Getting the Most out of College

Tomorrow I'll head off to bring my oldest daughter off to college.  I'm incredibly excited for her, but I know that I'll miss her a great deal.  Each year on this blog, I often provide some advice for incoming college students... hoping my own students will take a look and perhaps heed some of my advice.  This year, I want to share some thoughts from a very good column in the New York Times this week.  Frank Bruni wrote a column titled, "How To Get The Most Out of College."   Among other things, he touches on some of the key findings from research by Gallup, Purdue University and the Strada Education Network.  Here's Bruni's summary of the results of that work (emphasis added): 

Previously known as the Gallup-Purdue Index and now called the Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey, it has questioned about 100,000 American college graduates of all ages about their college experiences, looking for connections between how they spent their time in college and how fulfilled they say they are now. The study has not found that attending a private college or a highly selective one foretells greater satisfaction. Instead, the game changers include establishing a deep connection with a mentor, taking on a sustained academic project and playing a significant part in a campus organization. What all of these reflect are engagement and commitment, which I’ve come to think of as overlapping muscles that college can and must be used to build. They’re part of an assertive rather than a passive disposition, and they’re key to professional success.

My experience validates this research finding.  My students who have achieved these "game changers" have achieved academic and professional success, while thriving personally as well.  Find a mentor, engage in an in-depth piece of academic work, and become a leader of a campus organization or initiative.  Those are key elements to a successful college experience.  

Why Bryant?

Bryant University's Academic Innovation Center

As high school seniors make their college decisions this month, I thought that I would offer my perspective on why Bryant University is a terrific choice for young people.   I've been a faculty member at Bryant for twelve years now, and I truly love the community.   Here are my top ten reasons why students should choose Bryant:

1.  Outcomes!  Students at Bryant University achieve very successful outcomes at the end of their four years here, no matter the way you measure results.   If you would like to measure learning outcomes, then consider the student performance on the Educational Testing Service's Major Field Test in Business.  Our mean student performance ranks ahead of 90% of the institutions that administer this exam to graduating seniors. As for job placement, our students secure terrific jobs and earn strong salaries. The federal government’s College Scorecard ranks our institution very high in return on investment among peers (including top school in Rhode Island).   Money magazine ranked us as one of the top 50 colleges in the nation that add the most value.  Finally, in terms of graduate school placement, our students have gained admission in the past few years to prestigious graduate schools including MIT, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, University of Chicago, UVA, Yale, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Emory, NYU and many more.  

2.  Competitive Success:  Our students participate regularly in academic competitions around the country, and they have excelled.   They have routinely outperformed students at much larger universities.  Our students have won the National Financial Plan competition twice in recent years, and we have a finalist again this year.   Our Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization has earned Best Chapter in the nation on five occasions over the past eleven years. A Bryant team won first place in the Asset Management Case Competition in Boston this month.  Our finance students took home first place this winter in the multi-asset category at the GAME financial forum on Wall Street.  Our teams also have earned a top 10 finish in the National Collegiate Sales Competition and made the finals of the PwC xTax competition.   At the Federal Reserve Challenge this year in Boston, our students earned second place, finishing ahead of teams from Yale, Dartmouth, Boston College, Bentley, and many others.  

3.  Hands-on, Experiential Learning:  Our students do not simply sit and listen to lectures and memorize facts from textbooks.  Bryant has pioneered many forms of experiential learning.  Our students complete many projects for companies over the course of four years here, gaining critical practical experience on issues ranging from logistics to marketing to international business.   Many employers cite this practical hands-on experience as a critical differentiator for our students.  We also have teams of students dedicated to investing more than $1 million of Bryant funds in both equities and fixed income securities, providing them valuable practical experience.  Many schools have equity investment funds, but few have also developed opportunities for students to gain experience with fixed income investing.  

