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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Overcoming a $90M Budget Overage in Vanderbilt University’s Residential Colleges

A Multifaceted Team Worked Collaboratively to Stem Overruns

By: David Bailey, BA, AIA, LEED AP, and Walt Massey, BA

The University, architects, engineers, strategic planning consultants, and contractor teams worked hand in hand to peel back the onion to stem the overruns.

From Volume 52 Number 1 | October–December 2023

Abstract: When Vanderbilt University began seeing signs that cost escalation, scope additions, campus requirements, and authentic Collegiate Gothic architecture for their proposed new residence halls were all pressuring the budget, a multifaceted team worked collaboratively and arduously to stem the overruns.

Institutions Mentioned: Vanderbilt University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Implementation, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Mixed-Use, Modifying the Plan, Project Management, Project Management / Delivery, Student Housing

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What Is Your Crisis ‘What If’?

Create a Sustainable Approach to Emergency Response Planning

By: Jessica A. Luedtke, PhD, and Mary M. Reinke, MBA, MS

The Medical College of Wisconsin planned strategically, engaged executive leadership, and operationalized an Administrative Response Team to navigate critical incidents impacting the university.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Institutions Mentioned: Medical College of Wisconsin
Planning Types: Continuity Planning
Tags: Building (or Writing) the Plan, Communication, Crisis and Disaster Management, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Leadership, Medical / Allied Health Education, Modifying the Plan, Recovery Planning, Response Planning, Risk Management, Scenario Planning, Security

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Quickly Building a Bridge

Use an Institutional Effectiveness Planning Model to Drive Strategic Planning

By: Jason Nicholas, MS, Daniel Cullen, PhD, and Ellen Koski, MPH

Executive leadership changes at Northern Michigan University led the interim president, interim provost, and Board of Trustees to call for a bridge plan to clearly articulate strategic work happening throughout campus. This article describes how the university was able to develop an interim strategic plan with broad campus engagement in less than half a year.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Institutions Mentioned: Northern Michigan University
Planning Types: Strategic Planning, Institutional Effectiveness Planning
Tags: Alignment, Assessment / Analytics, Bridge Planning, Engaging Stakeholders, Institutional Effectiveness, Institutional Planning, Institutional Research, Metrics, Planning Processes, Presidential Leadership, Response Planning, Selecting Metrics, Student Engagement

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The Future of Planning is . . .

. . . Aligned, Integrated, and Collaborative Institutional Effectiveness

By: Michael Ben-Avie, PhD; Kimberly K. Daugherty, PharmD; Lina Di Genova, PhD; Justin P. Hoshaw, MS; Erin M. Isaacson, MA; Nicholas R. Santilli, PhD; Megan Schramm-Possinger, PhD; and Robert Wilkinson, DEd

IE professionals are both translators and integrators—and universities need these people who know how to interpret the data. Within the context of an IIE office, they assist in developing data-informed strategic plans, financial forecasts, enrollment plans, and other assessments of institutional efficacy.

From Volume 50 Number 3 | April–June 2022

Abstract: The institutions that will thrive in the future will be those that use high-quality, relevant mission-driven data as part of their strategic, integrated planning process. Because of this it is imperative to create integrated institutional effectiveness (IIE) offices that serve as the connective tissue among all units within a college or university. The data and expertise of institutional effectiveness can be leveraged to benefit the institution as a whole. In this article, we discuss the value of creating an IIE office and challenges associated with a centralized infrastructure.

Institutions Mentioned: Quinnipiac University
Planning Types: Institutional Effectiveness Planning, Strategic Planning
Tags: Alignment, Assessment / Analytics, Data, Engaging Stakeholders, Institutional Effectiveness, Institutional Planning, Planning Processes

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Teetering on the Demographic Cliff, Part 3

Different Conditions Require a Different Kind of Planning

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 2 | January–March 2022

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. Part 2 explored how we can shape a planning context that supports success in the coming 10 or 20 years. Part 3 suggests how our approach to planning must shift to prepare for abrupt change.

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Prioritizing Campus Diversity Budgets

DEI Funding Has Mostly Survived the Post-Pandemic Cuts

By: Jeffery L. Wilson, PhD, Gerron Scott, MEd, and Reginald L. Stroble, EdD

Researchers learned that if diversity initiatives were a strategic priority for an institution, the 2020 financial crisis did little to reduce budget allocations.

From Volume 49 Number 4 | July–September 2021

Abstract: In 2013, the article Planning for the Future: The Impact on the Public University Diversity Budget in Time of Recession reported the impact of the 2008 recession on college and university student affairs diversity unit budgets. Colleges are again faced with another economic downturn with looming budget cuts. The purpose of this article is to revisit the idea of whether primarily student affairs diversity units are hit harder than other institutional units in fiscal cuts and the potential effect that current events related to diversity programming initiatives have had on campus planning. The article explores the status of these budgets during fiscal uncertainty and the social awareness around campus-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion and its prioritization.

Planning Types: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Planning, Resource Planning
Tags: Budget / Finance, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Higher Ed Trends, Original Research, Racial Equity, Resource Allocation, Trends External to Higher Ed

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Book Review: How University Budgets Work

By: Salvador D. Aceves, EdD

This book serves as a primer for establishing a baseline by which academic leaders can participate in conversations regarding finances at their institutions.

From Volume 49 Number 1 | October–December 2020

Abstract: by Dean O. Smith
Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore, MD
2019
200 Pages
ISBN 9781421432762

Planning Types: Resource Planning
Tags: Budget / Finance, Budget Planning

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Academic Deans Reveal Their Leadership Styles

Annual Budgeting Becomes an Exercise in How Authority is Enacted

By: Nathan Harris

Academic deans adopt one of three approaches when developing the annual budget report for their colleges: distributed authorship, delegated authorship, or dominated authorship. Depending on the approach they select, deans can include and collaborate with their senior teams—or exclude, ignore, and alienate them. Their choice demonstrates how they lead.

From Volume 48 Number 4 | July–September 2020

Abstract: Few studies have investigated how academic deans enact their authority in Responsibility Center Budgeting (RCB), despite its widespread adoption. In this article I explore findings from a study that investigated how deans crafted a confidential annual budget report at an American university. Ultimately, deans adopted one of three approaches to crafting the report: delegating, distributing, or dominating authorship. Deans who distributed authorship collaborated with their senior teams to establish a shared sense of priorities for their colleges. In contrast deans who delegated and dominated authorship ignored and alienated members of their senior team during the budget review, engendering confusion and frustration.

Planning Types: Resource Planning
Tags: Budget / Finance, Budget Planning, Leadership, Original Research, Responsibility Center Management

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An Approach to the Preparation or Revision of a Master Plan for a Nigerian Polytechnic

By: Ayodeji Oloyo

Whether preparing a plan for a proposed institution or revising a plan for an existing institution, following a carefully designed approach greatly facilitates the realization of the institution’s vision and mission.

From Volume 46 Number 2 | January–March 2018

Abstract: This article presents an approach for the preparation of a feasible master plan for a proposed polytechnic. It identifies and discusses key steps common to all methods used in the preparation of an institutional master plan. The object is to provide pertinent information to guide the preparation of a master plan that ensures a successful implementation and fulfillment of the institution’s objectives. It was concluded that the adoption and implementation of an appropriate master plan for a named polytechnic greatly facilitates the realization of the institution’s vision and mission.

Institutions Mentioned: Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Campus Master Planning, Modifying the Plan, New Campus

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