THE CHANGE LEADER

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Strategic Adaptation of Higher Education - Navigating 2024 and Beyond - The Transformation of Higher Education by Tamara Taylor

Strategic Adaptation in Higher Education: Navigating 2024 and Beyond:

Embracing Transformation and Resilience in Higher Education Business Models

  A Fundamental Rethink of the Higher Education Business Model In the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, institutions must embrace educational innovation and strategic adaptation to change. This involves recognizing new realities in the academic world to stay relevant and effective. The landscape of higher education is being reshaped by several formidable challenges that necessitate a fundamental rethink of the higher education business model. To understand why change is not just necessary but imperative, it is essential to dissect the issues that are causing institutions to falter and compelling them to seek new paths to sustainability. With evolving financial models, colleges and universities–beyond the Ivy League–need to explore sustainable solutions that balance educational quality with fiscal responsibility.   Shrinking Tuition Income from Declining Enrollments and Shifting Demographics One of

December 14, 2023 June 10, 2026
Florida vs Department of Education: Background and Implications

Florida vs Department of Education: Implications and Background:

Redefining State Control in Higher Education

On June 21, 2023, the State of Florida filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education, Florida vs Department of Education. The implications of this lawsuit can be far-reaching. This lawsuit has the potential to change how much influence state governments can have on both higher education accreditation and their institutions. The US Department of Justice has yet to file a response.   The Background – Leading Up to the Lawsuit The lawsuit has been coming for a while, especially considering we’re in the presidential election cycle with the Governor of Florida vying for the presidency.   Florida’s current and former governor have had issues with their accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), for what they view as undue meddling in the State’s affairs. Then Florida, at

August 3, 2023 August 2, 2024
 Improving Institutional Accreditation Transparency - A Call for Change and the Need for Accountability - The Change Leader circled with links to accreditation components

Improving Institutional Accreditation Transparency:

A Call for Change and the Need for Accountability

Why is accreditation transparency important? Accreditors serve as the gatekeepers for over $150 billion in financial aid. Institutional accreditation is the gold standard for higher education institutions in the US and globally. Indeed, without accreditation, most employers and other universities and colleges will not accept a degree from a graduate, whether for employment or graduate school. Colleges and universities are only eligible for federal financial aid if accredited by a Department of Education-approved accreditor. And most importantly, they will attract quality faculty or students to deliver degrees only if an institution is accredited.

July 6, 2023 September 19, 2023
Improving Enrollment Retention and Graduation Rates - Learning from the Arrupe College Strategic Enrollment Model

Improving Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation Rates:

Learning from the Arrupe College Strategic Enrollment Model

Higher education institutions need help improving enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Despite the pandemic “being over,” enrollments have not recovered to the pre-pandemic levels. Exacerbating this, higher ed is facing significant headwinds to recovering enrollments, including the demographic cliff, reduction of public funding, and a robust job market.

March 2, 2023 June 14, 2023
How Innovation and Shared Governance Influence Turnaround Success

How Innovation and Shared Governance Influence Turnaround Success:

The National Louis University Story

Successfully reinventing a college or university into a truly innovative school after cutting a significant portion of programs sounds near impossible. However, the experiences at National Louis University (NLU), a four-campus private institution in Chicago, proved that presidents and other decision-makers can turn around an institution without having the complete buy-in of faculty and staff.

February 20, 2023 April 8, 2024
Embracing a New Model for Higher Ed Governance Part 5 - Building a Culture of Continuous Board Improvement and Accountability | The Change Leader

Embracing a New Model for Higher Ed Governance Part 5: Board Improvement:

Building a Culture of Continuous Board Improvement and Accountability

The fifth and last installment in our series explores how higher education can reflect the ever-changing landscape of society and industry to meet their expectations. At The Change Leader, we propose a culture of continuous board improvement and accountability as a way to avoid the detrimental impact of stagnant governance.

January 8, 2022 September 9, 2023
Embracing a New Model for Higher Ed Governance Part 4 | The Change Leader

Embracing a New Model for Higher Ed Governance Part 4:

How The Board and President Relationships Have Evolved

In the last of our Embracing a New Model for Higher Ed Governance series, we discuss how board roles continue to shift, even as higher education’s focus evolves with the rapidly changing environment. These shifts bring pressure on the board to embrace their responsibilities for oversight as well as the opportunity to serve in a consultant capacity to the institution. These emerging roles are quickly becoming a requirement because of the rapidly changing external environment that is VUCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. Not to be neglected, the relationship between the board of trustees and the higher education president is one that can change the trajectory of the institution. On the positive side, this relationship can spark innovation, transparency, and accountability in a way that infuses the college or university,

December 17, 2021 November 12, 2024
EMBRACING A NEW MODEL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE PART 3: How New Board Roles Facilitate Institutional Transformation

Embracing a New Model for Higher Education Governance Part 3:

How New Board Roles Facilitate Institutional Transformation

In our series Embracing a New Model for Higher Education Governance, part 1 discussed raising the bar for college and university leaders. In part 2 we covered the updated board duties. Now we continue the series and discuss how new board roles can facilitate institutional transformation.

