Transforming Higher Ed in turbulent times may seem impossible, in “normal” times is difficult enough. Preparing for what comes next and strategically managing the transformation will make or break your institution.
If you’ve wondered how Higher Ed institutions survive volatility and prevent becoming a casualty in today’s environment, you’ve come to the right place.
Higher ed institutions are grappling with declining enrollment. The old ways of recruiting students that institutions used during the “go-go” years 15 years ago no longer work – there is far more competition for a shrinking pool of “traditional” students, student demographics have changed, and numerous other reasons. This has resulted in deep discounting of tuition, institutions investing in “climbing walls and lazy rivers” on campus, and other ways to attract prospective students.
The Changing Face of Higher Ed Part 9: The Growth of Online Education
What is the future role of faculty for institutions of higher learning? Colleges and universities are not known for making rapid changes, although many who work in higher education – especially faculty members — have strong feelings about the ways others need to change. Yet with change happening so quickly and in so many ways, the role of faculty members has to change.
The Changing Face of Higher Ed Part 6: The Future of Public Funding of Higher Ed. Higher education leaders must develop a new model for funding. This blog, the XX in a series, will discuss where we’ve been and where we’re going in terms of public funding of higher education.
Environmental scanning is a critical and ongoing part of the planning process in which information on external events and trends are continuously collected and considered throughout the planning process.
Higher ed budget cuts and accountability issues threaten higher education institutions worldwide. The financial challenges facing higher education institutions are immense. Many higher education leaders are in a difficult spot: declining tuition revenues and lower state allocations. The federal tax bill also threatens to slice into many higher education budgets, as has President Trump’s immigration policies and the game of ping pong he appears to be playing with the federal courts. All of these are forcing higher education leaders to consider draconian cuts to budgets.
What are the New Year resolutions for college and university presidents? As we embark on a new year, higher education continues to face what seems to be a perfect storm of challenges. It’s what we do to meet those challenges that will determine higher education relevance in the United States – and the nation’s place in the global economy.
Effective University leadership must be supermen or superwomen – the skills, knowledge, and experience required to be an effective leader of a higher education institution are unlike that of nearly any other profession.
We now have five generations in the workplace and those who are coming into leadership positions have virtually NO formal leadership training. One implication of leadership that we’ll address in a future Change Leader blog is the importance of succession planning.
College and university closures. According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, closures of four-year, private, not-for-profit universities and colleges in 2017 are expected to triple from the current average rate of five per year.