Don’t Wait for the Roof to Fall In
The risk management study One of our first consulting assignments involved an institution that was facing growing financial problems. The institution approached a lender requesting a sizable sum of money to address a number of problems they had identified. The lender contacted our office seeking guidance. Understanding that there are times the operation of a […]
All Colleges Can Be Prominent
The current landscape of higher education in America is experiencing a critical shift. Since the 2013-2014 academic year, 726 or 15% of the 4,724 degree-granting colleges and universities have closed. (NCES, 2024) Currently, colleges are shutting down at an alarming frequency of approximately one per week (Fain, 2019). This trend is driven by a declining […]
A Guide to Assessing an Institution’s Financial Stability
The landscape of higher education is currently experiencing significant turbulence. A recent report detailed the following: • Factors such as declining high school graduate numbers, public skepticism about the value of a college degree, and tuition hikes have led to a decrease in enrollment. • The financial burden on colleges and universities has been exacerbated […]
Planning Your Future: From Futility to Focusing
On my first day as a college president, I looked behind the desk and saw two six-inch, three-ring binders. I was told that the binders contained the college’s ten-year strategic plan that was two years in the making. I was further advised that they had been sitting on the shelf since the plan had been […]
Student Support: The Personal Touch
As colleges scramble to attract and retain students, some institutions have started to improve their approach to student support by casting aside the more traditional, bureaucratic method and move toward the more innovative, personalized approach. Each offers a unique way of interacting with and assisting students, but they have markedly different impacts on student outcomes. […]
Why Our Colleges Exist?
The Great Misalignment A recent report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce starkly highlights the growing misalignment between the demands of the current job market and the degrees being offered by higher education institutions (Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, 2024). This discrepancy is not limited to the realm of certificates and […]
Building Degrees – Attracting Students
Stackable Credentials In the dynamic landscape of today’s higher education, many colleges are grappling with declining enrollment figures. Traditional degree programs, once considered the gold standard of post-secondary education, are now being challenged by the evolving demands of the job market and the diverse needs of modern students. The solution, arguably, may lie in exploring […]
HBCU’s – Restoring the Burden of Expectations
The Burden of Expectations The historical context of higher education in America is marked by notable disparities, particularly between Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Early HBCUs, established primarily during the late 1800s, bore an immense “burden of expectations,” a phenomenon that was largely absent in their white counterparts. A study […]
Boosting the Bottom Line Through Athletics
When the University of Arizona’s men’s basketball team takes on California State University, Long Beach today, it will mark the beginning of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s wildly popular and lucrative men’s basketball tournament known as March Madness. The Wildcats—a contender to make a run for the national championship given their high seed and strong […]
Unleashing Innovation and Improvement
The Great Depression The Great Depression, while primarily associated with economic hardship, also sparked a period of “creative destruction,” a concept credited to economist Joseph Schumpeter. This was a time when innovation and creativity led to the phasing out of old products and outdated methods, giving rise to more dynamic businesses and new and improved […]