4.  Innovation:  Bryant University became a national pioneer when it created the first-ever design thinking program for all first-year students (the IDEA program).   All students at Bryant, regardless of their major, are introduced to this highly effective creative problem-solving methodology in a hands-on, immersive program during their first year.   Bryant also pioneered the use of upperclassmen as mentors to the first-year students in this program, and we have involved 150-200 alumni in this program each year as mentors and judges.    We like to say that we teach innovation here at Bryant AND we teach innovatively.  We have dedicated ourselves to finding new and creative ways to teach and learn on campus, with faculty constantly experimenting with new methods and techniques.  

5.  Faculty Achievement and Expertise:  Our faculty do not simply sit in the ivory tower pondering big ideas.  Most of our business faculty have practical experience in the private sector prior to becoming academics, and they continue to gain important knowledge through their consulting work with many organizations.   Our  full-time faculty includes a former managing director at Putnam Investments, a former senior economist at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the former Chief Analytics Officer at Epsilon, a retired partner from KPMG, a former US Air Force logistics officer, a former Senior Deputy Director at the the US Treasury's Office of Thrift Supervision, and many more individuals with valuable real world expertise.  Moreover, our faculty have assembled impressive scholarly records with research publications in leading journals.   We have a number of Fulbright scholars on our faculty, and professors such as Ken Sousa and Charles Quigley have published popular textbooks.  

6.  Leadership Opportunities:  We provide our students with a variety of leadership opportunities here on campus.  As a result, they develop their leadership capabilities in many ways beyond the classroom. We give them the freedom to pursue their interests and take the initiative to create amazing new experiences.  For instance, our students created and organized our first-ever TEDx Bryant conference.   They also put together the Bryant University Northeast Entrepreneurship Conference completely on their own.  Our students take on critical leadership roles in our IDEA program, serving as mentors to first-year students and helping to organize the entire program.  

7.   Student Research:  Our students have the opportunity to collaborate closely with faculty members on research projects, with conference presentations and publications resulting from some of this work.  For instance, our Honors students produce theses during their senior year, and a number of students have published their work.  For example, one thesis led to a published case study about startup accelerators, while another published a journal article about the efficacy of the devil's advocate in team decision making.  

8.   Mentorship:  Our faculty members teach small classes, and we get to know the students very well.  As a result, we spend a great deal of time mentoring our students, helping them discern their career path, and assisting in the job search process.  Many firms reach out to our faculty when they have specific hiring needs, and we are able to direct these companies to specific students with the knowledge that they need.  Our faculty don't just spend time with students in the classroom or at office hours.  In our small, close-knit community, we interact with students in many ways beyond the classroom, forming relationships that last a lifetime.  

9.  Service:  Our students engage in service in a variety of ways.  They organize the Special Olympics on campus, put together an impressive Relay for Life event each year, and raise funds for a wide variety of organizations.  However, they do not just volunteer their time. We have ample opportunities in the curriculum where students engage in service learning.  Thus, they explore interesting intellectual questions in class, and they apply their knowledge through work in the field with non-profit organizations.  Bryant is one of the only schools where every student in the core required management course must complete a service learning project of their choosing. 

10.  Global Perspective:   We have infused a global perspective throughout the university.  Our students can not only study abroad, but also pursue internships in foreign countries while they are studying abroad.  Our international business students also work on consulting projects where they help local companies expand their global footprint.   We have many students pursuing minors in foreign languages, giving them an enhanced ability to work in international settings.  We have hired faculty with expertise in emerging markets around the world.  Finally, our Chafee Center for International Business serves several hundred local companies each year, providing export assistance, training, and the like.  The center provides our students with opportunities to work on campus, gaining valuable research and consulting experience.  

As you can see, Bryant University has much to offer, thanks in large part to many faculty members who are passionate about their vocation and who are care deeply about their students.  I hope that this brief essay has been helpful as students consider their college choices this April.  Good luck, everyone! 

