begins,” and on Friday, we heard from adventurer Matt McFadyen,   “Journey to the End of the Earth.”   Neither speaker was specifically addressing branch campuses or their issues, but they gave us a lot to think about.   Good decisions by the program committee! I continue t...

In my last few posts I’ve emphasized the need for branch campus leaders to immerse themselves in data, studying enrollment trends in order to better understand changes that are unfolding across the country.   Recognizing trends is fundamental to effective strategic thinking. I’ve suggested some simple ways of following trends, also urging leaders to aggressively tell the story of how their campus contributes to the local community and serves an audience that is quite distinct from those seeking either a traditional residential experience or a fully online program.   Nevertheless, despite my belief that branch campuses serve an important mission and audience, I am concerned about their future, even as I observe the creation of new branches every year. To begin with, the continuing growth of online enrollment is bound to affect branch campuses.   Across the country, institutions struggle to maintain enrollment and balance their budgets, with the result th...