Page 348 - Crisis in Higher Education

318 • Crisis in Higher Education

15.3 IMPLEMENTATION
The first step in successfully resolving any problem is recognizing and
admitting that a problem exists. When a system or organization is in crisis
mode, like General Motors (GM) as it faced bankruptcy and dissolution, it
is easy to get the attention of leadership because closing the business and
selling assets to pay creditors is disastrous for the organization and the
reputation of its leaders. They are willing to do almost anything to avoid
these outcomes. Outsiders who followed GM understood that its prob-
lems began more than 40 years ago, becoming more apparent as GM came
closer to bankruptcy. Like a stationary object on a railroad track with its
back turned to an oncoming, high-speed freight train, GM’s leadership
was caught off guard even as the train came closer and closer. By the time
top management heard the train, it was too late. Universities are facing
such a crisis. It is not important to speculate how many years it might be
before the crash, but it will come.
An indication of the problems is the success of private, for-profit uni-
versities at grabbing market share. These institutions had about 11% of
the full-time and 12% of the part-time students enrolled in undergrad-
uate programs in 2009, which indicates dissatisfaction with the tradi-
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tional product. For-profit institutions have attracted students seeking less
expensive, online universities, and they tend to price their offerings well.
Their tuition is much less than private, not-for-profit universities but more
than public universities. Their students want online convenience and
do not have to pay room and board to live on campus, so the pricing is
well suited to “nontraditional” students. These institutions would pres-
ent an even bigger threat if their graduation rates and completion times,
which are currently very poor, improve. Even if for-profit universities are
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unable to make these adjustments, other competitors will take advantage
of the problems facing traditional universities and find ways to offer high-
quality programs at lower cost. Even if these competitors do not emerge,
traditional universities will face increasing pressure as larger and larger
segments of the U.S. population cannot afford advanced degrees. Like GM
executives, leaders of higher education either do not understand or choose
to ignore the long-term implications of these problems. The question is:
How do we get their attention?
Substantial effort is required to implement a comprehensive and inte-
grated solution in a large market with many competitors. This is further