Advice for First-Year College Students

It's that time of year... here's a blog post from several years ago regarding advice for first-year college students.  

Starting College: Words of Advice

1. Pick your faculty, not just your courses. Ten years from now, it won't matter much if you took "18th Century French History" or "Cognitive Psychology" in your freshmen year, but you will remember the faculty member who made a huge difference in your life. Seek out the professors who care the most, who have a passion for teaching, and who are willing to spend time outside the classroom with students. Building those relationships early in your college career, and finding good mentors, can have a huge impact. 

2. Be smart about personal finance. Think carefully about how you manage your money. The habits you cultivate at 18 years of age will last a lifetime. Have a great time, but don't take on unnecessary debt and don't spend carelessly. 

3. Redefine how you study. For many students, studying means reading or re-reading the textbook and their notes from class. I would encourage you to think differently about studying. As you prepare for an exam, sit down with all your class materials, and write out a detailed review of the entire course. Then, boil that review down to just 1 or 2 pages. Then, boil it down again to just a few note cards. That process of having to synthesize and integrate all your learning in writing will have much more impact than a few extra hours spent re-reading the same tired words from a textbook.  Then, most importantly, quiz yourself!  Forcing yourself to retrieve knowledge from your memory will be extremely helpful as you prepare for tests.  

4. Seek out your own space. Don't count on studying in your dorm room. Far too much distraction exists in the dorm room. Find a spot on campus in which you are comfortable, and in which you can focus. For many, it will be a spot in the library. However, there may be other locations as well. If you do go to the library, don't sit in a high traffic area where you will constantly be approached by friends. 

5. Care for your whole self - mind, body, and soul. Don't just focus on academics. Stay in physical shape, take care of your spiritual well-being, and be mindful of your stress level. 

6. Read constantly about world events. You might think I'm crazy. After all, you will have tons of assigned reading in your courses. Who has time for more reading? Actually, staying abreast of current events in world affairs, business, science, and the like will be very helpful in your college career. As you read, you can and should try to make connections to what you are learning in class. By applying what you are learning in class as you read about world events, you will engage in much deeper learning. The lessons will sink in much more effectively. 

7. Thank your parents. Be sure to express appreciation early and often to your parents and other family members who are supporting you throughout your college experience. Be mindful of the sacrifices that your parents are making for you. Don't dismiss the fact that it may be emotionally difficult for them to see you leave home. Surely, you should seek out and affirm your independence from your parents, but don't trample on your parents' feelings as you do so.

Accepting that Job Offer When the Internship Ends

You have completed your summer internship, and you have received a full-time offer of employment.  Fantastic!  Now, should you accept the position.  Most young people might say, "If you had a good summer internship experience, then of course, you should take the job."   Jon Simmons has published a good article for Fast Company that addresses this issue.   Simmons suggests that the answer might not be so simple.

How should you make this decision?   Simmons suggests careful consideration of a wide range of factors including compensation, benefits, company culture, opportunities for growth and development.  Certainly, all of these items matter.  However, I think the decision should not primarily be about factors such as compensation.  In fact, the differences in compensation across multiple job offers will be relatively trivial for most students.  The real issue is growth and development.   Interns should ask themselves three questions:

1.  Will my full-time position be substantively different than my internship experience?  Will it be more challenging?  Will I assume new responsibilities?  Will I learn new skills?  If the answer is no to these questions, then you don't want to take the offer.  The best firms that hire here at Bryant University provide full-time opportunities that build upon, but go well beyond, the internships that they offer.

2.  Does the firm have a track record of investing in the growth and development of its young employees?   Will I have opportunities to enhance my skills through in-house leadership development programs, training courses, tuition reimbursement at local universities, and mentoring by senior leaders?   If the answer is yes, then you should seriously consider taking the job offer.

