Responding to Higher
Education’s New Reality
FOCUS
May 5, 2015
Larry Goldstein, President
Campus Strategies, LLC
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May 5, 2015
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Session Agenda
Current Context
 Past Institutional Responses and Their
Implications
 Suggestions for the Future
 Revenue Opportunities
 Strategic Resource Allocation
 Questions, Comments, and Reactions

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May 5, 2015
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Current Context
Lingering impacts of Great Recession
 Tremendously increased competition
among institutions—especially smaller,
tuition-dependent privates
 Downward cycle demographically
 No reason for optimism about future
public support—best years are behind us
 Inability to “build our way out of the
challenge”

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May 5, 2015
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Past Institutional Responses
Increased debt to finance construction
◦ Driven by competitive pressures
 “Mission creep”
◦ Proliferation of programs
◦ Desire / demand to be all things to all
people
 Random pursuit of new lines of business
 Cost cutting related to existing offerings
 Increased deferred maintenance

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May 5, 2015
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Implications of Past Responses
More pressure on operating budget to
repay debt
 Diffusion of resources across institution
to finance new efforts
 Weakening of strong programs due to flat
resourcing or cost cutting
 Deterioration of “built environment”
adversely affecting student recruitment
and retention
 Damaged institutional reputations 

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Suggestions for the Future

Enhance campus culture by sharing
knowledge about current financial
realities
◦ Build trust
◦ Improve transparency with clarity
◦ Increase communication about finances
◦ Solicit participation by everyone—
faculty, staff, students, alumni, community
◦ Tolerate failure—to a degree…
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Suggestions for the Future (contd.)
Identify and leverage your niche
 Invest more effort in planning—strategic,
infrastructural, and operational
◦ Align planning with resource allocation
and assessment
 Gain a deep understanding of your
existing revenues and expenses
◦ Employ Composite Financial Index to
assess institutional financial health…

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May 5, 2015
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Suggestions for the Future (contd.)
◦ Examine your tuition discounting
strategy
◦ Consider cost of your curriculum
 Examine opportunities for shared
services—both internally and externally
 Examine potential for new lines of
business that build on your niche
 Consider new revenue opportunities that
align with your mission
 Consider strategic resource allocation 
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May 5, 2015
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Potential Revenue Opportunities
Optimize enrollment
◦ Explore differential tuition pricing
 Examine relevant adult education markets
◦ Alternative programming to assist adults
seeking baccalaureate degrees
◦ Continuing professional education
 Enhance fundraising efforts
 Be willing to pay taxes!…

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May 5, 2015
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Revenue Opportunities (contd.)

Enhance utilization of built environment
◦ Host conferences and retreats
◦ Provide summer camp housing
◦ Operate elder hostels
◦ Host weddings
◦ Host corporate / community social
events
◦ Host high school graduations / proms
◦ Lease space for cellular towers…
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Revenue Opportunities (contd.)

Dining operations
◦ Banquets
 Corporate events
 Nonprofit fundraisers
◦ Private catering
 Staff / alumni personal events
 Corporate / community social events
◦ Class reunions / other alumni events…
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May 5, 2015
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Revenue Opportunities (contd.)

Athletics
◦ Summer sports camps
◦ Community programming
◦ Fitness center utilization by community
members
◦ Host state / regional / local playoffs…
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Revenue Opportunities (contd.)

Government / business / local community
◦ Partnerships
◦ Sponsorships
◦ Advertising
◦ Laboratory testing services
◦ Technology services
 Application hosting
 Helpdesk services
 Network / database support 
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Strategic Resource Allocation
Presented in Prioritizing Academic Programs
and Services, by Robert C. Dickeson,
Jossey-Bass, 2010
 Successfully employed at hundreds of
institutions
1. Reduce and redirect resources
2. Finance strategic plans
3. Direct incremental resources
4. Evaluate new program proposals

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Dickeson’s Postulates (adapted)
1. Academic programs drive institutional costs
2. HE adds programs but rarely subtracts
them
3. Too many “try to be all things to all people”
4. Insufficient resources to do everything well
5. Across-the-board cuts lead to mediocrity
6. Reallocation of resources is best option
7. Reallocation requires prioritization
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Dickeson Model Characteristics
Top down / bottom up
◦ Carried out by those most affected by
outcomes
 Data driven
◦ Qualitative and quantitative
 Transparency with appropriate
confidentiality
 Comprehensive
 Treats all activities fairly

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General Approach
Establish two task forces
◦ One focuses on academic programs
◦ Another focuses on support
functions
 Academic programs involve faculty
engaged in teaching, research, creative
scholarship, and external service
 Support functions include everything
else happening on a campus…

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May 5, 2015
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Approach (contd.)

Define programs and functions
◦ A common set of activities that can be
discretely measured and consumes
resources
People
Money
Space
Technology
Equipment…
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May 5, 2015
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Approach (contd.)
Identify programs and functions
 Each program and function submits a
report using a standard template
(separate templates for academic
programs and support functions)
 Task forces review and assess all
submissions
 Categorize submissions in quintiles
 Present recommendations…

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May 5, 2015
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Approach (contd.)
Recommendations reviewed by
institution leadership and stakeholders
◦ Input informs implementation
strategy
 Implementation overseen by leadership
through governance process
◦ Must adhere to all laws, contracts,
policies, procedures, etc.
 Maintain system going forward…
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May 5, 2015
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Recommended Criteria

For academic programs
1. History, development, expectations
2. External demand
3. Internal demand
4. Quality of inputs and processes
5. Quality of outcomes…
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May 5, 2015
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Recommended Criteria (contd.)
6.
7.
8.
9.
Size, scope, and productivity
Revenues / resources generated
Expenses / other costs incurred
Impact, justification, and overall
essentiality
10. Opportunity analysis…
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May 5, 2015
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Recommended Criteria (contd.)

For support functions
1. Impact, justification, and overall
essentiality
2. Internal demand
3. Mandates and external demand
4. Quality
5. Cost effectiveness
6. Opportunity analysis 
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May 5, 2015
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Responding to Higher
Education’s New Reality
Questions, Comments,
and Reactions?
[email protected]
540.942.9146
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May 5, 2015
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