Across the country, higher education is preparing for a COVID-impacted fall semester. From where we sit, working with a wide variety of colleges and universities, we can see that no two plans for the fall are the same but we believe those built on the core principles of transparency, strategy and an unwavering commitment to putting students first will be most successful.
Those principles are woven through all of the conversations we’ve had about how institutions are navigating COVID-19 challenges, and as we near summer’s midpoint, we decided to collect our written pieces and the insight we’ve been asked to share with journalists in a coronavirus roundup so they can be a reference for our campus colleagues who may be pondering the very questions we’ve tackled in these pieces.
Strategy – Teresa talks with The Chronicle of Higher Education about the virtues of overcommunicating and with WGBH about new approaches to higher education fundraising, Erin talks with Inside Higher Ed about the language institutions are using in their reopening plans, and Teresa and Erin write for The Hechinger Report about the hard conversations colleges and universities need to be having about their financial futures.
Crisis Communications – In a post for Inside Higher Ed’s Call to Action blog, Erin and Teresa encourage colleagues to make time for assessing crisis response, and on the TVP Comms blog, Erin offers advice on conducting a crisis communications plan review.
Social Media – Kylie offers rules of the road for Twitter that are especially applicable during times of crisis.
Thought Leadership and Media Relations – Teresa and Kristine share thoughts on pushing non-COVID-19 news during a pandemic on the Call to Action blog, Teresa has practical tips for recording broadcast-quality sound when doing radio interviews from home, and Kristine provides her best advice for getting an op-ed placed at a time when editors are overloaded with submissions to Call to Action.
Career Development — Cristal offers tips for starting a new job—and building strong relationships—in higher ed communications during a time of remote work.
Resources – Erin wrapped up some of her favorite COVID-19 resources in one spot for easy reference.