3.  What are my short term career goals, and would this full-time position help me achieve those goals?  Don't think in terms of 10-15 year plans.    That's just not advisable in today's world.  Think instead of the next 5 years.  What do you hope to achieve?  Suppose you plan to apply to a top MBA program. Then ask yourself:  Will this full-time position help me gain admittance to such a school?  Suppose instead that you hope to become a young entrepreneur.  You should ask:  How will this position help me achieve that goal?

New Case Study Published

Professor Roger Anderson and I have published a new case study titled, "Belmont Abbey College:  Strategy Formulation in Turbulent Times."   The case is available from Ivey Business Cases and soon will be available through Harvard Business Publishing as well.  The case study explores the strategic challenges facing small, private colleges with largely tuition-driven revenue models, with a focus on this particular Catholic institution in North Carolina.  The case study is well-suited for courses in strategic management, as well as for those interested in issues about the future of higher education in the United States.  

Dropbox CEO Offers Great Advice for College Graduates

In this week's New York Times Corner Office column, Adam Bryant interviews Drew Houston, the CEO of Dropbox.   Houston has some terrific advice for college graduates.   I would argue that it's great advice for all of us, of any profession or stage of life.

I did the commencement speech for M.I.T. in 2013. I said that if I had a cheat sheet that I could give myself at 22, it would have three things on it: a tennis ball, a circle and the number 30,000.

The tennis ball is about finding the thing you’re obsessed with. The most successful people and successful entrepreneurs I know are all obsessed with solving a problem that really matters to them. I use the tennis ball for that idea because of my dog, who gets this crazy, obsessed look on her face when you throw the ball for her.

The circle is really about the idea that you’re the average of your five closest friends, so make sure to put yourself in an environment that pulls the best out of you. And the last is the number 30,000. When I was 24, I came across this website that says most people live for about 30,000 days. So you have to make every day count.

Attracting the Best College Talent

Sanjeev Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Collegefeed, has written a terrific article for Harvard Business Review regarding the recruiting of top college talent.  Agrawal surveyed 15,000 millennials as part of a research project on this topic.  60% of the respondents were still in college, while the remainder had graduated recently.  The two charts below highlight some of the key findings:

Note several conclusions that might surprise you.  First, cultural fit matters more to millennials than compensation or company mission.  In today's Wall Street Journal, we read about the extraordinary lengths to which companies are going so as to convey the meaning and purpose of the work to millennials.  Yet, this finding says that culture matters even more than mission.  

Second, students want to understand the career opportunities available to them down the road.  How can they grow and develop over time?  What is the potential path ahead?  Where might they be in 3-5 years?   

Third, on campus efforts clearly matter as companies try to recruit top notch talent.  However, word-of-mouth through friends matters the most, and on-line efforts (job boards and social media) are crucial elements to the recruitment process.   Campus activities and outreach are important, but you have to go beyond the usual information sessions and job fairs to be effective.  

Here at Bryant, the most successful employers certainly conduct info sessions and appear at the career fair.  However, they have found many more ways to connect with students through course projects, networking events, and ways in which they connect our alumni who work there with current students.  They also use social media effectively to attract talented students and inform them about the opportunities at their companies.

Grade Inflation

Economist Justin Wolfers tweeted out this chart yesterday regarding grade inflation at Ivy League colleges.  What a wonderful world in which everyone is exceptional!

A Few Nuggets of Advice for College Students at the Start of the New Year

As students arrive on college campuses throughout the country this time of year, I would like to share a few words of advice.  I hope that students, particularly first-year students, find these comments useful.

