News

Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust Almost all colleges and universities have already started making cuts, many of which are targeted rather than across-the-board. Yet many institutions have not established inclusive and transparent processes for making and implementing these decisions. Recent faculty outcry against program prioritization at such institutions as Miami University and the University of Toronto has demonstrated that trust can be a resource as critical to steward as dollars. Even if your institution identifies the right programs or units to restructure or downsize, you may lose more than you gain for your institution’s future if the decision-making process is one that damages the trust and morale in your organization. When planning major changes to resource allocation across your institution, it’s critical to approach the effort with a commitment to inviting broad participation and to soliciting input from a wide cross-section of stakeholders both internal and external to your institution. This broad participation is critical to your success in building trust and maintaining transparency as you develop your institution’s plan for prioritization […]

Securing New Resources in a Difficult Financial Climate

by Amit Mrig

In this report: October 2010. In reviewing the last two years, it might be easy to think that higher education’s economic challenges largely precipitated from the recession and are thus temporary. Unfortunately, most institutions have been operating in a financially unsustainable way for many years. Rather than make the tough decisions about what to invest in and what not to, many institutions have instead continued to add programs and seek new sources of revenue to fund these investments. However, this recession demands that institutional leaders face a hard reality: most new resources are not going to come from external sources but from strategic reallocation of the resources you already have. That’s why we’ve chosen to address resource allocation and reprioritization in our first issue of Higher Ed Impact: Monthly Diagnostic. Many institutions are already making difficult cuts that would have proven politically untenable in stronger economic times. Yours might be one of them. But are you being strategic in your approach to ensure that after these cuts are made, your institution is stronger and more competitive as a result? We’ve asked former presidents, provosts, and CFOs for advice on what campus leaders can do in both the short and long term […]

Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust It’s vital to recognize that the single greatest source of financial resources will not come from tuition increases, state or federal funding, or alumni support, but rather from the reallocation of your existing resources. Institutions of all sizes, types, and selectivity are currently investing in academic and administrative programs that are not critical to their mission or their market position, and that in fact drain their financial resources and limit their ability to generate more resources. “Strategic plans have become purely additive. … These plans tend to assume several things: (1) the status quo as a given, with all current programs composing the baseline, (2) all programs, goals, and objectives are to be “maintained” or “enhanced,” but rarely diminished or eliminated, (3) if resources are mentioned at all, they are to be enhanced by hiking tuition, increasing enrollment, securing more appropriations or grants, or raising more money, or all of these, and (4) all planning goals are equal in weight and importance and thus lack priority. […]

Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust The economic crisis has opened a window of opportunity for institutional leaders. This can be a time to make previously unpopular cuts, and to engage the campus community in a strategic planning and prioritization effort. The economic situation demands that colleges and universities challenge old and long-held assumptions and planning/budgeting scenarios. However, it’s critical that leaders proceed with intentionality and clarity of purpose. It will be difficult to make strategic cuts and identify the right units to invest in if your institution does not have clear, strategic objectives and a defined sense of its mission. “Most institutions are unrealistically striving to be all things to all people in their quest for students, reputation, and support rather than focusing their resources on the mission and programs that they can accomplish with distinction.” Bob Dickeson, in Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services (2nd ed; Jossey Bass, 2010) We interviewed Bob Dickeson (President Emeritus, University of Northern Colorado), Lucie Lapovsky (Principal, Lapovsky Consulting; past president of Mercy College), Larry Goldstein […]

Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Advance with a Defined Sense of Purpose Identify Inefficiencies on the Academic Side of the House Prioritize Academic and Administrative Units Plan for Resource Allocation in Ways That Build Trust The vast majority of an institution’s resources are expended on instructionally related and academic support activities. Institutions looking to identify inefficiencies and reallocate resources toward key investments are likely to find the most opportunities to increase efficiency by revisiting their academic programs and units. Lucie Lapovsky, president of Lapovsky Consulting and past president of Mercy College, offers advice on where to look to begin freeing up resources and using existing resources more efficiently. “Many leaders haven’t given enough attention to cutting costs on the academic side of the house.” Lucie Lapovsky, Lapovsky Consulting Audit Your Curriculum Lapovsky recommends asking some hard questions, using your mission or strategic vision as a guide to help you identify what is core and what isn’t: Do you have unnecessary duplication in courses within your own curriculum? Are there opportunities to share resources with neighboring institutions? Do you have many courses that are consistently under-enrolled? “Where do you share curriculum with other schools in your vicinity or with schools you could […]

