Assessment & Consulting

PC Technology

NewSouth AssociatesNS provides the following PC-based services to individual, corporate clients, and educational and other non-profit institutions.

  • Setup, Deployment, and Configuration of All Microsoft Operating Systems
  • Setup and Deployment of Basic RedHat Linux 7.x Workstations
  • Installation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting of all types of PC Hardware

Network Technology

NewSouth AssociatesNS provides the following other network-based services to individual, corporate clients, and educational and other non-profit institutions.

  • Setup and configuration of Cisco Routers
  • Setup and configuration of Cisco Switching products
  • Setup and configuration of WatchGuard Firewall products that provide:
    • Application level Firewalling
    • Secure Hardware based VPN
    • Internet content filtering
    • Web tracking

Server Technology

Microsoft Server Products
We provide the following Microsoft server products services to individual, corporate clients, and educational and other non-profit institutions.

  • Setup and Installation of Windows NT4/2000 Servers8
  • Setup and configuration of Windows NT/2000 Terminal Server
  • Setup and configuration of Windows NT/2000 RDP Client
  • Setup and Installation of Microsoft Exchange 5.5/2000 Servers with web interfaces
  • Setup of Network File and Printer Sharing
  • Setup of Microsoft Proxy Server/ Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000
  • Basic Installation and Setup of Microsoft SQL 7.0/2000
  • Setup of Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0/5.0 to host a variety of web and ftp sites
  • Setup of Basic Scripting to map drives via standard Batch
  • Setup of other basic networking services (DNS, WINS, DHCP)
  • Setup of VPN (NT4) or Routing and Remote Access (Win2K) for VPN services

Redhat Linux Server Products
We provide the following RedHat Linux server products services to individual, corporate clients, and educational and other non-profit institutions.

Installation and configuration of RedHat Linux 7.x in the following configurations:

  • Web Server
  • Mail Server
  • FTP Server
  • Firewall
  • DNS Server
  • File/Printer Sharing (Samba)
  • DHCP Server

Unix Server Products
We provide the following UNIX server products services to individual, corporate clients, and educational and other non-profit institutions.

  • Setup and configuration of IBM RS/6000 AIX V4.X Server
  • Setup and configuration of IBM AIX Development Software
  • Setup and configuration of IBM Informix Database Software
  • System programming of IBM Informix and ACE Report Writing
  • Setup and configuration of SCO/Caldera OpenServer Enterprise Systems
  • Setup and configuration of SCO/Caldera UnixWare Enterprise Systems
  • Setup and configuration of all UNIX Networking Services including VPN and Routing
  • System programming through UNIX Advanced Scripting
  • Setup and configuration of UNIX Backup and Recovery System

Other Server-Based Products
We provide the following other server-based services to individual, corporate clients, and educational and other non-profit institutions.

  • Corporate Virus Protection via McAfee or Norton Anti-Virus Corporate Edition
  • Network Backup and Disaster Recovery via Veritas Backup Exec 8.x
  • Advanced Network Scripting that allows for advanced user mapping and local PC lockdown via Scriptlogic
  • Installation and configuration of Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 for Windows and UNIX
  • Basic Installation and Troubleshooting of Blackbaud Server Products based on the new Adaptive Server Anywhere engine (RE7 or above / AFN 6.4 or above)
  • Administrative Installs of Microsoft Office Products that allow for easy updating
  • Setup and Configuration of Altiris Deployment Server PC Management Software
  • Lab Rollouts
  • Remote Troubleshooting
  • Image Creation
  • Basic Inventory
  • Software Deployment

Information Technology

Technology investment in today’s information age is crucial to the success of any organization. Technical solutions must not only support the organization’s strategy but it must ultimately help to enhance productivity, promote growth, and streamline operations. The demands on businesses, educational institutions, and other organizations to deploy new technology in the rapidly changing markets of a global economy are in many ways unreachable within their existing infrastructure. Businesses know how costly it is to add an additional employee in order to deploy a new facet of technology. For many organizations desiring to add an entire IT department, the costs are too exorbitant, and therefore, they are not feasible due to budgetary constraints.

NewSouth AssociatesNS answers this need by providing a wide range of technical expertise and IT services to any business, educational institution, or other organization. We have assembled a group of the very best IT consultants that are proficient in deploying server technology, network technology, and PC technology. In addition, NewSouth AssociatesNS can work with any organization to design and implement a complete IT infrastructure, including the support and maintenance of that structure.

For more information about how we can help, contact us at 336.946.0265.

Promotional Videos

What message best resonates with our community? How best do we get that message out? We believe that marketing is a matter of maximizing information about the positive things going on in an organization, but through new digital media that can reach a wider audience. These days, the most effective way to do so is digitally.

An often unrecognized fact is that schools now must market as much to students as to their parents. Sadly, in many communities, the student makes the decision about which school to attend from as early as fourth grade. In response, many schools become gun shy and timid, unwilling to hold students to higher standards of comportment or make the tough call with regard to decisions that affect critical school culture. The real challenge is creating an environment where students are held to the highest standards – both from a character and academic point of view, but creating an environment where they are safe to say “no” to peer pressure and make counter-cultural choices.

