Brevard College: Advancement Services in the Wake of an Institutional Transition Erin C. Perez Anna K. Thomas Quinton P. Walker Vanderbilt University Peabody College May 2014 Brevard College Table of Contents Dedication 1 About the Authors 2 Erin C. Perez 2 Anna K. Thomas 2 Quinton P. Walker 2 Executive Summary 3 Higher Education is Mired in Change 3 Introduction to the Project 5 Institutional Sketch 5 Exploration of the Problem 9 Statement of the Problem 14 A Three-Pronged Approach 14 Project Question I: Alumni Giving 16 Conceptual Framework 17 Hypotheses 19 Methodology 19 Data Analysis for Project Question I 23 Summary and Practical Significance of Findings 33 Project Question II: Friend Raising 35 Background 36 Conceptual Framework 36 Methodology 37 Analysis for Project Question II 38 Findings 39 Discussion 43 Project Question III:Benchmarking 46 Background 47 Advancement Services in the Wake of an Institutional Transition i Brevard College Methodology: Developing a Comparator Group 47 Methodology: Discovering Best Practices 49 Analysis of the Comparator Group 50 Peer Group Interview Analysis 58 Findings 59 Questions Outstanding 64 Limitations 66 Limitations for Project Question I 67 Limitations for Project Question II 67 Limitations for Project Question III 68 Summary 69 Revisiting Project Question I 70 Revisiting Project Question II 70 Revisiting Project Question III 71 Recommendations & Further Study Possibilities 72 Recommendations To Address Mission vs. Market Challenges 72 Opportunities for Further Study For Brevard College & Its Peers 74 Final Thoughts & A Conclusion 76 A Conclusion: Higher Education Still Mired in Change 77 Works Cited 79 Appendices 84 Appendix A: Alumni Survey 84 Appendix B: Brevard “Friends” Interview Protocol 90 Appendix C: Request for Participation in Benchmarking Project 91 Appendix D: Benchmarking Interview Questions 92 Advancement Services in the Wake of an Institutional Transition ii Brevard College Dedication Each of us remembers the day we received the slender letter postmarked from Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. It was clearly a rejection letter, given its simplicity; the oversized package that accompanied a college acceptance was what each of us had hoped for. Or at least we thought. Opening the envelope, however, revealed that the three of us, in three very different places in our lives, were being offered a spot in the Ed.D. Program at Vanderbilt University. That letter would bring us together, granting us membership into a community of scholars and practitioners dedicated to better educating the world. We thank this institution for relentlessly pursuing knowledge and wisdom about education. We thank our world-class faculty, too many to name, who have imparted lessons about living, leading, and loving the work we have each been called to do. We thank our colleagues for making this the vibrant intellectual community we each hoped it would be. It has been so much more. We don’t think any of us really knew what we were agreeing to three years ago. Had we known, we may not have opened the letter. Thankfully we did. And here we are. To Susan, Cheri, Rebecca and the rest of the Brevard College Executive team – our sincerest thanks for your hospitality, support, and partnership throughout our time together. We hope you find our work to help you get a bit closer to achieving your inspired mission. For our families, friends, and loved ones who stood by us, cheered us on, and picked up the slack when we let things slide – this is for you. -Erin, Anna, and Quinton Advancement Services in the Wake of an Institutional Transition 1 Brevard College About the Authors Erin C. Perez Erin Perez currently serves as a Lecturer in the Music Education department at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. She teaches Music Philosophy and other pedagogical courses to prepare undergraduate and first-year graduate students to become music educators. She also serves as an Associate Conductor where she conducts the Blair Wind Symphony and various chamber ensembles. Prior to, she served as a junior-high band director for four years at Forest Meadow Junior High in Richardson Independent School District in Dallas, Texas. Erin received her Master’s from Peabody College in 2007 and her bachelor’s from the Blair School of Music in 2006 playing the clarinet. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband where they enjoy the pleasures of being first-time parents to their beloved 6- month-old son. In addition to ogling over baby giggles, she enjoys the outdoors with her Weimaraner dog, traveling, and going to the movies. Anna K. Thomas Anna Thomas currently serves as the Director of Parents & Family Programs in the department of Development and Alumni Relations at Vanderbilt University. She has worked with parents of undergraduate students for five years. Anna has a background in university housing, greek life, student conduct, and new student orientation. In her current role, she oversees a parent board, coordinates communication between and Vanderbilt University and the parents of current students, and oversees the planning for Family Weekend. She is an active member of the Vanderbilt University Staff Advisory Council, having served as President during the 2012-2013 year. Her research/career interests include strategic planning, student engagement, gender issues, and program evaluation. Anna received a master’s degree in Human Development Counseling from Peabody College in 2008 and a bachelor’s degree from Emory University in 2005. She lives in Nashville with her spouse and their 15-month-old daughter. In her spare time, Anna enjoys yoga, cooking, and photography. Quinton P. Walker Quinton Walker currently serves as the Dean of Global Studies at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, he worked as a management consultant with a London-based consultancy. He has a background in curriculum development, instructional practices, and academic leadership. In his current role, he directs the Program for Global Citizenship at Holy Innocents’, a program that develops leadership skills, intercultural competence, and a justice orientation in its students. He also serves on the school’s admissions committee. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Duke University in 2004. In 2005, Quinton finished his Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan. In the spare time he will soon have, he enjoys cooking, trying Atlanta’s newest restaurants, and volleyball. Advancement Services in the Wake of an Institutional Transition 2 Brevard College Executive Summary Higher Education is Mired in Change Higher education is mired in a period of change; colleges and universities are becoming increasingly adept at adapting to those changes. As they grow more agile as institutions, they too become more complicated. Nowhere has the pressure to “adapt to survive” been more present than at small liberal arts colleges. Facing questions of relevance, cost escalation, and mission creep, these institutions, often with 1,000 students or less, are searching for ways to remain competitive in today’s marketplace. Once a two-year junior college, Brevard College made the decision to shift its academic mission in 1995, partially as a response to the shifting markets (Brevard Executive Leadership Team, personal communication, July 8, 2013). The institution elevated its curricular offerings in preparation for awarding four-year degrees. Exploring one of the key implications -- a segmented alumni population by virtue of the transition – inspired this work. In July 2013, Brevard College (“Brevard” or “The College”) Project Questions approached Vanderbilt University to assist in gaining a better understanding of the institutional remnants of the Question I: What personal characteristics contribute to low levels of alumni giving? transition. Through a series of conversations with the leadership team at Brevard, we arrived at the following sets Question II: What is the perception of of questions: are there differences in the nature of Brevard College among alumni and friends interactions between two-year alumni and four-year alumni of the institution? from a development standpoint? Given the nature of the small college tradition, what role do friends and the local Question III: How does Brevard College community play in the institution’s success? And by compare to benchmarks of similar liberal extension, are other institutions that share Brevard arts institutions that have successfully College’s transition saga concerned with the stewardship transitioned from a 2-year to 4-year college? of different subsets of alumni? The figure at the conclusion of this section should serve as a model of inquiry for the reader. Essentially, the quantitative methods employed help us understand giving trends within the Brevard College alumni population. The qualitative portion of the projects attempts to illuminate why friends give and how they have responded to the shift in institutional mission. Finally, we conducted a benchmarking study of similarly- situated institutions who share a key component of Brevard’s institutional saga – mission transformation that Advancement Services in the Wake of an Institutional Transition 3 Brevard College results in a segmented alumni body. This work, more practical in nature, is designed to help Brevard with operational best practices for the future. Recognizing the challenges with the extant literature in the development arena, we designed