UB Buzz

Study Says College Students Prefer Printed Text Over Digital

   A new report by the National Association of College Stores says that, despite the growing market and variety of e-book readers, such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and Apple's iPad, college students  are decidedly "old school" when it comes to reading. According to the report conducted by NACS' OnCampus Research division, 74 percent of college students still prefer to use a printed textbook when taking a class.

In addition, 53% of students were unsure about purchasing digital textbooks or would not consider buying them even if they were available. The study was conducted last fall (before the introduction of the iPad, it should be noted) at 19 campuses nationwide.

“The findings of the report are not surprising,” says OnCampus Research Manager Laura Cozart. “Every new innovation takes time before the mainstream population embraces it.”

E-books comprise only 2 to 3 percent of course material sales at NACS member stores, but Cozart predicts that figure could be as much as 10 to 15 percent of textbook sales by 2012.

College Baseball Team's Troops Salute

Last year, the NCAA Division I men's baseball team at the University of the Pacific showed very visible support for their friends fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq: keeping their traditional black-and-orange Tigers uniforms in their lockers for Sunday home games and donning camouflage instead. This season they took things a step further, boosting town/gown relations in a community hit hard by the recession at the same time. Veterans -- both local Tigers fans and those who come to the games to support the visiting teams -- and their immediate families get in free for these games.  In addition, the first pitch is thrown by a distinguished U.S. veteran. The games feature color guards, salutes to veterans, and informational booths and tents throughout the concourse at Pacific's Klein Family Field.  

The program - called Salute the Troops -- grew this year to include the involvement of Pacific faculty members who have served in the military, students, and local veterans' organizations, says Noah St. Urbain, assistant baseball coach. Members of the team, other students, staff, and a number of individuals from the off-campus community have gotten involved.  "There are so many helpful resources for veterans in the community," says St. Urbain, "but many people may not know about them, so this is a great way for them to make their services available to those attending the games."

The series will culminate in a Memorial Day ceremony on May 30th as the Tigers take on UC Santa Barbara. "A U.S. Army Chinook helicopter will land on a nearby practice field," says St. Urbain, "and the crew will offer tours to local kids." The Tigers will take to the field following a 21-gun salute. The team's camouflage jerseys will be auctioned off during the game, with proceeds to benefit local
veterans' outreach groups.

The whole program sounds like a win-win to us. And it's a good example of how an institution can build on a successful idea and enhance community relations at the same time.

Cleaning Up Your IT

CDW-G has compiled a seven-step “spring cleaning” checklist to help organizations such as higher ed institutions correctly and cost-effectively maintenance their IT infrastructure. They include:

1) Consolidate data center server and storage systems. Eliminating excess servers and storage equipment–or even entire data centers–can reduce energy and management costs. Blade servers can pack more computing power into less space, while server and storage virtualization can help allocate consolidated computing resources effectively, reducing excess capacity and costs.

2) Update, replace, or simply remove software and hardware that are no longer supported or way out of date. It is one thing to be frugal about replacements and upgrades, but organizations can take on high operational and financial risk by running systems so far past their prime that little or no support is available when they break down.

3) Review desktop computing for opportunities to improve energy efficiency. Opportunities to save significant money may be staring us right in the face: “Standing load” from unused computers or printers still plugged in; desktop computers and peripherals running around the clock when they don’t need to be; failure to make the most of the power management functions built into desktop operating systems. For selected operations, some organizations could consider thin client architecture, which saves energy and can also reduce application support costs and boost security.

4) Ditto for the data center. Power and cooling technologies have improved significantly, and blade server deployments tend to increase power and cooling requirements. If an organization has deployed new server and storage systems but still leans on the old power, cooling and management strategies, there are still more energy efficiency opportunities in the data center.

5) Make a tiered storage plan and make smart use of old systems. Reduce, reuse and recycle.  Match the investment in storage systems with the value and currency of the data residing on them, and de-duplicate archived data. For long-term storage of inactive data or just for an economical, periodic backup of current data, even old tape systems can still work well in many situations.

6) Capitalize on cloud and hosted/managed services offerings. For select software applications or hardware infrastructure, cloud computing and hosted or managed services can offer economies of scale, quality of support and convenience that many organizations would be challenged to match with internal resources. Outsourcing applications or facilities helps organizations de-clutter data centers. 

7) Streamline operations by updating security group policy and user group designs. Network updates can be painfully slow when one administrator is responsible for updating multiple groups and becomes a bottleneck. Streamline operations and free up time on both ends by updating the group policy design to grant access and rights to trusted users within major groups. Just be conscious that granting too many people access and rights to groups increases risk of data loss, so aim for an organized policy that balances productivity and security concerns.

Who was YOUR commencement speaker?

