Issue link: http://digital.corporatepress.com/i/186210
A P PA T H O U G H T L E A D E R S Focus – Focus the efforts of the institution so that priorities and programs are in alignment with the institution's mission. Carefully examine the entire institution to discover which areas of expense no longer support the organization's goals and take the bold step of eliminating outdated programs or unnecessary costs. Collaboration – Increase collaboration across the institution, between institutions, and with the private sector. Break down the walls of institutional silos to share information and reduce costs, and consider new partnerships that will increase efficiency and effectiveness. TLS 2 Technology – Employ technology to cut costs and improve instruction. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are the trend right now, but technology can be used in many ways to improve operational efficiency and support and improve student progress. Space management – Get the most out of the space the campus already has. Think of space as one of the institution's most valuable assets, and manage in innovative ways to get the most out of sunk costs. Revenue enhancement – Seek out alternative ways to bring revenue to the institution or improve existing revenue streams. Consider adjusting traditional models of tuition and funding to incentivize desired results such as improved graduation rates and better utilization of facilities and campus space. Employing innovation Participants at the 2013 Thought Leaders symposium all agreed that the challenge of rising higher education costs will not be solved without innovative thinking. The problems are too deeply rooted within the model or mores of the institution to be easily or quickly fixed; the forces opposing change are too strong. In fact, if costs were easy to control, someone would have done it by now. Higher education will require creative thinking from determined leaders to overcome its current cost realities. Participants first considered what made innovators different. Research reveals innovators are characterized by the following: Associating seemingly unrelated facts and ideas to come up with new approaches S E R I E S 2 0 1 3 Questioning assumptions and challenging conventional wisdom Applying lessons learned in one context to different problems Experimenting with new ideas and approaches and tolerating a certain degree of failure Networking with others with different knowledge, skills, and perspectives to gain new insights The Thought Leaders then stretched themselves to employ innovation. They developed strategies that could push many institutions out of their comfort zones but that might be a game changer for a courageous campus. These included the following: Replace the credit-hour model with an outcomebased model. Streamline programs with fewer requirements and fewer choices. Increase collaboration with other area or state institutions. Consider outsourcing whenever possible and practicable. Get serious about implementing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) strategies for facilities. Make athletics entirely self-sufficient. Reexamine the academic calendar to make better use of facilities and students' time. Do a better job of monitoring students' progress to catch them before they fail. Top facilities issues Drawing on the discussion of higher education costs, participants in the Thought Leaders symposium developed a list of the top critical facilities issues for higher education institutions in 2013 along with key strategies to address these issues. 1. Align the programs and priorities of the institution with its mission and vision. Today's colleges and universities cannot be all things to all people—they must continue to hone in and focus on their unique mission and vision.