Learning Resources

Survival of the Financially Fittest

Leverage Strategic Decision-Making and Key Financial Metrics to Achieve Financial Stability

By: Aaron Meis, EdD, and Julee Gard, EdD

Leaders must look closely at financial trends that may reveal signs of trouble—in the short or immediate term—and have the courage to act to address them.

From Volume 52 Number 1 | October–December 2023

Abstract: This article explores a methodology for assessing and managing the financial viability of private, tuition-dependent institutions as well as institutional tactics and strategies used to improve their financial strength. The resulting model will help institutions understand the trends and predictive value of key financial metrics directly impacting their liquidity and operations and how senior leadership can drive change. Institutional examples illustrate how to engage senior leadership in strategic decision-making that includes assessment of revenue growth and/or expense management.

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Example Plans

Published
January 24, 2023

Strategic Plan

Private Master’s College or University (Wisconsin, United States)

This overview describes the strategic plan’s five high-level strategies and a few tactics for each.

Planning Types: Strategic Planning
Resource Types: Strategic Plan
Tags: External Collaboration / Partnerships, Goals, Medical / Allied Health Education, New Program or Department, Workforce Development

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The Provost Bookshelf: Start, Stop, or Grow?

A Data-informed Approach To Academic Program Evaluation And Management

By: Robert Gray Atkins, Gray Associates | Nicholas Santilli, Society for College and University Planning

Author, and founder of Gray Associates, Robert Gray Atkins joins us for a conversation about his book Start, Stop, or Grow?: A Data-informed Approach To Academic Program Evaluation And Management.

Abstract: Author, and founder of Gray Associates, Robert Gray Atkins joins us for a conversation about his book Start, Stop, or Grow?: A Data-informed Approach To Academic Program Evaluation And Management. Along with moderator Nick Santilli, Senior Director for Learning Strategy at SCUP, we will explore a mission-driven, data-informed program review process outlining how provosts can lead a robust academic planning process focused on determining which programs to start, stop, or grow.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Academic Program Prioritization, Academic Program Review, Determining Academic Program Viability

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Smart Building, Smart Campus

By: Angela Foss, Autodesk (previously of Southern New Hampshire University)

This is a SCUP Fellow Research Project Final Report for the 2019–2020 program. This report explores the hypothesis that user-centered design would better address STEM student needs and could increase the likelihood of a broader adoption of remote labs.

Abstract: “Will innovative environments like a smart building expand STEM education and reach more underrepresented groups? If technology can support remote work, then why haven’t the previous proofs of concept become fully adopted?” The author pursued these questions through her SCUP Fellows research, exploring the hypothesis that user-centered design would better address STEM student needs and could increase the likelihood of a broader adoption of remote labs. Although the COVID-19 pandemic required a hard pivot in her research plan, she was able to leverage the world's new focus on remote activities and work with students to design a prototype mobile application for a digital, interactive twin of a STEM building on campus.

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Book Review: Higher Education Business Models Under Stress

Achieving Graceful Transitions in the Academy

By: Susan C. Allen, MBA

From Volume 50 Number 2 | Jan–Mar 2022

Abstract: Higher Education Business Models Under Stress: Achieving Graceful Transitions in the Academy
by Melody Rose and Larry D. Large
AGP: Washington, DC: 2021
140 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-951635-12-1

Institutions Mentioned: Marylhurst University
Planning Types: Resource Planning
Tags: Assessment / Analytics, Cost of Higher Ed, COVID-19, Disruptive Change, Higher Ed in Society, Higher Ed Trends, Student Demographics

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Getting in the eGame

Esports Streaming Gives the University of Kentucky a New Way to Grow Revenue and Recruit Students

By: Michael Stewart, BS, and Heath Price, MS

The University of Kentucky understood the importance of technology in preparing students for the digital world. With public-private partnerships, it sought opportunities to be an industry leader in leveraging that capacity for its students, faculty, staff, and the community.

From Volume 50 Number 2 | January–March 2022

Abstract: The University of Kentucky (UK) and the University of Kentucky Esports Club worked together to establish the University of Kentucky Esports Lounge. Students were surveyed on their gaming needs, and the resulting wish list (i.e., equipment selection, space configuration, furniture, etc.) fed into the decision-making process by all constituents. The project budget was derived by a larger construction project at the University that focused on student recruitment, community, and connection to the non-student demographic. The UK team ultimately planned and launched the custom facility to meet users’ particular needs—while finding a way for the University to produce an additional revenue stream.