1. Ideas don't sink in through the process of re-reading the book and your notes.  You need to actively work with the material.  Writing is much more useful than reading in this regard.  When studying, try writing a synthesis of your notes.  Boil the extensive notes down to a 5-10 page outline of the course, and then to a 1 page outline.   This process will enable you to synthesize and integrate what you have learned.  If applicable, do practice problems as a means of studying.  Practice beats reading notes any day of the week. 
2. Go to class!  It's so easy to skip class when you are tired.  However, going to class is more than half the battle. You will find it so much easier to excel if you aren't trying to make up for absences. 
3. Find a mentor.  I'm not talking about going to office hours just to try to improve your grade.  I'm talking about a true mentor, someone can offer you guidance about your studies as well as your career.  Use that person as a sounding board.   In your early days at college, you should begin trying to identify who that mentor might be.
4. Explore topics beyond your area of specialization.  Take courses in multiple domains, and broaden your knowledge.  Many creative ideas come from the process of reaching outside one's area of expertise.   Thus, building a broad knowledge base is important.  Moreover, you will be much more interesting at dinner if you can have a conversation that spans many topics.  You'll find that ability to be an important life skill!
5. Find opportunities to develop as a leader.  Those opportunities typically come outside the classroom. The primary way to become a better leader is to practice.  Thus, seeking out opportunities to lead groups, student organizations, and the like is crucial. 

The Value of Internships

Students in college often fret over landing that attractive internship over the summer.  Should they worry so much about internships?  Or, should college students be content with a decent job as a waiter or waitress over the summer?   Business Week's data from its undergraduate business school rankings survey indicates that they should be working hard to land that internship.  The magazine reports that, "Overall, 75 percent of students said they had an internship. Of those, 61 percent had a job offer in hand by the winter of their senior year, compared with 28 percent of students without an internship."  It appears that internships matter a great deal in certain industries, such as banking and consulting.   Overall, though, they are valuable regardless of what field you choose.  I know that many firms recruiting here at Bryant University do much of their hiring through their internship program.  Their goal, in fact, is to fill most of their openings through hiring of summer interns who performed very well.   They prefer that mode of hiring to the usual process of interviewing seniors who are approaching commencement. 

College Factual Ranks Bryant University College of Business Among Top 10 Undergrad Programs in Nation

The USA Today reported on Wednesday, July 2nd that College Factual ranked Bryant University's College of  Business as one of the top 10 undergraduate business schools in the country.   For a detailed description of College Factual's methodology, click here.  In the article, USA Today wrote: 

If you’re looking for a deeply personalized undergraduate degree, Bryant is for you. There are no lecture halls and no teaching assistants at Bryant, so you actually get to know your professors. The business school also offers an MBA program that lets you specialize in a global field of study within business.

I'm very proud of the strides we have made in recent years here at Bryant.  We have built a strong undergraduate business program now being recognized by multiple publications and rankings.   Business Week surveyed employers earlier this year, and we ranked #18 in the country in the employer survey.   US News cited Bryant as the #2 up and coming university in the northeast.   Now we have been cited by College Factual as a top 10 undergraduate business program.  Why are we being recognized so prominently on these lists?  I believe that it is because we prepare our graduates well for the workplace, and our graduates get good jobs.  How do we achieve strong placement results?  We don't simply sit in the ivory tower.  We offer an applied education, in which students learn by doing.  They work on projects throughout their four years here that provide them actual experience doing the type of work that employers will expect them to do.  We have partnered with terrific employers to provide students with these applied learning opportunities in our curriculum. 

Recruiting People with Grit

What is grit?   University of Pennsylvania Professor Angela Duckworth defines grit as "perseverance and passion for long-term goals."  Duckworth has studied grit extensively in her academic career.  She has found that intelligence is not always a good predictor of academic or professional success.  Grit matters.  For instance, she has found that, at West Point, a cadet's grit score is the best predictor of success in "Beast Barracks" – the incredibly challenging, six week summer training regimen that all new cadets must endure. Grit predicted success more so than intelligence, leadership ability or physical fitness. 

Now Josh Jarrett and Kristen Hamilton have launched a new startup, Koru, that leverages the concept of grit to help companies find great employees.    According to this Fortune article written by Erin Griffith, "Koru seeks out recent college graduates who possess grit, or tenacity, or resilience, but lack real-world experience, and help them land jobs at fast-growing companies. Koru does that by through intensive four-week training programs, hosted at by the companies looking to recruit raw talent."   

