We take your career ambitions seriously. Unlike headhunters, we take the time to discuss your career goals with genuine interest. You’ve done great things in your career and we want to hear about it. We don’t just send resumes and hope for the best. In fact, we never present candidates like you to our clients until we have determined if you have any interest and only after you have been fully informed of the details and have given your permission to proceed. Once we’ve presented you to our client for consideration, we are always accessible and keep you informed with timely communication at every step.

Our higher education search practice is one of the most highly regarded in the country, providing services to both public and private colleges and universities to aggressively recruit academic leaders.

Wondering what opportunities may await you? Contact us today.

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“Staffing Agencies” are great for temps but generally lack candidates with specialization. These are great sources for blue collar and white collar employees both short term and long term.

Recruiters (aka “Headhunters”) that work on a contingency basis only get paid when they produce results. They give employers a huge advantage compared to staffing agencies by providing stronger candidates, but are often concerned with one thing – getting paid. Competition between recruiters is fierce and many compete on speed and will lower their price, while presenting the same candidates their clients can find on their own.

In “Recruitment Process Outsourcing” (called RPO’s), an employer transfers all of its recruitment process to an external service provider. It’s great for certain employers, but in doing so, they give up control and decision making; which doesn’t work for everyone.

Unlike other types of firms, one that specializes in “Retained Executive Search” not only offers superior access to the best candidates, but actually helps raise the quality of each hire. By becoming an integral part of a search committee, they don’t just hear about an organization’s vision, strategy and culture, they become active participants vested in missions and outcomes.

Here’s how retaining an executive search firm pays off:

Trust – Before we even consider any other aspect, nothing is more important than trust. Choosing new senior leaders is a tremendous responsibility. The best recruiters are consultative and work with the search committee to engage stakeholders to become a partner in the hiring process. This transparency builds trust and the result is extremely effective in successfully integrating new leadership within an organization.

Credibility – When someone does the right things for the right reasons, that’s credibility. The best recruiters have often held positions in their niche before starting their recruiting practice. Unlike “career-recruiters” and generalists, they often have a further reaching network of professional contacts and can use their years of experience and industry insights to help their candidates take the job for the right reasons.

Expertise – When choosing a search consultant it’s important to use one that knows your space and can develop an efficient search strategy that achieves the desired outcomes. Similarly, it is the expertise of senior leaders which provides them with the ability to execute innovative, cross disciplinary strategies to the problems affecting each organization.

Relationship – Today, recruiters spend hour each day data mining names on LinkedIn, and scraping resumes off of the popular job boards while claiming access to “passive candidates”. It sounds good to the hiring committee but they soon get tired of seeing the same old candidates recycled over and over again. The best recruiters have developed real relationships with the folks in their industry and can create a list of candidates they actually know and can recommend highly in good faith.

To learn more about Higher Ed Executives Executive Search & Placement Services, please contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

The post Choosing the Right Search Firm Makes All The Difference appeared first on Higher Ed Executives.

Leadership requirements continue to evolve, but the need for high-performing college and university leaders remains constant. Identifying and attracting the best and brightest talent in the higher education space requires a rigorous approach, a thorough understanding of our industry and functional roles. Higher Ed Executives has unrivaled access to senior executives who place their trust in our ability to identify meaningful opportunities which match their career aspirations.

Company founder and President Peter Terebesi has been recruiting exclusively in Higher Ed for more than a decade. He applies real insight into strategic requirements to help colleges recruit leaders who have the necessary skill, experience and personal qualities to advance school and university strategies, and achieve outstanding results. That’s Empowering!

Far-reaching network of relationships with top college leaders across the Higher Education Sector.

An expansive view of thousands of executives in every function of our business. Executives trust Peter to bring them opportunities that represent a good fit with their capabilities and ambitions.

Proven expertise, essential insight, honest advice and commitment to the success of our schools and candidates.

Range of tools and proprietary techniques to conduct a rigorous assessment of candidates’ track records, knowledge and abilities most relevant to the position.

Facing unrelenting competitive pressures, shifting market conditions and ever-increasing student expectations, schools, colleges and universities today can not afford to be complacent about leadership decisions. Drawing on deep insight into today’s challenges and the qualities that define the most effective leaders, Higher Ed Executives applies a disciplined approach and sound judgment to every search.

Contact us today to get started.

The post How to find the best candidates for your college or university. appeared first on Higher Ed Executives.

