Time to Consider Charter Colleges
Time to Consider Charter Colleges Strengthening academic institutions while meeting state needs Robin Capehart Nov 11 Smaller colleges, both private and public, in the United States are facing significant challenges that threaten their viability, primarily driven by three challenges: financial problems associated with low enrollment, reliance on state and private funding, and the nature of […]
New Colleges, Old Values, Big Decisions
New Colleges, Old Values, Big Decisions Rapidly changing academic landscape impacts both established and new institutions Robin Capehart Oct 21 The Emergence of New Colleges The landscape of higher education is shifting. According to a study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, American colleges and universities are closing at an unprecedented rate of about […]
Measuring Real Learning
Measuring Real Learning Student competency – not institutional convenience Robin Capehart Sep. 30 Seat time can’t determine competency No matter what topic you are teaching in a college class – be it accounting, history or algebra – everything you need to know can be taught and learned in three hours a week for fifteen weeks. […]
Dear Students: The World Will Change
Dear Students: The World will Change College students need a “continuous improvement” mentality Robin Capehart Sep 23 True Story A dedicated college professor assigned a challenging project to their students, hoping to foster critical thinking and research skills. As the due date approached, an ambitious student approached the professor to discuss their project idea and […]
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 […]