Learning Resources

Abstract: This article examines the leadership decisions and processes implemented by the Memphis College of Art (MCA), following the 2017 decision to close due to financial debt and declining enrollment. Rather than ceasing operations immediately, MCA leaders executed a three-year teach-out plan while liquidating assets, repaying debts, and laying off employees, all while ensuring a legally compliant dissolution. As many colleges face longevity pressures, this case offers a rare look at how closure can be managed transparently, strategically, and with commitment to student success through an integrated planning approach that aligns academic, financial, and facilities decisions during the institution’s final years.

Abstract: Times of rapid change can interrupt operations and implementation efforts. Preventing this requires an ability to quickly adapt our programs and offerings to the changing landscape. Unfortunately, operational complexity and the disorienting nature of uncertainty become a hurdle to rapid response. Either we get overwhelmed trying to identify all that needs to change, or we respond haphazardly, missing crucial details. Contingency planning can help. It is a method for preparing for potential changes that identifies how operations and action plans need to shift in response. It can also be used to respond to changes after they happen. The Campus Contingency Planner is a template for lightweight, rapid contingency planning. It guides you through a process that identifies the impacts of change, how decisions during contingency planning will be made, and the operational components of programs and offerings that will need to be adapted in response. Whether you manage student-facing programs (like academic programs or student affairs activities), or direct services that are internally supportive (like space management or IT), the Campus Contingency Planner can help you respond to change with flexibility, minimizing disruption and moving your institution forward.

Abstract: When the pandemic forced thousands of faculty and staff to suddenly work remotely last year, colleges and universities faced increased cyber security risk as people used their home computers and other devices. Higher education IT experts Michael Hites, CIO, and George Finney, Chief Security Officer, at Southern Methodist University, address the risk of data loss and planning for continuous business operations when working remotely. This interview illuminates the steps their institution quickly took to help their faculty and staff work more securely and make cybersecurity a habit. Finney is the author of Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future.

Abstract: Contingency planning is key to dealing with the ongoing change and interruptions institutions will need to manage during the COVID-19 pandemic. But many universities do not have adequate contingency plans or lack the ability to quickly adapt their plans to uncertain circumstances. IT has been creating and implementing business continuity plans for years, and IT leaders are some of the few people that see across the entire organization. This discussion will examine how IT continuity activities can both inform and adapt to institutional strategies and needs during a crisis.

Abstract: Panelists Gary David, Bentley University, and Linda Jerrett, Boston University, shared what their campuses are currently doing to not only accommodate students and faculty, but plan for the fall and the future of education technology. They described their approaches to decision making during this time when information is limited and the variables are unknown. This session was moderated by Parke Rhoads, a principal with Vantage Technology Consulting Group, who is an expert in strategic campus technology and is currently working with many higher education institutions during this ‘new normal’.

Abstract: The past month has been trying for all of higher education. How do we transition our constituents from crisis to collaboration in order to meet the needs of the entire campus community? In this conversation, Mike Martin, Associate Dean Science, Math, and Health at John Carroll University discusses how the administration addressed the first few weeks of the COVID-19 crisis and how they have creatively shifted gears with students and faculty toward what’s next.

Abstract: While the majority of their students are online, it’s not so easy to take the same methodologies to deliver on mission when quickly switching their residential students to an online environment when expectations are different. Cynthia Tweedell, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Ohio Christian University talks about how this faith-based institution with a personal touch is working through the transition for students, athletes, and summer programs.

Abstract: There is no shortage of hype and technobabble around the promise of shiny new technology trends and their prospect for disrupting the universe as we know it. Twenty-five years ago, the World Wide Web and the underlying Internet did, indeed, change everything. Today the promise of AI, ML, IoT, XR, NGNs and the latest alphabet soup of tech trends promises to impact the campus in all its facets. This session will provide context, insights, and some prognostication on how the campus planning community should embrace its technology future through a ‘trust but verify’ lens.

Abstract: Security is personal. It's not a one size fits all solution. Understand the resources available and explore a roadmap to planning security guidelines and a security operations center for your campus. This session provides a framework you can use to develop, implement, and evaluate a security plan. We'll also discuss the role a security operations center plays in campus security and how you can ensure your campus's physical security infrastructure is adequate.