Posts by: Alton Irwin

5 Financial Things to Do Before Your Freshman Year of College

The summer is moving quickly by and August is approaching, bringing with it the start of a new school year.   It is such an exciting time, especially for students getting ready to start their freshman year.   With preparations in full swing, I thought this article had some good pointers and advice for students leaving…

Join the Conversation Episode 20 – Interview with Steve Waller

The topic of service and therapy animals in on-campus housing is a hot right now. So we had one of the leading voices in this arena join us for an interview.  Steve Waller is the director of residential life at Louisiana State University. He is actively involved in ACUHO-I and currently serves as chair of the public…

Oregon Thinking Outside the Box When It Comes to Paying For College

This new take on paying for college really caught my eye when I came across it.  As student debt increases across the country, higher education institutions are faced with a growing problem.  But the state of Oregon is taking on a new approach:  Free tuition at public universities in exchange for 3 percent of earnings for…

Foreign students examine benefits of studying in U.S.

Great article about the reasons international students choose to study in America.  It makes me proud and thankful for the opportunities that can be found in this great country. Happy Fourth of July! Great colleges, diversity and great job opportunities are just a few of the reasons foreign students choose to study in America. Upon…

ACUI Internations Study Tour: Recap in Pictures

Sonya Neumeier, Vice President of University and Client Relations at Capstone On-Campus, just returned home from  the ACUI International Study Tour of the Arabian Gulf.  They toured multiple colleges and universities in the region including Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE).  Dan Oltersdorf, one of her colleagues from the trip, put together a great picture montage that…

Arabian Gulf Study Tour…Education City

Today, I traveled to Virginia Commonwealth University, Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University and Georgetown University … all without leaving Qatar. How is this possible? We visited Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) or Education City (EC). This unique collaboration has essentially built a campus/institution by bringing highly rated programs from specific host institutions together in one…

ACUI Arabian Gulf Tour Continued

Day 2 in Doha…Culture day! Our day started with a tour of the Qatar National Mosque. We were split up, so those us who were female could put on full abayas, in addition to our head coverings. Once we were properly attired, we rejoined the rest of our group to meet our incredible guide Adam,…

ACUI INTERNATIONAL STUDY TOUR: ARABIAN GULF

We’re following Tonya Neumeier, Vice President of University and Client Relations at Capstone On-Campus, as she travels the Arabian Gulf as part of the ACUI International Study Tour, with a great group of professionals who are passionate about higher education. Come tag along with us, as we see the sights and hear about the practice of higher…

Panel Discussion on the Glaring Differences in On and Off Campus Student Housing

Doug Brown, President of Capstone On-Campus Management, participated in the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) Annual Conference Panel Discussion on the student housing industry.  The panel engaged in a lively discussion about the vast differences between on-campus and off-campus student housing communities. The pressure on colleges to recruit and retain students is significant,…

My Summer Vacation Might Kick Your Summer Vacation’s Butt

Remember when you went back to elementary school each fall and one of your first assignments was to write about what you did on summer vacation? I’m so excited about mine, I can’t wait until fall! So, over the next couple of weeks, I am blogging about my study tour to the Arabian Gulf. We’re…

The “Y’all Line” – Maps of Regional Linguistic Differences

Like I’ve mentioned before, I love maps and the way they display data.  So I came across this group of maps that display linguistic differences across the country on varying words and phrases.  Joshua Katz, a Ph. D student in statistics at North  Carolina State University, takes stuff like “how do you pronounce ‘crayon’?” and “how…

Join the Conversation Episode 19 – Interview with Nadia Zhiri

In this interview we spoke with Nadia Zhiri, a principal with Treanor Architects, a firm specializing in architecture, planning, interior design, historic preservation and graphic design. Treanor’s portfolio and experience includes work on 175 student life projects at 75 campuses, encompassing over 20,000 beds in residence halls or Greek houses. Nadia talked to us about an…