Maximizing Campus Impact

Maximizing Impact: Seven Strategies for Success

The following seven strategies have been drawn from the work of Victor Edmonds of the University of California at Berkeley and Alicia Russell of Northeastern University, who developed the original sets of ideas for a panel presentation at the 2005 NMC Directors' Meeting. Much of the discussion presented here is based on comments of that panel, which also included Terry Patterson of the Art Center College of Design, and Nick Pumilia of Marquette University. In those and subsequent discussions with dozens of NMC Directors, these seven strategies were noted again and again as critical to success, and evolved into the framework for this effort. The strategies, generalized to be applicable to any New Media Center, are:

1. Be focused. Understand your organization's purpose and keep it in mind as you make decisions about what projects to work on, what services to offer, and whom to serve.
2. Be adaptable. Be open to changing needs and to changes in the community that affect your services.
3. Be productive. Create a portfolio of work that you can use to demonstrate the variety of skills and services available at your center.
4. Make faculty allies. Strong relationships among faculty – and with other departments on campus and in the larger community – will increase the effectiveness of your center.
5. Set expectations. Be clear about what your group can do, how much it will cost (if a cost is involved), and how long it will take. Make sure your clients are aware of the range of services you can offer.
6. Make your boss's goals your goals. Find out what the larger campus priorities are and align your work with those.
7. Use your power. Be a strong, positive voice on campus, especially when there are problems that need solving.

It is clear that no single strategy will lead to impact, a point underscored by each of the case studies included here. The seven strategies must be employed in concert, as part of an ongoing planned effort, in order to have an impact on the campus at multiple levels. Each case study, though it may emphasize one or another of the strategies, includes evidence of one or more of the others as well.

Obviously, finding a campus-wide need and working to address it is one way to have impact, as the New Media Center at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University discovered when it took part in a campus-wide visioning strategy. The Center reports:

Recognizing the importance of a cross-disciplinary alliance to link learning to contemporary issues, the university called a general faculty meeting with the board of trustees. The goal was to address the need for an interdisciplinary university that looks at the problems of higher education in a new light. From this meeting, the Futures Committee was created. The Committee articulated its vision as follows:

North Carolina A&T State University is a learner-centered community that develops and preserves intellectual capital through interdisciplinary learning, discovery, engagement, and operational excellence.

The effect on campus has been overwhelming. As a result of articulating this vision, many interdisciplinary centers for learning, research and creative work have been established. In fact, one academic program, a Ph.D. degree in Energy and Environmental Studies, has been approved by the North Carolina Assembly. The departments involved are mechanical, electrical, chemical, and civil engineering; political science; journalism and mass communication; and biology.

Small steps can be very effective, too. At St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, the observation that students were not fully participating in the larger classes led to a decision to try a pilot test of the Classroom Performance System (a personal response system). After the pilot, which ran in four classes, a professor reports:

Students were definitely enthusiastic about using the 'clickers.' They noted in evaluations that they felt more involved, paid closer attention to lecture, and simply enjoyed class more. They also used CPS when they did group presentations. Class discussions were more lively and interactive, and students and faculty found it helpful to be able to assess student comprehension on the spot. Faculty were able to go over material again when it was needed. Classroom attendance also improved.

This small pilot test also revealed some issues that would need to be addressed before CPS would be implemented campus-wide; but the act of setting up the pilot and collecting data on how it was received, a relatively small move, will have a definite impact on many of the courses offered at the university.