Why Participate

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

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

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, VP, HR, Duke University

“The Institutional Questionnaire provided a nice overview of policies and procedures all in one place.”
- Lisa Frederick, Recruitment and Development Coordinator, St. Francis 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