Once a skeptic of “big data,” Danielle LeCourt (Caldwell) is now convinced of its ability to empower institutions to match students to the right programs and provide individualized support through graduation. In this Inside Higher Education opinion article, Danielle explores “big data’s” reputation and its implications for ethics in data analysis.
Read MoreWhile the online modality has been pivotal to accommodating the changing needs and lifestyles of post-traditional students, retaining online students has become a large challenge for many institutions. In this eCampus News article, ghostwritten for Helix Education's Sarah Horn, Danielle explains how online programs can use insights from neuroeducation to increase online student retention.
Read MoreWe are now fully immersed in an attention economy, and to survive in a marketplace where attention is currency, messages simply HAVE to draw attention. Unfortunately, recent research about human behavior has revealed that the amount of time you have to actually capture someone’s attention is extremely narrow—only about 200 milliseconds or so. So how on earth can you cut through the noise and draw attention in such a short amount of time? In this article, ghostwritten for Helix Education’s Seth Odell, Danielle explains how institutions can step out of their comfort zone with visually arresting design.
Read MoreOnline learning's growth shows no signs of slowing. The Online Learning Consortium estimated that 85 percent of Americans enrolled in postsecondary institutions have at least one trait of a nontraditional learner. In this article, ghostwritten for Helix Education’s Amy Hale and Emily Wood, LeCourt explores the shifting pedagogical paradigm for Inside Higher Ed’s Inside Digital Learning blog.
Read MoreThe idea of outsourcing is not without controversy in higher ed, yet the practice has proven time and again to be a mechanism of growth. By outsourcing time/resource intensive activities like marketing, enrollment/retention services, and data analytics, institutions are poised to more fully pursue their missions. This article, ghostwritten for Helix Education’s CAO Cherron Hoppes, argues that the case for outsourcing in higher ed is missional.
Read MoreAs many industries work to incorporate data and analytics into their organizational processes, education providers are also tasked with adopting a more thoroughly informed management approach. Undoubtedly, a data-driven mindset should penetrate all levels of higher education decision making, from program development to student retention and graduation. This research report, written for Helix Education in collaboration with UPCEA, outlines the landscape of decision making among higher education providers and assessed the role of data in management and leadership.
Read MoreThe elephant and the rider metaphor, coined by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, reveals how people make decisions based on two main internal processes: automatic, habitual, instinctive reactions (the elephant); and conscious reasoning (the rider). The metaphor also has surprising implications for higher ed TV spots. This article, ghostwritten by Danielle for Helix Education’s Seth Odell, explores these implications in Inside Higher Ed’s Call-to-Action blog.
Read MoreTo excel in today’s increasingly competitive environment, higher education institutions must embrace a new enrollment mindset—a mindset that envisions the goal and knows how to get there. Yet embracing this mindset requires enrollment officers to challenge some underlying assumptions of elite performance, myths about what it takes to rise to the top. In this eCampus News article, Danielle explored the new insights about peak performance and expertise to guide higher ed leaders to greater enrollment success.
Read MoreIn a medium in which clicks equal money, many marketers got really good at writing headlines that elicited a click from even the most reluctant of viewer. Yet the power of clickbait speaks to some profound underlying truths about what people want and need when entering the realm of digital communication. Danielle drew from her research in behavioral economics and behavior change communications in this piece, published in the Call-to-Action blog run by Inside Higher Ed.
Read MoreMarch season was in full swing. The most recent high-profile march at the time of publication, the March for Science, touted science as a “pillar of human freedom and prosperity.” Yet the same could be said for higher education in general, as Danielle explored in this blog post written for Helix Education.
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