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 […]
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 […]
Course Correction Needed in College Athletics
Course Correction Needed in College Athletics It’s never business as usual when you don’t know what you’re selling. Are college sports a scholarship program, an entertainment industry or a muscled arm for institutional fundraising? Regardless of the product, sales have been booming for more than a century – and with that money comes the power […]
What Makes Your College so Special?
In the increasingly competitive arena of higher education, a growing number of colleges are closing due to a chronic decline in enrollment and ensuing financial troubles. The impending “enrollment cliff” and rising skepticism among students, parents, and employers about the value of a college degree paint an even bleaker picture. Nevertheless, amidst this gloomy trend, […]
Wanted: Students Who Want to Learn
In their seminal book “Academically Adrift,” authors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa bring to light an alarming trend in higher education known as the art of college management. The term denotes the increasing number of students who prioritize earning a degree over genuine learning, focusing solely on the fastest and easiest route through the college […]