Our Higher Education Blogs are dedicated to helping college and university leaders improve their institutions and the business of higher education.
Our blogs and articles are published by Dr. Drumm McNaughton, CEO of The Change Leader, a higher education consulting firm. Drumm McNaughton is a renowned leader and pioneer in strategic management systems and leadership, and one of a select group with executive leadership experience in academe, nonprofits, government, and business. Over the course of his career, his change initiatives and counsel have resulted in over $500 million in revenues to organizations’ bottom line.
Higher Ed financial stability and global volatility continue to cause sleepless nights for college and university leadership. Cash-strapped U.S. colleges and universities have been hit with state budget cuts for the last 10 years, and because of this, they been forced to admit a higher number of foreign students. The
Higher Education grant writing plays a key role in the fundraising plans of higher education institutions. Unfortunately, there’s no magic recipe for guaranteed success in grant writing. Higher Education Grant Writing Challenges For higher education, the biggest issues are that universities are not set up to design and develop grant-funded
The needs of working students can often be overlooked by institutions of higher learning. New research performed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has found that working students’ needs are different than those of traditional students, and colleges and universities must adapt if they are to attract and retain
Culture building and leadership development in higher education ensure adherence to higher ethical standards, which are critical for your institution. The University of California at Davis placed Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi on administrative leave after an investigation “raised serious questions” about potential violations of university policies. The next week, she
Is Experiential Education the foundation of Colleges and Universities of tomorrow? How will higher education function in the future? Look beyond distance and online education to more experiential education. The future of residential colleges and universities in America is a hotly debated topic right now. Many are asking how higher
Your higher ed business model can learn a lot from the newspaper biz. Journalism is among the most revered and important careers in the modern world — but a combination of fast-moving technology and slow shifts in practices has made the profession a shadow of what it once was. Even
The top trends in higher education have changed dramatically since March 2020. This post was written before the COVID crisis, which accelerated many of these trends. In 2016, the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative issued a report called the NMC Horizon Report: 2016 Higher Education Edition that
Leadership development in Higher Education has a problem in that there are not enough good leaders who are ready to take over the helm of a college or university, and it comes down to “you get what you measure.” Until recently, the basic responsibilities of leaders in higher education have
There’s a new book to examine changes in the Higher Ed marketplace, and it’s pretty thought-provoking. We live in a changing world, and nowhere is that more apparent than in higher education. The intellectual energy, thirst for innovation, and a steady stream of technology-savvy young people can make academic institutions
The ubiquitous budget crisis in higher ed. The University of California at Berkeley is recognized as one of the top public universities in the nation, but lately, it has been making headlines for another reason–its growing budget deficit. To patch holes in its budget, UC Berkeley has been accepting a
We need to see more progress for women in higher education. Higher education has a problem of not having enough women on boards and in key leadership positions. In 2009, the American Council on Education released a comprehensive study of female faculty in higher education. It showed that although women
How Higher Ed measures progress and performance toward its vision and goals is vital to its success, but the “how” and the “why” are often fuzzy. Higher education institutions’ bottom-line goal is to create meaningful change for the people and causes they serve. Passion for the cause and the desire
The greatest challenges facing Higher Ed, according to those on the inside. Presidents of Higher Education Institutions have a unique insight into their institution’s problems, and it’s no secret that higher education is facing a sort of crisis. As public aid is slashed and students are faced with mounting debts,
Hiring the right people at your college or university is critical to building a high-performing institution. To enjoy continued success in the world of higher education, you’ve got to find the right staff and faculty members to join your team. Each new hire takes a significant amount of time and
Employee retention in higher ed starts early and you must be proactive. Why is employee retention important to the success of your college or university? Hiring a talented and dedicated staff, and then retaining them, is essential to running a successful college or university, and the key to retaining them
Is your higher-ed leadership style as effective as it could be? Today’s education leaders face new pressures from within their own institutions and from stakeholders outside the institution, and the need for effective leadership is critical. Do you know your higher ed leadership style? High turnover rates, constant funding cuts,
When it comes down to it, finding growth opportunities in higher education institutions is the ultimate concern of every college or university leader. How far should we expand our operations? What kind of expansion can we afford? How much will we grow in the coming quarter? In the coming year?