It's that time of year again when celebrities from the A-list to the Z-list appear at colleges and universities to deliver the commencement address to the graduating class. I remember the controversy in my hometown when Western Connecticut State University chose Bob Keeshan -- better known to the world as Captain Kangaroo -- as the speaker one year. These days, I don't even think anyone would give it a second thought. The Daily Beast has an article today on the Top 30 Graduation Speakers. Who was yours?

Cost-Effective Exclusives

Three new articles in the Online Only section of University Business magazine's website may vary by topic but they all touch on the importance of keeping costs in check. They accompany the May issue.

- " 'The Flu Shot' for Your Endowment"
Like the cold/flu season, no institution is completely immune to the fiscal effects caused by the economic downturn. However, the current times are not entirely to blame. Timothy C. Phillips, founder and CEO of Phillips & Company, a wealth management firm, writes that heavy losses for foundations and/or endowments can be just as much a result of poor decision making. Phillips defines three key factors that can lead to tragic financial mismanagement and what officials should do instead.

- "A Cost-effective Approach to Building University Residence Halls: Four Case Studies"
Getting a structural engineer involved early on in the construction of a residence hall not just helps with scheduling, but can also aid with cost-related decisions such as purchasing the appropriate building materials. Stephen Metz, the P.E. principal at Shelley Metz Baumann Hawk, a full-service structural engineering firm, tells how three Ohio universities and one college carried out this idea successfully.

- "Do Less with Less (Because we’re probably not going back to having more…)"
Budget cuts, increased workloads, and personnel changes are among the reasons for administrative departments having to take on a "doing more with less" business approach. Yes, Kent Sipes understands. In his piece though, he argues that this notion doesn't necessarily mean that an institution's valued customers, i.e., students, have to suffer. A communications and training consultant at CedarCrestone, Sipes suggests that perhaps a college or university can better serve them by behaving more intelligently. He explains what can be done.

Virtual Campaign a Success

As a May UB news story shared, on April 22 Binghamton University (N.Y.) likely became the first higher ed institution to launch a new gift campaign as a virtual event. The campaign to raise $95 million targeted alumni of the university and was hailed a success by both university officials and alumni. 

The target of 1,000 people to log in to the event within the two-hour evening event was surpassed as the site had over 1,500 visits and close to 20,000 page views from participants across the world. From my own experience as a student with online forums and chat rooms, I didn’t think the campaign would be as popular as it turned out to be. Because of the measures taken by Binghamton to appeal to all of their alumni as well as the multifaceted nature of the campaign, it seems to have been overwhelmingly engaging and fun for alumni to participate in. This sort of event could easily flop if not handled correctly, but because Binghamton put the time and effort into their event, they ensured it was enjoyable for alumni, and thus successful for the university.

The event used innovative ways to accomplish this feat—from short one-minute videos and 360 degree views of campus to entries for free prizes. Alumni connected to each other in chat rooms, the most popular of which were ones for residence halls. Twitter feeds and Facebook updates kept “partygoers” interested and engaged in opportunities on other pages.

Far more people were able to attend the launch of Binghamton’s new online campaign than the last launch, a traditional in-person event that took place in 2003 and only involved a few hundred people.

Is your institution launching a virtual event that you're proud of? We would love to hear about it.

Making Move-Out Day Greener

Dealing with the debris left behind on college and university campuses after students leave for the summer is as much of a ritual as finals.

With the emphasis on sustainability in recent years, most institutions are tackling the issue head on with collection bins in which students can leave unwanted items. Usually the focus is on clothing, unopened food, and household furnishing, but Bryant University (R.I.) has added textbooks to the mix.

Project Tanzania is a volunteer initiative at Bryant University through which students collect used textbooks and ship them to universities in Tanzania. Bryant sophomore Chris Brida was just honored as one of the nation’s five “Liberty Mutual Responsible Scholars” for his work to expand involvement in the project to other colleges/universities in Rhode Island. 

“Project Tanzania is basically an effective recycling program,” Brida says. “At the end of every semester, we collect textbooks that students are not able to send back to the bookstore, sort them, stamp them, box them up and then send them to universities in Tanzania." 

Last semester, Brida and classmates in one of his management courses helped collect more than 800 textbooks from Bryant, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, Providence College and the University of Rhode Island. “The biggest need is for art, engineering, medicine and law books, so we worked to fill these requests,” he says. 

Usually the abandoned objects don't travel so far. Sometimes they are resold the following semester in an on campus store to help make move-in day more affordable, as is the case at St. Lawrence University (N.Y). When we wrote about the program last year, we learned students are also given advice on arriving green as well. Other campuses donate the items to local charities. Lafayette College (Pa.) President Daniel Weiss shares his suggestions for move-out day greener in this article.

Now That's Service

In Jean A. Wolfe’s role as student services training manager for Davenport University (Mich.), she travels regularly to many of the institution’s 14 locations. “The facilities personnel are professional, courteous, helpful and eager to assist me with everything from ensuring I have meetings rooms and that they are set up for presentations, to tracking down supplies, equipment, conference phones and more,” she says, adding that every team member she has encountered “is a delight to work with.” Here, in her own words, is how one facilities staffer when above and beyond to provide great service.