Higher Ed Executives provides trusted audit and program review support tailored for higher education leaders. Our consultants bring decades of on-campus experience in Title IV compliance, accreditation standards, and federal financial aid administration. We partner with institutions to not only resolve findings, but also to strengthen internal controls that reduce future risk.

With our guidance, your institution can:

• Respond to audit and program review findings with confidence
• Reconstruct student files and recalculate awards accurately
• Implement corrective action plans that satisfy ED requirements
• Manage Heightened Cash Monitoring and Reimbursement situations
• Draft clear, defensible responses and appeals to ED determinations

Our expertise helps you reduce liabilities, safeguard accreditation, and maintain uninterrupted financial aid operations; all while protecting your institution’s reputation and financial stability.

Do not let an audit or program review derail your institution. Schedule a confidential consultation with Higher Ed Executives today and take the first step toward protecting your school’s compliance and financial future. Get in touch with us today to learn more.

The post Audit and Program Review Support That Protects Your Institution appeared first on Higher Ed Executives.

Higher Ed Executives helps institutions take control of the process through proactive program review risk assessments. With nearly two decades of experience in financial aid compliance and accreditation consulting, our team understands what the Department looks for – and where schools are most vulnerable.

By working with us, your institution can:

• Identify risk areas before a program review occurs
• Strengthen internal controls to reduce potential findings
• Train staff on compliance responsibilities and FSA requirements
• Ensure policies, procedures, and consumer information are current and accurate
• Improve recordkeeping and coordination across Financial Aid, Registrar, and Business Offices

The best program review strategy is preparation. Our assessments not only reduce risk but also help position your institution for long-term stability, stronger compliance, and continued access to Title IV financial aid programs.consumer information, preparing for or responding to a program review, we’re here to help.

Don’t wait for the call from the Department of Education. Schedule your program review risk assessment with Higher Ed Executives today and gain the confidence of knowing your institution is prepared. Get in touch with us today to learn more.

The post Be Ready Before the Call: Program Review Risk Assessment for Colleges and Universities appeared first on Higher Ed Executives.

Higher Ed Executives helps colleges and universities establish formal mechanisms for evaluating institutional performance with reliable, consistent metrics. Our benchmarking and analytics framework integrates hundreds of data points to give leadership teams and Boards a comprehensive understanding of institutional health.

With our support, your institution can:

• Track year-over-year performance across enrollment, retention, graduation, and licensure outcomes
• Evaluate financial strength through revenue sources, expenditures, and productivity measures
• Benchmark against peer and competitor institutions to understand positioning in the higher education marketplace
• Align performance indicators with your mission, role, and scope for context-rich reporting
• Turn raw data into actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making

By applying analytics tools, comparative benchmarks, and proven evaluation methods, we help transform data into a strategic asset. The result is clarity, accountability, and confidence when answering the questions that matter most to your Board, accreditors, and campus stakeholders.

Don’t wait for your Board to ask tough questions without clear answers.

Contact Higher Ed Executives today to schedule an institutional performance assessment and gain the insights you need to lead with confidence. Contact us today to get started.

The post Answering the Toughest Question: How Is Our Campus Really Performing? appeared first on Higher Ed Executives.

A comprehensive compliance program fosters a culture of ethics and compliance. It helps an institution maintain its fiduciary, federal financial reporting, internal control, and legal and regulatory responsibilities. In doing so, institutions gain an understanding of the nature of risks and potential exposures they face, putting them in control. As a result, they’re able to manage their risks and thus, have fewer compliance problems.

To have an effective compliance program, an institution must establish and maintain a culture that encourages ethical conduct and a commitment to compliance with the law, backed by best practices for internal controls and a well-trained administration.

For many it sounds like a daunting task, but it won’t be with these helpful tips.

Establish a culture of compliance

In Higher Education, it’s not enough to have the appearance of compliance. Rather, compliance must be inseparable from the institution’s processes and embedded in its structure. The overall culture within the campus administration can serve to foster and enhance compliance efforts, or, at its worst, impede or render compliance efforts meaningless. Since the latter isn’t an option it’s important to support conversations and initiatives that advance your institution’s compliance goals. Be you President, Chancellor, Dean or Director, your leadership sets the tone and impacts its culture. Are you setting the tone for compliance?

Formalize oversight and reporting responsibilities

It’s vital to formally assign oversight and reporting responsibilities to appropriate management. At large universities, oversight is often the responsibility of an internal audit committee appointed by its board of directors. The committee chair is often a senior level official such as Chief Compliance Officer or Chief Financial Officer that reports to the board and has responsibility for ensuring the committee meets the strategic mission and goals of the intuition. At smaller schools and colleges, it may be the college president or the school owner themselves.

