Marylin Newell
MarylinNewell is the founder and lead consultant for collegematters. A 20-year veteran of the higher education industry, she has moved through the ranks of college administration beginning as an adjunct faculty member in 1986 in a small proprietary career college. Marylin earned a Masters degree in Adult Education from the University of Southern Maine in 1995, shortly after being promoted to the role of Campus Director. She later became Vice President of Academics and served in that role until the end of 1999. During that time, Marylin led the school through reaccreditation with the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools, increased student enrollment by 20% for this dual-campus institution, improved overall financial performance, and added four programs to the school’s offerings. She negotiated several articulation agreements with four-year colleges to facilitate student transfer. Marylin also served as an accreditation review team member with ACICS.
She became President of Andover College, in Portland, Maine in January 2000. Andover, a proprietary college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), had experienced several years of less-than-favorable financial results and was facing a difficult ownership transition. Marylin developed the college’s existing managers into a high-performing management team that ultimately produced turnaround financial results for the college. The college was sold to Kaplan Higher Education in 2005. While at Andover, Marylin was an Executive Board member with the New England College Council and a member of the Maine Higher Education Council.
With a continuing interest in accreditation—which she believes is the central process for improving college operations—Marylin was appointed a New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) commissioner and served on both the Commission on Technical and Career Institutions (2002-2005) and the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (2003-2005).
Marylin joined Career Education Corporation in 2003 as President of McIntosh College in Dover, NH. During her administration, the college earned the coveted President’s Cup award from its parent company by meeting or exceeding company goals for retention (an 8.5% increase), financial performance (12% EBITA margin improvement), placement, new program implementation (3 new programs), and regulatory compliance (leading the institution through a successful 5th year NEASC review and achieving positive internal compliance audit results) while increasing student enrollment 12% during her two-year administration.
In 2005, she left college administration to develop an executive coaching and consulting practice that caters to college presidents and their senior managers. Today, Marylin partners with postsecondary administrators, owners, and governing boards to guide them in achieving their desired results in academics, enrollment management, accreditation, executive management, and student services.
