{"id":42371,"date":"2018-02-07T12:30:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T20:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=42371"},"modified":"2018-02-07T12:30:13","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T20:30:13","slug":"higher-ed-courage-disrupt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/higher-ed-courage-disrupt\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Higher Ed have the courage to disrupt itself?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nI\u2019ve been thinking a great deal lately about how disruption will play out in American higher education. My hopes \u2013 and concerns \u2013 reflect\u00a0a bedrock belief that America\u2019s colleges and universities operate on an unsustainable finance model that must adapt to new realities.<\/strong>\u00a0It is impossible to predict how many colleges and universities have the capacity or willingness to make the kinds of structural changes that reach beyond where most have charted their courses.<\/p>\n

That having been said, it seems likely that we will see an uptick in mergers, closures, and acquisitions, particularly for poorly endowed and under-resourced institutions that cannot control their financial aid discounts and spending rates.<\/p>\n

While almost all institutions feel some level of pain, those with weak governance, internal fiefdoms that fail to communicate across the campus, uninformed faculty, and poorly articulated value propositions will be the first to fall.<\/em><\/p>\n

External Forces Compound Higher Ed\u2019s Internal Problems<\/strong><\/h4>\n

External forces compound the growing problems faced by higher education, where the annual outlook by the ratings agencies has now eroded once again to \u201cnegative.\u201d There are a number of quality institutions with financial aid discount rates over 70 percent. A number of these institutions are unable to stop the rise in these rates.<\/p>\n

Basic math suggests that as the effects compound, these institutions will so severely limit their options that the impending question on the horizon is how and when they will lose their independence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Not Too Late to Avoid the Debacle Ahead<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In the once robust world of decentralized American higher education, the tragedy is that so much of what will play out could be stopped. There are a number of players who can step in to avoid the debacle ahead.<\/p>\n

The first is, obviously, the higher education community itself.<\/p>\n

Each and every college or university must determine its value to its community and to American society as a whole. Once defined, its leadership must be courageous in articulating its own value proposition.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stakeholders \u2013 led by trustees and faculty \u2013 must accept this value proposition and must adjust their roles accordingly, clearly differentiating what is truly distinctive about their institution \u2013 what it does differently than its peers.<\/p>\n

The campus community must live within its footprint. And it must adapt to the new realities that fund what it can do best within its means to serve the common good.<\/p>\n

State and Federal Governments Have Stake in Higher Education<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The second stakeholder group is government, both at the state and federal level. There has never been an effort to have the state and federal governments coordinate their support, especially their financial support, of America\u2019s colleges and universities. The impact varies widely across states.<\/p>\n