It’s 5 o’clock on a bitterly cold, snowy, and windy Friday. I’m headed out after a long week and eager to get started on my 2-1/2 hour commute home. It will be good to get on the road and get started on the weekend. Or so I think.

Walking up to my car, I find a completely FLAT, FLAT, FLAT tire. Knowing there would be few folks left after 5 p.m., I called and asked for security. Within minutes of my call, the security officer on duty came out to the parking lot, bringing with him Travis Novak from Facilities and Maintenance. I was in hopes of a recommendation for a towing company … or at most, let me borrow an air compressor to get enough air in the tire to get me to a repair shop. That’s all I expected.

My expectations were soon to be forgotten, as Travis took care of my car as if it were his own. And he took care of me. First, he made sure I was ok and let me stay inside where it was warm. From there, he continued to meet every crazy obstacle that could possibly arise.

He accessed the tire and recommended that he could try to change it, as adding air simply wasn’t safe and most likely wouldn’t hold to get me very far.

He called around to find a tire store that would be open late on a Friday night and made an appointment for me.

Once he found Firestone to be open until 8, he then asked, “Do you have a spare?” Well, yes, but we will have to unload the trunk first—and it was PACKED as full as it possibly could be and still close.

Boxes of training materials for work had to be removed before he could get to the spare “donut” tire.  Only to find out the “donut” was flat, too!

Travis took the “donut” up to the service area and pumped it up. He then suggested that he put the donut on the back so I would be able to steer better, and put the back tire on the front. Until he then found that the back tire was in terrible shape. Too bad to drive on, as the belts were showing through. His thorough assessment of the entire situation saved me from (another) tire disaster waiting to happen!

On top of that, the wheels were stuck on … he wasn’t able to get them off the car.

Now faced with a situation in which I wouldn’t be able to get to the Firestone store, he helped me reach a towing company, called Firestone back to let them know I would be late, and repacked all the boxes back into my car.

All the while, Travis also took care of all maintenance issues (his “regular” duties) that came up on campus, everything from a leaking sink in the kitchen area to a faulty smoke alarm in the residence hall, all with professionalism, composure, compassion, and a genuine sense of caring and “calmness” that made me feel as if all would be ok. I could tell he extends that same sense of “all will be ok” to everyone and every situation he encounters, large or small.

He allowed me to stay in a warm area until the tow driver arrived, drove me out to the parking lot in the “maintenance cart” so I would stay warm and made sure I was safe and “on my way” to getting my car back to a drivable state.

Travis seemed to shrug it off as “I just did what I felt was needed at the time” and “I just try to help all I can.” He may think it was all part of “doing his job”—to me it meant the difference between being stranded and being warm, safe and hopeful! To my husband, it meant a sense of “it will be okay” instead of helpless to assist me from 2 1/5 hours away. Travis may have thought it was “all part of the job,” but to anyone who has experienced car troubles miles from home, we know how much the kindness of people like Travis means.

He could have easily given me a phone number and went about the rest of his evening, and I would have appreciated that ... his genuine concern AND actions to ensure the best, safest outcome for me mean more than I can ever begin to repay him. He could have simply responded to my request, but his thoroughness and knowledge helped to avoid an even more dangerous situation for me … a likely blowout on the highway in the middle of nowhere! His actions are a true demonstration of EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS and a stellar example of caring and compassion. Travis is an example for all of us to follow—I only hope I can give my work the same kind of 150 percent that Travis demonstrates in his.

For more on what college and university facilities departments are doing to provide stellar service and the trend toward a service focus, see “Fast, Friendly Fix-Its,” a May issue feature.

 

A Walk to Remember, 40 Years Later

A guided walking tour and a historic registration are two ways Kent State University (Ohio) will commemorate the 40th anniversary of a campus tragedy and its far-reaching impact. On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of demonstrators, killing four and injuring nine Kent State students.

This afternoon, May 3, a dedication will honor the placing of the site of the shootings on the National Register of Historic Places. The U.S. Department of the Interior awarded Kent State with this landmark status in late February.

The ceremony will unveil the new walking tour exhibit for the site, installed on the university's campus this spring. The exhibit for the May 4 Walking Tour will feature interpretive panels (such as the photo, provided by Kent State, shown above right) at each of the walk's seven stops. The panels contain pictures, maps, and written descriptions.

Each trail marker will center on key aspects and events on that day.

Video and audio content, narrated by civil rights activist Julian Bond, will compliment the tour's trail markers. They will be accessible by a hand-held mobile device (for a video documentary) or by cell phone (for the audio).

The tour is a part of the Kent State May 4 Visitors Center, which will be housed in Taylor Hall, an academic building near the site. Fundraising for the center is underway.

Learn more about the center and the walking tour here.