In short, Koru identifies students who appear to have a high level of grit, puts them through an intense, but short, program to both train them and test their determination and perseverance.  Part of the training involves working on short-term projects with real companies looking to recruit individuals with grit.  Ultimately, Koru tries to match these high grit individuals with employers seeking people with this crucial trait.  Koru makes money both from fees collected from hiring companies as well as tuition collected from recent college graduates who enroll in their four-week program.  Hamilton comments, "Hiring mistakes are expensive.  We realized a degree and GPA is not a good signal. We're looking to be that signal."

College is Worth It

Everywhere you look these days, you see articles questioning the value of a college education.  Yes, college is incredibly expensive.  Yes, the student debt burden is incredibly worrisome.   I think higher education needs to change.  There is no question in my mind.  However, I do not agree with those who are questioning whether a college education is necessary.   Here's some interesting new data published in the New York Times: 

The pay gap between college graduates and everyone else reached a record high last year, according to the new data, which is based on an analysis of Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree. That’s up from 89 percent five years earlier, 85 percent a decade earlier and 64 percent in the early 1980s.... And the unemployment rate in April for people between 25 and 34 years old with a bachelor’s degree was a mere 3 percent.

Helping First-Generation College Students Succeed

Northwestern Professor Nicole Stephens and her colleagues—MarYam G. Hamedani of Stanford University and Mesmin Destin at Northwestern University—have conducted several studies examining the academic performance of first-generation college students.  Not surprisingly, they have found that, all else equal, first-generation college students do indeed underperform those young people with parents who have attended college.  Their research aims to understand how we might close that performance gap.   I'm particularly interested in this topic, since I was a first-generation college student.  Moreover, companies should be interested in this topic, since they want to insure that they can attract talented young people who have learned a great deal and achieved their potential in college. 

This research challenges the notion that extra academic skills-based preparation for these first-generation students yields performance improvement.   Many schools offer these "skills" enhancement programs, but they have not yielded positive results.  These scholars designed a program whereby college seniors would share their experiences with new students, describing to them how "their backgrounds affected their experience."   According to Kellogg Research Insights, "Seniors were asked, for example, to share an obstacle they faced in college and how they overcame it."  

The scholars found that those students receiving this intervention earned higher grade point averages than those who listened to seniors share their stories without an explicit discussion of backgrounds and social class. Amazingly, the researchers found that this program "eliminated the GPA gap between first-generation and continuing-generation students, as well as the disparity in the rate at which the two groups took advantage of institutional resources." 

Stephens explains, "If you understand that it’s normal for students from a background like yours to encounter obstacles—and that it doesn’t mean that you’re deficient, but that rather you need to do different things to succeed—that equips you to deal with the challenges you face.”

Peter Thiel: Should He Be Encouraging People to Avoid College?

The Wall Street Journal interviews Peter Thiel today.  Thiel, founder of Paypal, has stirred controversy due to a key initiative of his nonprofit foundation.  Thiel's 20 Under 20 Fellowship offers substantial financial support to young people who will forgo college to work on a startup that can have a significant social impact.  Thiel believes that this "learning by doing" can be more valuable than college for some bright young people.  According to the paper, "So far, 64 Thiel Fellows have started 67 for-profit ventures, raised $55.4 million in angel and venture funding, published two books, created 30 apps and 135 full-time jobs, and brought clean water and solar power to 6,000 Kenyans who needed it."  

Thiel has attracted many critics, including Harvard's Larry Summers and Stanford's Vivek Wadhwa.  What do I think about Thiel's initiative and his views about higher education.  To begin, I agree with Thiel's concerns about the amount of debt many families take on so that a young person can attend college.  Moreover, I do agree that many universities do not provide enough "learning by doing" opportunities.  

