Page 53 - Crisis in Higher Education

The Higher Education Conundrum • 27

private universities, but the data, where available, and the ideas focus on
the undergraduate programs at four-year, public universities.

1.10 USING THE BOOK: UNDERLYING PROBLEMS,
ROOT CAUSES, AND A COMPREHENSIVE,
INTEGRATED SOLUTION

When faced with serious problems, managers and politicians often craft
solutions based on a high level understanding of the problems without
taking the time and putting forth effort to fully understand their causes,
which are typically multifaceted. The result can be an unworkable, ineffec-
tive solution. For example, when tuition costs are growing too quickly at
state universities, common solutions that governments impose are freez-
ing tuition, limiting hiring, and/or cutting state subsidies, but these ideas
rarely address the fundamental causes; that is, what factors are driving
costs higher? This book makes a serious effort to understand the root
causes of the problems before creating a solution.
This chapter describes important facets and special characteristics of
higher education that are vital for understanding the problems and their
causes. As shown in Figure 1.4, two stages are needed to develop and
implement a comprehensive and integrated solution. The journey begins
by identifying and discussing the underlying problems (Chapters 2
and 3). As illustrated by the curved arrows moving from right to left,
this understanding is essential to identify the root causes (Chapter 4),
and the root causes, in turn, provide the basis for creating a comprehen-
sive and integrated solution (Chapter 5). Stage 2 begins with developing

Comprehensive Root Underlying
and integrated causes problems
solution

FIGURE 1.4
Resolution methodology: A comprehensive and integrated solution addresses the root
causes of the underlying problems.