Learning Resources

Abstract: We’ve organized Trends using STEEP: Social, Technology, Economic, Environmental, and Political. Each trend includes a brief trend summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Abstract: The Agile College: How Institutions Successfully Navigate Demographic Changes
by Nathan D. Grawe
Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore: 2021
298 pages
ISBN: 978-1421440231

Does hope motivate action or complacency? Does crisis induce change or despair? Nathan D. Grawe readily acknowledges this tension in The Agile College, his follow-up book to his 2018 Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. The latter propelled the inescapable discussion throughout higher education of the looming “demographic cliff.” The Agile College suggests how agile institutions might prevent demography from becoming destiny.

Abstract: Social mobility is an emerging area of focus for higher education institutions. In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of measures related to social mobility produced by publishers, scholars, think tanks, and foundations. However, it is still unclear which social mobility measures to advance, or when to intervene to improve social mobility outcomes. We rely on a century of literature from economics, sociology, and policy analysis to identify an appropriate framework to understand higher education’s contribution to social mobility. Using the metric-based planning framework, we identify areas for institutional intervention to enhance social mobility outcomes.

Abstract: Have you been keeping up with the trends outside higher education?

No problem! We’ve pulled together the latest trends along with questions you can use for planning and decision-making in SCUP’s fall 2022 Trends for Higher Education report (released September 2022).

What next? Let’s dig a little deeper. Join your community as Nick Santilli and Salvador Aceves share in a conversation that will highlight some of the trends and how you can use the report to help your strategic planning, scenario planning, and contingency planning activities.

Abstract: Higher Education Systems Redesigned: From Perpetuation to Innovation to Student Success
Edited by Jonathan S. Gagliardi and Jason E. Lane
SUNY Press: Albany, New York: 2022
ISBN: 9781438487670
252 Pages

Abstract: Colleges and universities are in the midst of a transition from an access mindset to a success mindset, and campus facilities can play a role in this shift. Institutions don’t have to guess at how—a large body of research can and should inform how we plan, design, and operate our campuses. In this article, the author draws upon research from his book How to Get the Most Out of College to highlight the evidence that campus planners and designers can use to help drive student success.

Abstract: We’ve organized Trends using STEEP: Social, Technology, Economic, Environmental, and Political. Each trend includes a brief trend summary, a footnoted source, and discussion questions to help you analyze and act on the trend.

Abstract: A high-level document enumerating the institution’s five strategic goals and strategies for achieving each goal. The goals are framed as increasing and enhancing each of the following qualities:

1. Student Success
2. Intercultural Understanding
3. Research Capacity
4. Entrepreneurial Capacity
5. Sustainability

Abstract: There are a multitude of internal and external forces that impact higher education, but how can you be intentional about examining and understanding these trends? From finding your way post-pandemic, to demographic shifts and political changes, to social movements and the evolving economy and technology, regular environmental scanning will inform decisions around your strategic plan development or plan implementation.

Join Jim Downey, senior strategy consultant, and Nick Santilli, SCUP’s senior director of learning strategy, as they use SCUP’s Spring 2022 Trends for Higher Education report to explore “What If?” questions in a practical format that will allow your team to pinpoint areas for institutional advancement.

This webinar is a must for anyone serving in a planning capacity in higher education, be it academic, institutional research, institutional effectiveness, campus planning, student affairs, etc.