Higher education continues to face continual transformational change, and to successfully navigate this change requires a new model of work. While much of this focus is rightfully placed on the operations and academic sides of the equation, the governance process also must change to give colleges and universities the ballast comprised of insights, flexibility, and foresight to move forward confidently in the changing global environment.

November 13, 2021 September 9, 2023
EMBRACING A NEW MODEL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE PART 2: The Updated Board Duties

Embracing a New Model for Higher Education Governance Part 2:

The Updated Board Duties

In this second post of our three-part series on the New Higher Education Governance Model, we discuss the updated board duties in higher ed and how boards can embrace their new roles and responsibilities as they work to meet the challenges facing colleges and universities today. As institutions continue to evolve, so must the way boards operate. Boards are charged with overseeing an institution’s mission, vision, values, strategic direction, financial health, academic quality, student success, community engagement, diversity, inclusion, research, faculty development, campus safety, and more. Evolving with a holistic approach is more important now than it’s ever been.

October 2, 2021 May 22, 2024
EMBRACING A NEW MODEL FOR HIGHER EDUCATION GOVERNANCE Part 1: Raising The Bar For College And University Leaders

Embracing a New Model for Higher Education Governance Part 1:

Raising the Bar for College and University Leaders

Our institutions of higher learning must begin embracing a new model for higher education governance and shared governance. As change continually buffets colleges and universities, higher education boards are increasingly finding themselves in the hot seat. Trustees are facing challenges such as the pandemic, the enrollment cliff, declining state funding, and increasing online learning that ultimately will make or break the institution they govern and are responsible for.

August 11, 2021 April 7, 2026
Preparing Higher Ed for the Turnover Tsunami

Preparing Higher Ed for the Turnover Tsunami:

7 Key Decisions University Leaders Must Make Post-Pandemic

Higher education isn’t immune from the anticipated post-pandemic Turnover Tsunami. College and university leaders must prepare and plan for the way the pandemic changed the way of work—and now the labor force is rapidly making its feedback known about what will be required for them to remain at work. Will higher education leaders listen? Or will colleges and universities return to pre-pandemic work expectations?

July 12, 2021 April 7, 2026
Strategic Planning in Higher Education 101

Strategic Planning in Higher Education 101:

Is it time to go back to basics or move forward with new standards for the planning process?

Strategic planning in higher education 101: planning in times of consistent change. As colleges and universities step into a sense of “new normal,” it is becoming increasingly important for higher education leaders and boards to recommit to the strategic planning process. Times are far from normal as institutions face the enrollment cliff, find ways to continue to integrate online learning, and reconsider other changes that came in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These combined issues make it a perfect time for leaders to adjust their approach to strategic planning in higher education and decide whether to extend the work on their current strategic plan—or to make an abrupt departure from the previous playbook and recreate a strategic plan from scratch. While the latter may be the right option, it is

April 22, 2021 October 5, 2023
ERM - Enterprise Risk Management in Higher Ed Part 3

Enterprise Risk Management in Higher Ed Part 3:

Risk Oversight and the Board’s Role in Higher Education Risk Management

The need for enterprise risk management (ERM) in higher ed was underscored by the chaotic nature of 2020. However, as noted in our previous blogs in this Enterprise Risk Management for Higher Ed series Part 1 -an overview of risk planning and Part 2 – Risk Planning And Its Critical Role In Higher Education, many higher education institutions are unsure why and how to develop this type of plan and then administrators’ roles in operationalizing this effort.  This post addresses the other major component that needs to be addressed in creating an ERM plan—the important role the institution’s board plays in the ERM. The Board of Trustees plays a crucial role in effective enterprise risk planning management, which is a critical part of higher education’s toolkit in preparing for and

April 9, 2021 August 6, 2024
Enterprise Risk Management in Higher Ed Part 2

Enterprise Risk Management in Higher Ed Part 2:

Risk Planning and its Critical Role in Higher Education

Enterprise risk management is a critical part of higher education’s toolkit in preparing for and mitigating disruptions. As mentioned in part 1 of the Enterprise Risk Management in Higher Ed series, these disruptions can be hazards/accidents, societal, governmental, and technology. There are two parts of enterprise risk management—risk planning, which is done by the institution’s administration, and risk oversight, which is done by the institution’s board of trustees. This blog will focus specifically on risk planning and a later blog will address risk oversight.

March 18, 2021 January 16, 2022

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