Thoughtful organizational change management strategies require a lot of deep insight, followed by strategic planning and skillful plan implementation. Every organization continually strives to do better, respond faster, and drive profits higher – and that means change is constant. But sometimes it takes holistic, organization-wide change to bring about real
What’s the difference between strategic management and strategic planning? Both strategic management and strategic planning are keys to business success in any industry, but few know the difference between the two. According to a 2009 Harvard Business Review article, “Four Fatal Flaws of Strategic Planning,” 88 percent of companies engage
Leadership performance and mindfulness go hand in hand. Everyone has bad days. It’s a fact of life. There will be days when you’re under the weather, exhausted from a late-night, or feeling unmotivated. Though most of us simply try to power through, a lack of mental energy decreases our ability
Discovering the fundamentals of leadership through observing Navy Seal Hell Week. No, you don’t have to crawl under live machine-gun fire or lay prone for hours in the freezing surf to learn the value of leadership, but there’re lots that we in academe can learn about leadership from the Navy
Leading Organizational Change in Higher Ed Strategy Part 3: Create The Vision and Strategy is the continuation of the last two segments of our series Leading Organizational Change, which discussed creating a sense of urgency and finding leaders to help you implement organizational change. Today we’re going to talk about
What are the benefits of hiring a higher ed consultant for colleges and universities? A higher ed consultant delivers many benefits to the leadership team, boards of director, and the entire institution itself. They come with diverse industry-wide insights and have witnessed, firsthand, what works and what doesn’t. Their depth
Maintaining team integrity in Higher Ed is an integral part of innovation and success. While some describe change as the only constant in the world, it’s often misunderstood from the business perspective. Additionally, it’s often taken for granted that others interpret integrity in the same manner, however, some interpret it
Organizational Change in Higher Ed Leaders Part 2 in the series is about finding the change leaders in your institution who will facilitate momentum. Our previous installment of the eight-part series Leading Organizational Change in Higher Ed discussed how to create a sense of urgency in your staff and bring
The urgency for change is our first post in a series called Leading Organizational Change in Higher Ed to help higher education institutions’ leadership and teams be successful in their transformational efforts. When changes need to be made institution-wide, it takes far more than a few emails to upper-management. Whereas
Creating a fun and productive Higher Ed culture means striking a balance that’s not easy until you get the hang of it. Technology has changed world culture in ways nobody could have predicted. The Millennial generation is entering the workforce, a generation of idealistic, confident, demanding, and, above all, individualistic
Do you want to know how your higher ed institution can beat the competition? Let’s take a look at how startups compete with big corporations for some pointers. They usually can’t match the salaries offered to promising applicants. They can’t offer the same benefits. Their offices don’t have pool tables
Most of us already know a few strategies to remove office negativity but we often need a refresher and perhaps some new ideas. 87% of companies report that employee engagement and office culture are their number one challenges. A recent Harvard study demonstrates how important it is to remove office
What Employers Need to Know to Build an Engaged Workforce We currently have four (or maybe five) generations in the workforce, and according to some sources, millennials already surpass the baby boomers in numbers. Whereas Millennials, those Generation-Y whiz kids born roughly between 1980 and the early 2000s, have some
Improve your higher ed employee engagement and gain from the ripple effect. While they report feeling more involved than their global counterparts, less than one-third of American professionals describe themselves as actively engaged in their work, according to a 2014 Gallup survey. How can companies encourage their employees to become
Building Higher Ed success through leadership mindset and approach to change. As the Change Leader, I am often asked: what are the key steps to help Higher Ed institutions succeed? The truth is there is only one way: change the leadership. That doesn’t necessarily mean replacing leadership, but if they
It’s time to examine a systems perspective for Higher Education success, which was big for the LA Unified School District. If you are suffering from insomnia some nights, watch Mindwalk. This 1990 film, with Sam Waterston, will either cure you of sleeplessness or it will give you a nice look
Higher education faces a lot of problems in today’s day and age – everything from decreasing enrollment, political interference, changing demographics, shared governance – the list goes on and on. Many higher education institutions call on us to help them solve their organizational problems, whether that be a lack of
Evolution vs. revolution: do you know the difference? When it comes to change management, understanding what is evolution vs. revolution can be the difference between success and failure. Change is everywhere. And whether you’re talking about your hometown or your day-to-day activities, evolution, i.e., adjustment and fine-tuning of the current
Organizational transparency is here to stay. In fact, some may argue it’s the new competitive advantage. With the digital age in full bloom, it’s never been easier or more convenient for institutions to open doors to how they think and behave. The expectation for increased transparency is simply a consequence
Morality in Higher Education matters. Not too many years ago, the organization was in a powerful position and could rely on its people to support and maintain any direction necessary- even if it meant compromising morals. In many cases, workers overlooked bad behavior- even participated in it- and did so
In this organizational evolution case study, we’ll explore what two evolved organizations look like. Is organizational evolution easy to recognize? What differentiates evolved behavior from behavior in transition? Throughout my travels, I have seen my share of companies and I am often asked to identify what I believe to be
Valuing Values & Creating a Living Company “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower Value-Driven Decisions & Creating a Living Company The Los Angeles School District serves almost 700,000 students and employs 84,000 people with a budget of $7.3 billion. After
