Chronicle Great Colleges

Register now for the 2012 Chronicle Great Colleges Program

We continue to receive terrific feedback about the Great Colleges initiative and how this program is helping to advance workplace quality issues at individual schools across the country, and also influencing the future of the academic workplace. Click here to learn more about how this program can help your school reach its goals.

Testimonials from Past Participants

National Exposure for Recruiting

“Having been in the Top 20 Best Places to Work in Kentucky, I was aware of the effect that placing well in this survey would have on recruitment. I was not surprised, therefore, to see that professors and staff alike were even more interested in working with us as a result of our recognition in the Best Colleges competition.”
- Carolyn Castle, Director of People Services, Berea College

“The Great Colleges program provided us with information critical to our ongoing efforts to build and maintain an exceptional work environment. Being recognized on a national level helped our recruiting efforts and provided validation for many of our programs and initiatives.”
- Venessa Macro, Assistant Vice President, Business and Finance/Director,
Human Resources, Drake University

“It had an immediate and positive impact on our ability to recruit high-quality faculty. Candidates mentioned that they saw our institution named in the [supplement] and were impressed by it.”
-Liz Hedrick, Associate VP, Administrative Services, Oklahoma City University

“The national recognition for our school is fantastic. We've had applicants apply because they saw our results in The Chronicle. It's a great recruitment tool. It's also good to go through the process and see some of the positive efforts of other colleges that we can try to emulate."
-David C. Jordan, Associate Vice President of HR, Howard Community College

“Recognition received was beneficial with our recruitment efforts nationwide. Provided distinction among peers and from an internal perspective, it reaffirmed that we are the employer of choice for our employees.”
-Iliana Castillo-Frick, Vice Provost, Human Resources, Miami Dade College

Benchmarking and Peer Comparison

“The opportunity to benchmark against other universities was a valuable experience.”
- Lynette Chappell-Williams, Director, Workforce Diversity, Equity & Life Quality, Cornell University

“The most beneficial aspects of the Great Colleges Program were receiving the results of our institutional questionnaire in correlation to our peers, and the ability to publicize our positive results in order to aide recruiting efforts.”
- Pamela D. Hogan, Vice President, Human Resources and Development,
Southern New Hampshire University

“We were enthusiastic about the opportunity to participate in the Great Colleges Program. ModernThink and The Chronicle have created a well thought out survey and application process. We’ve found the process to be a great complement to our own internal surveying efforts, a chance to benchmark Mason to similar universities around the country, and a positive experience all around. We did end up being recognized which not only was the cause for great celebration on campus but also provided support for some of our marketing and retention initiatives. We’d highly recommend this program to any college or university that is interested in expanding their understanding of campus climate.”
- Janet Walker, Work/Life & Communications Coordinator, George Mason University

"This is the first year our institution participated in the survey. The thing that will be most beneficial is the benchmark data we now have. Going forward we can rate ourselves on how we measure up based on the original data."
- Jeannine Curns, Director, Human Resources, Heidelberg University

“We appreciated the opportunity to participate and review how other peer institutions rated and earned accolades. Likewise, we valued the information supplied to those that participated as to what made the other institutions a “Great College” and the programs they offer to their employees.”
-Vicki Stewart, Director, Human Resources, York College of Pennsylvania

“Getting data about our employees’ experiences in general, but the ability to have some benchmarks to put our results in greater perspective specifically.”
-Heather S. Roscoe, Director, Institutional Research, Simmons College

“The ability to compare our results with other institutions throughout the nation.”
-David K. Knox, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment,
Clemson University

Data, Analysis and Strategic Planning

“The survey work begun by ModernThink and the Chronicle helps us evaluate our HR strategy and employee value proposition. This assessment work will contribute valuable input into our strategic planning efforts.”
- Clint Davidson, former VP, HR, Duke University

“It was a great opportunity to spend some time reviewing all of the programs we offer and to help identify areas where we need to increase communications and branding.”
- Mary P. Smith, Senior Director, Human Resources, Emory University

“The data analysis provided by the organizational development experts at ModernThink made our participation in the Great Colleges program very worthwhile.”
- Dr. William Troutt, President, Rhodes College

"The survey results provided a good overview of how our employees feel about administrators, relationships with other employees/departments and their work environment. It highlighted our successes and the areas where we could improve."
- Rita Lindgren, Chief Human Resources Officer, Bismarck State College

"It helps us better understand our strengths and areas in which we may need to work and it's a great opportunity to celebrate the contributions of a remarkable faculty and staff."
- Janet Walker, Work/Life & Communications Coordinator, George Mason University

“Because it was our third year of participation, we were able to track responses based on actions taken in previous years intended to remediate identified problem areas.”
-Michael E. Smith, Assistant to the President, Rhode Island College

“The opportunity to connect with our employees at various levels, titles, and classifications. It’s helpful to get the employee’s candid perspective on such a wide range of topics.”
-Jennifer H. Whaley, HR Administrator, Salisbury University