The Starbucks Method: 7 Things Higher Ed Can Learn About Institutional Effectiveness
Behind the pumpkin cold foam and cinnamon sprinkles is a finely tuned operation that constantly monitors, measures, tweaks, and improves. In higher education, we call this Institutional Effectiveness: the ongoing practice of evaluating whether you're doing what you said you'd do and making changes when you're not. Even if this means that the thing you used to do before is more effective than the thing you’re doing now.
LMS Lessons from Starbucks: Comfort Drives Engagement
Starbucks knows that the longer people stay in their cafes, the more likely they are to buy things—it’s in their best interest to make these spaces familiar, welcoming, and comfortable. The same idea can (and should) apply to higher education’s digital spaces.
Accreditation Doesn’t Have to Be Scary
Remember, accreditation is here to make you better, not to give you nightmares. Plan, persevere, and maybe throw in a horror movie marathon to remind yourself that, even when a case of the accreditation scaries sets in, there still aren’t any clowns around—things could always be worse.
Curriculum Maps Explained (with examples)
Ever wonder what a pumpkin spice latte and a higher education curriculum map have in common? (It's the question everyone is asking.) Learn why a robust curriculum map, like a foolproof recipe, ensures graduates receive the education they're promised. You better believe we came prepared with examples.
Find Your Institution’s Pumpkin Spice Latte
If you’re looking around at other institutions’ products trying to figure out how to replicate them, you’ve already lost. Don’t come at the problem from the perspective of “this thing is wildly popular; how can we do a version of it?” Instead, try “what product are we uniquely equipped to make?”
Pumpkin Spice Latte Outcomes
“Pumpkin Spice Latte has become more than just a beverage, it has become a harbinger of the season.” ~ Peter Dukes