This person is the champion of the cause; ever promoting compliance and is responsible for ensuring that adequate staff, training and systems are in place and reporting to the school’s board. Maybe that person is you.

Keep Written Policies and Procedures Up To Date

Written policies are essential for maintaining compliance. Well written policies provide structure for rules and guidelines and describe key internal control activities.

Colleges getting Title IV aid, must have documented and up to date written policies describing activities for packaging, awarding and disbursing federal student aid. It’s required by federal law. I can’t tell you how many schools I’ve seen that haven’t kept their policies up to date with current regulations. It’s frightening to think that some don’t have written policies at all. Institutions with written policies simply have fewer compliance failures than those that don’t.

Remember, policies aren’t the same thing as procedures and both are extremely important. No policy is complete without an accompanying written procedure. Procedures tell us how to perform an operation and help everyone consistently follow best practices. The benefits of written procedures are numerous. For example, the right procedures can actually improve business processes and can aid in interdepartmental communication.  Written procedures help new employees learn how your college performs essential day-to-day tasks. Surprisingly, this is one of the more common missing or neglected elements of compliance at colleges.

Training and Education

If you want empowered, engaged employees, nothing pays bigger returns than investing in training. From new hire orientation, to professional development, employees love to learn how to do their jobs well. Integrate compliance into these types of training sessions to share and reinforce best practices, and to engage the campus administration in problem solving.

Lines of Communication

Communication between departments is essential when establishing a compliance program as well as for its ongoing integrity. With campuses often spread out in multiple buildings or over multiple floors, and managers with competing to-do lists communicating can be a challenge. Regularly scheduled meetings are great, and additional, regular check-ins can help you identify importation issues sooner. Sometimes simply asking about variations in reports or anomalies in forecasts can alert you to potential problems. Speaking of Reports- they can be a great tool for monitoring internal control.

Monitor Internal Controls

Strong internal controls can tell us a lot about the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, the reliability of reporting, and compliance with applicable rules, laws and regulations. Monitoring ensures that internal controls are operating effectively and it can be done easily because a comprehensive program will have high quality, effective monitors built in. For example, using reports to monitor things like cash flow or verification are effective monitors. Gathering feedback from students, alumni and donors can alert you to issues you might not have seen coming.  Requiring approvals for disbursing award funds, or keeping records of internal monthly reconciliation work doesn’t require any more effort from anyone and takes reasonable steps to ensure that the compliance program is followed.

Enforce Standards and respond to issues promptly

Day-to-day enforcement is easier with strong procedures and monitors. Simply making time to review reports and incorporating them into your meetings and conversations will provide plenty of opportunity to do so. And plenty of insight.

Colleges big and small should have written disciplinary guidelines that enforce compliance standards. This sends the message that compliance is a shared responsibility as well as an expected and required element of employment. It also signals that violation of compliance policy results in punitive measures. Don’t be afraid to enforce disciplinary guidelines. Protecting the reputation of your college is essential in this day and age of bad actors, regulatory scrutiny and consumer protection.

Staff should know that it’s important to bring instances of non-compliance and compliance violations forward as soon as they are discovered so that corrective actions can be applied. Nearly all of the time, effective managers resolve day-to-day issues by providing training and support, providing remedies for issues on the fly. Its necessary to escalate complex or systemic issues to senior management or the board. In cases of fraud or theft, disciplinary actions should be taken. Schools can even contact the Office of the Inspector General to refer suspected cases of fraud.

Conduct Periodic Risk Assessments

Too many schools don’t take the time to assess their compliance. Some schools feel they are too small to worry about it, while others feel overwhelmed by the number of rules and regulations to comply with or are “just too busy”.  How often do we say – If we only had the ability to see into the future – Periodic reviews do just that.  They are one of the best ways to maintain compliance because reviews provide insight into an institutions risk and improvements can always be made.

Institutions often retain consultants to provide periodic reviews. Our firm for instance conducts annual “mock program reviews” a type of compliance assessment for our clients. It gives out clients a heads up on errors contained in policies, procedures, consumer information, and student files. It’s a great way to tune up before an audit and our clients experience fewer audit findings as a result.

Our consultants are compliance experts and will help you achieve unprecedented levels of compliance.

If your institution is considering implementing a compliance program, consider starting with our compliance assessment.

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