The fiscal edge? [not to be confused with the "fiscal cliff"- I hope most of our colleges and universities will deal more constructively and mutually respectfully than our federal government with these financial crises]
Is your college on the edge, near the edge, or over the edge? What are the symptoms? What conditions make "muddling through" no longer viable?
What can you do? What can anyone do? Who cares? What is better than deserting a [possibly] sinking ship? What kinds of leaders can make a [positive!] difference?
Are MOOCs the solution or the enemy? Will the growing competition among providers of online higher education allow your college to add enough fee-paying online students to get through the next couple of years financially intact? [Getting less likely every day!] If so, is that a sustainable long-term strategy? Is it a desirable long-term strategy? What will your college become? What will faculty become? etc.
In what ways are these issues the same [or different] for
A. Small, residential undergraduate colleges
B. Public commuter colleges
C. Large universities
If your institution currently offers courses that are mostly face-to-face, especially if most students are residential, what will happen when fully online courses become a greater part of your institution's overall undergraduate program? Especially, if those courses provide a growing portion of the institution's net financial support? Under these circumstances, it is likely that faculty will separate into two groups:
A. those still most affiliated with the campus-based programs and
B. those most affiliated with the online programs.
That separation can be gradual or precipitous, intended or unintended. But the result can be that the faculty and staff associated with the "new" programs accrue greater influence and reshape the culture and mission of the institution. For better or for worse.... unless???
Are you worried that you and your colleagues don't know where the edge is? Won't recognize it until you look up on your way down? Is it ever too early to worry about the edge?
Alice Brown has been working with many colleges for many years, most recently studying a dozen that have faced closing or redefining themselves. She'll share what she's learning about how to tell when a college is heading for trouble, what some colleges have done to successfully avoid going over the edge, and when it is too late. She'll discuss the kinds of sacrifices that have been made and the consequences - intended and unintended. What steps might be taken to avoid fiscal crisis but with even worse consequences?
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