However, Thiel should be much more careful about discouraging young people from attending college.  Why?  First, Thiel attended Stanford.  He admits that he would do it again if he had the choice today.   It's easy to talk about pursuing other avenues to success, when you have the comfort of the Stanford brand on your resume, as well as the incredible network that comes with being an alumnus of that prestigious school. Moreover, Thiel relies on graduates of top schools to do the legwork for his venture capital and private equity investments.  He isn't hiring college dropouts to manage his money!  There is more than a bit of hypocrisy here, as we compare actions and words. 

Thiel also does not acknowledge that the rate of failure for many startups is quite high, and that students without a college degree then don't have the diploma to fall back on when they fail.  Sure, they could always attend college later, but that can be difficult.  It's not always easy to attend college later in life when you begin to have family obligations and the like. 

The bottom line: Higher education is very expensive, and families are taking on too much debt in some cases. Still, the average college graduate earns far more than the average high school graduate.  A select few can build a startup and become Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, people who built amazing companies without a college degree.  Are the odds in your favor though if you pursue their path?  I'm afraid not. 

Making Career Choices: Professor G. Richard Shell

Here's a great video for those embarking on a transition in their career (graduating from college, changing jobs, switching careers, etc.).   The video features Wharton Professor G. Richard Shell discussing his new book, Springboard: Launching Your Personal Search for Success. 

Advice to College Graduates

For the past several years, I have re-run this old post with some advice for new college graduates.  I hope my seniors, and seniors at other institutions, will read and ponder these thoughts. 

With graduation ceremonies taking place at many colleges and universities this week, I thought it would be appropriate to re-run this post from last year with advice for graduates:

A few words to those graduating from college this year...

As you leave this place, you will become builders. You will build a career, a home, and hopefully a family. For many of you, life will take on a certain rhythm eventually. Routines and rituals will mark your days. You will experience a measure of comfort with the familiar – familiar people, places, and activities. As you grow older, the unfamiliar will jar you, unsettle you, at times. You will want to retreat to that which is comfortable and familiar.

My advice to you today: Do not become wedded to the old and familiar in your lives. Cherish the past, but always look ahead. Seek out novel experiences. Keep breaking new ground, even as the hairs become gray. When in his 80s, Michelangelo, the great Renaissance painter and sculptor, once said, “Ancora imparo.” – I am still learning. I hope that you will live to such a ripe old age, and that you will utter those same words. Researchers have shown that novelty stimulates the brain. So, I tell you know: Exercise your minds throughout your lives. Memories do not nourish the brain. New challenges do. They say that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Do not listen to such rubbish. I’m confident that you have the ability to transform yourselves, to make yourselves new, time and again throughout your lives.

As you experience the new and unfamiliar, you will feel discomfort, even fear, at times. Do not let that apprehension get the best of you. Dr. Peter Carruthers of Los Alamos National Laboratory once said, “There’s a special tension to people who are constantly in the position of making new knowledge. You’re always out of equilibrium. When I was young, I was deeply troubled by this. Finally, I realized that if I understood too clearly what I was doing, where I was going, then I probably wasn’t working on anything very interesting.”

As you learn and grow as individuals, do not keep your new knowledge and skills to yourself. Share your knowledge and insight with others. Do more than that; serve as an exemplar to others. Mentor young colleagues, teach your children well – through actions as well as words. Your impact on the next generation will become your enduring legacy.

Singer and songwriter Ben Folds once wrote to his daughter Gracie, “One day you’re gonna wanna go. I hope we taught you everything you need to know.” I love that song, but I know that we have not taught you everything you need to know. I sincerely hope, though, that we have cultivated your intellectual curiosity and nourished your love of learning. May that spark of youthful curiosity remain with you all the days of your lives.

Do Colleges Need to Change Their Pricing Model?