Institutions Mentioned: University of Kentucky
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Funding, Facilities Planning, Mixed-Use, New Program or Department, Planning Processes, Public-Private Partnerships (P3), Recreational Facility, Shared Facilities, Student Life / Student Affairs, Technology

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Teetering on the Demographic Cliff, Part 2

Turning Away from the Challenge Is the Riskiest Strategy of All

By: Bryan C. Harvey, EdD

Higher education has faced major changes for some time—COVID-19 accelerated that volatility—and now we’re anticipating the demographic downslope in student enrollment. How and when should institutions mobilize for the difficult work of planning in the face of wrenching change?

From Volume 50 Number 1 | October–December 2021

Abstract: Part 1 of this series described a major contraction in the pool of college-going 18-year-olds that will reverse decades of growth and stability for higher education. Drawing on the path-breaking analysis of Carleton College economist Nathan Grawe, it outlined how widespread but variable the change will be, and discussed some of the effects—on enrollment, revenue, facilities, staffing, and more—for which colleges and universities should be preparing. This Part 2 explores these implications: How can we shape a planning context that supports success in the coming 10 or 20 years? What attitudes and skillsets will remain useful, and what may need to change?

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Cost of Higher Ed, COVID-19, Demographics, Enrollment Management, Funding, Resiliency, Shrinking Pool of Potential Students, Student Demographics, Trends External to Higher Ed, US

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Teetering on the Demographic Cliff, Part 1

Prepare Now for the Challenging Times Ahead

By: Bryan C. Harvey, EdD

A long-term decline in birth rates raises fundamental planning questions for higher education as the pool of 18-year-olds contracts after 2025. How can planners and leaders use the time we have to prepare for some of the most wrenching changes in a generation?

From Volume 49 Number 4 | July–September 2021

Abstract: A long-term decline in birth rates raises fundamental planning questions for higher education as the pool of 18-year-olds contracts after 2025. This Planning for Higher Education series explores how planners and leaders can use the time we have to prepare for some of the most wrenching changes in a generation. This article, Part 1, surveys the planning horizon as we emerge from COVID-19 and describes the challenges ahead. Part 2 considers specific planning strategies institutions can adopt to meet the challenge. Part 3 tackles perhaps the most daunting challenge: how to mobilize institutions to actually do what needs to be done, however inconvenient (or worse) that may be.

Planning Types: Strategic Enrollment Management Planning
Tags: Cost of Higher Ed, COVID-19, Demographics, Enrollment Management, Funding, Resiliency, Shrinking Pool of Potential Students, Student Demographics, Trends External to Higher Ed, US

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Trends in Accreditation

How Will Accreditors Once Again Become Relevant for Higher Education?

By: Lynn Priddy, PhD, with Stephen G. Pelletier

Dr. Lynn Priddy answers questions posed by education writer Stephen G. Pelletier related to changes in accreditation and their effect on institutions and students.

From Volume 49 Number 1 | October–December 2020

Abstract: Having been on both the inside of regional accreditation and outside looking back on it, Lynn Priddy knows that accreditation has long tried to revolutionize itself, while at the same time increasingly becoming subject to federal regulatory burdens and expectations from the Department of Education. That has backed it into becoming a bureaucracy at the very time it needed to break out to focus on innovation, learning, and student success.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Accreditation, Assessment / Analytics, Change Management, Cost of Higher Ed, COVID-19, Governmental Policies and Regulations, Higher Ed Trends, Online Learning

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From Academic Program Decisions to Results

Building and Managing a Robust Program Portfolio

By: Antoinette Farmer-Thompson, Deputy Vice President, Educational Outreach & Student Services, ASU University; Design Institute Expert in Residence; Former Dean and Senior Vice President, Institutional Effectiveness (Moderator) | William Massy, Professor Emeritus and Former CFO, Stanford University; Former President, The Jackson Hole Higher Education Group, Inc. | Steve Probst, Senior Partner, Gray Associates, Inc. | Nicholas Santilli, Senior Director for Learning Strategy, Society for College and University Planning (SCUP); Professor Emeritus of Psychology, John Carroll University

The decision-making process is only the beginning—how do you build a robust program portfolio in a way that ensures educational quality, financial sustainability, and meets the needs of your students? We will provide real-world examples of ways to effectively build quality online programs and courses that improve student access and retention, including performance metrics and faculty engagement.

This is part three of a three-part program series, “Integrated Planning to Build a Thriving Academic Program Portfolio.”

Abstract: This is part three of a three-part program series, “Integrated Planning to Build a Thriving Academic Program Portfolio.” These discussions will help you build a strategic and sustainable program portfolio that is mission-centered, data-informed, student-centered, and focused on growth opportunities.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Academic Program Prioritization, Academic Program Review, Data, Decision Making, Determining Academic Program Viability, New Program or Department, Online Learning

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Planning Types

Challenges