The essence of marketing, then, is pointing to the many fun and exciting parts of a school environment that dares to do all of the above, and our children are now part of a digital generation. Author Don Tapscott, in his book Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation, points to the power of this new generation. “These 88 million children of the baby boomers in the U.S and Canada are combining demographic muscle and digital mastery to become a force for social transformation. In a nutshell, because of their access to the digital media, these young people learn, work, think, shop and create differently than their parents. There is no issue more important to parents, teachers, policy makers, marketers and social activists than understanding this new generation.”

So, a cutting-edge, effective website, the expanded use of media such as DVDs and web-delivered MPEGs, and the inclusion of video training and in-house video production, can complement the more traditional admission and marketing materials to create a fuller, more enticing package. Most schools also forget the importance of marketing to prospective teachers and administrators in addition to potential paying customers, but we at NewSouth AssociatesNS believe that attractive, eye-popping school promotional videos, coupled with special features highlighting future capital and endowment fundraising projects, can be one of the most important teacher recruitment tools a school has to offer.

Media Consulting & Planning

Even before tragic events like Columbine and September 11th, because of the complexity of their operations and the emotionally charged issues surrounding children, schools are faced frequently with crisis situations. Even if a school has not yet had to deal with a crisis involving students or faculty, an incident is an ever-present possibility. The range of potential crises is nearly limitless, from accidents involving students or faculty, to natural disasters, to student, faculty, or staff misconduct.

NewSouth AssociatesNS, through its consultants and affiliates, can provide strategic and crisis planning before an incident occurs. Seminars and workshops on media relations are available and are invaluable in training administrators, staff and Board members in sound techniques for managing information during a crisis. NewSouth AssociatesNS can assist schools in drafting or refining crisis plans for use in an event of an emergency, and can help develop strategies to promote effective communications with a school’s various constituencies.

If a crisis has already erupted, NewSouth AssociatesNS can provide counsel during the early hours and days of the event. This narrow window of time is critical in shaping public perception of both the crisis and the institution’s response. In its advisory role, NewSouth AssociatesNS can provide counsel both via telephone and email and on site if necessary. Schools may choose to purchase services either by the hour or through an annual retainer of the company.

Curriculum Design

Do you know what your students are learning? Do you know how? Most importantly, do they know why? NewSouth AssociatesNS now offers curriculum design services to help schools answer these important questions.

Curriculum services include:

  • Curriculum mapping
  • Particular program analysis
  • Testing result analysis (ERB, SAT, AP)
  • Constituent surveys
  • Course design
  • Textbook/material consulting
  • Program design and implementation
  • Learning style accommodations
  • Learning Center programs

With a growing understanding of the complex nuances of cognitive development and the subsequent explosion of skills and information required to thrive in today’s world, many schools have had to reexamine long held beliefs and assumptions in their curricula. While this process is often beneficial, the change it engenders can be disruptive and in its most severe form, debilitating to a school. NewSouth AssociatesNS can help schools avoid the pitfalls of curriculum analysis and renewal and can assist schools of all types and sizes to critically analyze, amend or add curricular and co-curricular programs.

Enrollment Management Consulting

Enrollment management is far more than greeting families with enthusiasm and following through carefully as they consider your school, though that’s a great first start. From the initial contact to the point of closing, a school must do everything possible to put its best foot forward in the admission process. And, following a commitment on the part of the family, great care should be taken to afford a smooth transition into the school community. Effective and regular communication, a servant-leader attitude toward the families who make up a school’s constituency, and consistent reminders of your school’s value for the tuition paid help create loyal customers who identify with the school throughout their adult years. The ultimate goal for all schools is to have the longest possible waiting lists for every grade, and – depending upon its mission – choose families over individuals, for it is the full family – well served by the school – that makes the greatest long-term commitment to any educational institution.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace where prospective families have become sophisticated educational consumers, schools have had to develop more and more complex strategies for managing their enrollments. The complicated interrelationship of admissions calendars, open houses, testing, financial aid, and enrollment contracts can bedevil even the most established institutions, particularly where prospective students are applying to competing schools in a given market. NewSouth AssociatesNS can work with Admissions and Financial Aid offices, along with the school administration and board, to analyze and improve the enrollment management of a school.

Distinctiveness Consulting

Many schools are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish their educational services from those offered by other schools in their target markets. NewSouth AssociatesNS can assist a school in identifying and articulating unique strengths and features in a school, or can provide counsel in developing and implementing new programs and initiatives which will distinguish a school in its market. This process of distinctiveness consulting proceeds in close concert with administrators, faculty and governing fiduciaries like the Board of Trustees, with a careful eye toward furthering the school’s own defined mission. NewSouth AssociatesNS can further assist in drafting a plan for implementing a particular initiative.

Governance

At NewSouth AssociatesNS, we know that an eleemosynary institution can only be as strong as the people who run it. The best such institutions are built and guided by strong committees working with talented administrators and executives within a framework of clear authority. So often in troubled eleemosynary institutions, the power structure was never well defined, or it has become unclear over time. Poor governance leads – quite simply – to poor institutions.

Our consultants have vast experience with governance issues in many different settings, and we can help you identify and fix problems that may be preventing your institution from becoming its best self.