An Approach to Learning Games for Lower-Division Courses

The past year has seen a growing trend in Web-based learning games that are custom-built to address a specific learning need and in this way improve students’ academic performance. Examples include Roger Travis’ “practomime” exercises for his classics students at the University of Connecticut and this month’s Chemical Mahjong Tournament at Stetson University. We interviewed William (Tandy) Grubbs, a professor in Stetson University’s department of chemistry and the co-creator of Mahjong Chem, to find out what other institutions can learn from the approach he took to developing a learning game for a lower-division undergraduate course. AI:  Tandy, in creating this learning game, what were your goals? What specific learning challenges are you hoping the game will address? Grubbs: I’ve had a long interest in creating open access, Web-based materials that will promote learning. A couple of years ago, I decided to focus on the development of materials that would promote learning at the introductory chemistry level. The AT&T Foundation generously supported this project with a $50K grant to Stetson University (awarded in early 2009). I know that there has been growing interest in using “gaming” to improve STEM learning; Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign includes a national effort to design […]

Tips for Outreach to Area High Schools

Colleges frequently pursue partnerships with local high schools to improve college preparation and build a stronger pipeline for first-generation students, but these are often focused just on providing brief sessions either at the high school or on the college campus. Really effective partnerships involve more than just a quick one-and-done workshop. We contacted Mary Ontiveros, vice president for diversity at Colorado State University, to share lessons learned from the success of CSU’s Alliance Partnership Program and specific tips for colleges and universities looking to work in tandem with area high schools. More than Just Your Agenda: It’s About Addressing the Schools’ Needs “Don’t go in with a plan. Go in to listen. Find out what’s causing the problem, what barriers are keeping more first-generation students from attending college. Is it money? Is it lack of resources at the high school to provide sufficient counselors? Is it difficulty in getting parents involved? Is it concern over the rigor of the school’s classes and the level of college preparation? Does the school need multicultural training for their staff and instructors to help them better relate to a certain demographic? Find out what that school’s needs are. Then formulate your plan in response.” Mary […]

Addressing the Academic Leadership Crisis

In a recent editorial entitled “The Imminent Crisis in College Leadership,” Richard Ekman, the president of the Council of Independent Colleges, suggested a growing risk is that more institutions may soon be led by presidents who have less of an understanding of the academic mission, and he called for greater investments in professional development and succession planning for academic leaders at all levels (from the department chair to the provost). While Ekman’s editorial was primarily focused on how academic leaders perceive the presidency (in the wake of recent research indicating how few provosts aspire to be presidents), his editorial also hints at several key practices that are needed, more broadly, for fostering in an institution’s academic leaders not only the inclination but also the skills to become effective leaders. Among his suggestions: “Faculty members with the potential to serve effectively as department chairs or assistant deans need encouragement to view such roles as opportunities for professional growth and support.” “Presidents should take seriously their role as mentors of talented young administrators and faculty members.” We turned to Pat Sanaghan, president of the Sanaghan Group, for suggestions about specific steps institutional leaders can take toward those objectives. The President as Mentor Sanaghan […]

Outsourcing Financial Aid Operations

Financial aid offices at colleges that are experiencing rising enrollment as well as increased percentages of the student population seeking financial aid find themselves facing: High inbound call volume (especially at peak times) Longer lines as students unable to get through by phone visit the office in person A bottleneck in staff time and resources with the verification process, as the US Department of Education is selecting more financial aid reports to be verified This strain comes at a time of tight budgets, when most financial aid directors are not able to add staff or other resources. Once these bottlenecks begin to result in deterioration of service, this situation makes outsourcing your call center or your verification process an attractive option. But it is critical to outsource to the right contractor and with the right oversight in place. We turned to Dewey Knight, associate director of financial aid at the University of Mississippi, for his advice on due diligence in outsourcing financial aid operations. Making the Decision to Outsource “I am a big believer in outsourcing financial aid functions when that contributes to a better experience for students and parents,” Knight advises. “But you have to do it right.” In […]

Academic Libraries: Defining (and Communicating) Your Value

Amid calls for accountability, a new report from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) offers recommendations for academic libraries on how to define their value to the institution and how to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. Among the recommendations: defining outcomes, putting assessment management systems in place, and defining and strengthening the library’s contribution to student success. In light of the report, we turned to Paul Gandel, professor of information studies at Syracuse University, and Gene Spencer, principal of Gene Spencer Consulting, for additional advice on how academic libraries can define and communicate their value. Being Seen as the Solution “People have to see you as a solution they need. No amount of awareness or promotion is going to make you relevant. Your vision for how the library can contribute to the institutional mission is what makes you relevant.” Paul Gandel, Syracuse U The ACRL report lists multiple ways in which libraries can measure and define their value, including: Library impact on students’ academic success, persistence, and retention Library impact on student job success Library impact on student learning Library impact on faculty research productivity Library impact on increasing grant revenue through assistance with faculty […]