American higher education has been under extreme pressures for nearly a decade from a perfect storm of financial, political, demographic, and technological forces. The seemingly never-ending list of worries year after year is beginning to crack the confidence of college leaders.
Selingo, J. (2015). The View From the Top: What Presidents Think About Financial Sustainability, Student Outcomes, and the Future of Higher Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.
You aren’t imaging it, it is real. You and your people are facing high expectations and new demands. Specifically, you are being asked to save money and cut costs while also increasing completion rates, decreasing attainment gaps and improving the overall quality of education. Or as you put it when we surveyed you at the beginning of the year, “help me lead my people while managing tightening resources and increasing demands!”
There is no silver bullet but during the month of July we will share helpful ideas and resources on managing workloads, prioritization, supporting your people, designing work, eliminating inefficiency, and exploring new technology. We also want to provide a platform for you to share information and tips that you are using as you tackle the challenge of managing tightening resources and increasing demands.
The challenge is real but as Ray Kroc said in his autobiography, “Persevere. Nothing in the world can replace persistence.”
Todd Thorsgaard
Higher EDge 