CNNMoney writer Blake Ellis wrote today about the substantial tuition reduction enacted by the University of Charleston in West Virginia.   According to the article, "After seeing enrollment decline for the first time in a decade, the University of Charleston, in West Virginia, slashed tuition by 22% for the upcoming school year hoping to entice more students."  Interestingly, applications haven't increased since the move, but deposits have risen substantially.  Obviously, the jury is still out on the move. 

How did the university afford the move?   They cut some costs, but they also chose to reduce financial aid.  Thus, the net price did not actually fall by 22%.  What rationale drove the change in pricing strategy?  Here is an excerpt from Ellis' interview with the university's president, Dr. Edwin Welch:

We realized parents and families were now considering the overall price, not just the discount [financial aid and scholarships] they would be able to get. As universities we tend to market education the same way Joseph A. Banks advertises clothes, thinking the advertised price is not that important but the discounts are the most important part. But that's what is driving middle-class students away. So it seemed we needed to take a fresh look.

Could he be right?  Does the price tag at many universities drive away certain families, because they fixate on the overall list price rather than the net price (after aid and scholarships)?  After all, families don't learn their net price until late in the process?  By then, perhaps the overall list price has framed their view of a school.  I wonder if other schools might try this "Everyday Low Pricing" model of college tuition, in hopes that prospective students will look first at them because they have the lower "everyday price."  

Starting College: Words of Advice

Here's a column that I wrote last year.  Perhaps it may be useful to first-year students about to begin their college experience.

Inspired by Greg Mankiw's great New York Times column titled "A Course Load for the Game of Life," I decided to offer a few comments of my own for college freshmen.

1. Pick your faculty, not just your courses. Ten years from now, it won't matter much if you took "18th Century French History" or "Cognitive Psychology" in your freshmen year, but you will remember the faculty member who made a huge difference in your life. Seek out the professors who care the most, who have a passion for teaching, and who are willing to spend time outside the classroom with students. Building those relationships early in your college career, and finding good mentors, can have a huge impact.

2. Be smart about personal finance. Think carefully about how you manage your money. The habits you cultivate at 18 years of age will last a lifetime. Have a great time, but don't take on unnecessary debt and don't spend carelessly.

3. Redefine how you study. For many students, studying means reading or re-reading the textbook and their notes from class. I would encourage you to think differently about studying. As you prepare for an exam, sit down with all your class materials, and write out a detailed review of the entire course. Then, boil that review down to just 1 or 2 pages. Then, boil it down again to just a few note cards. That process of having to synthesize and integrate all your learning in writing will have much more impact than a few extra hours spent re-reading the same tired words from a textbook.

4. Seek out your own space. Don't count on studying in your dorm room. Far too much distraction exists in the dorm room. Find a spot on campus in which you are comfortable, and in which you can focus. For many, it will be a spot in the library. However, there may be other locations as well. If you do go to the library, don't sit in a high traffic area where you will constantly be approached by friends.

5. Care for your whole self - mind, body, and soul. Don't just focus on academics. Stay in physical shape, take care of your spiritual well-being, and be mindful of your stress level.

6. Read constantly about world events. You might think I'm crazy. After all, you will have tons of assigned reading in your courses. Who has time for more reading? Actually, staying abreast of current events in world affairs, business, science, and the like will be very helpful in your college career. As you read, you can and should try to make connections to what you are learning in class. By applying what you are learning in class as you read about world events, you will engage in much deeper learning. The lessons will sink in much more effectively.

7. Thank your parents. Be sure to express appreciation early and often to your parents and other family members who are supporting you throughout your college experience. Be mindful of the sacrifices that your parents are making for you. Don't dismiss the fact that it may be emotionally difficult for them to see you leave home. Surely, you should seek out and affirm your independence from your parents, but don't trample on your parents' feelings as you do so.

Congratulations, Graduates!

Congratulations to the Class of 2011 graduates at Bryant University and beyond!  May you never lose your thirst for knowledge, and may you enjoy much personal and professional success in the days and years ahead.