All across the higher ed landscape, institutions are faced with choices on how to move forward—or not—in the face of persistent headwinds. Some colleges and universities have simply chosen to close their doors in the face of financial hardship.  Others have opted to downsize or pursue mergers. Still others have looked to significant restructuring, like West Virginia University.  With the exception of outright closures, the goal of these changes should be to allow institutions to continue to do the most good for the most students. As we are seeing, this involves making difficult decisions on managing resources. There is often a focus on structural and physical resources—buildings and grounds, for instance. There is also considerable attention paid to human resources, including faculty and staff, and the impact on student services.  In this episode I’ll discuss the basic resource that drives all of this: finances.  The simple truth is that if higher education cannot ensure its own fiscal viability, it cannot continue to fulfill its essential mission to serve the public good.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

Higher education is increasingly earning low grades in the execution of mergers, acquisitions and partnerships.  And that doesn’t even include school closures, which rate a solid “F.”  Why are we struggling so much in an effort to find a new way forward for higher education? Maybe it’s because we lack a solid curriculum that provides a template for implementation and assessment of these various actions.  Except for closures, of course.  One fundamental flaw in these endeavors is poor performance in the area of due diligence. The goal of due diligence should be an investigation or audit of a potential investment. There is usually a focus on fiscal, economic and legal matters. In this episode I’ll discuss a key part of due diligence that is often overlooked, missed, or just ignored when higher education is involved—PEOPLE. 

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

Information is all around us, but it’s always important to know what the experts have to say on any topic. We all want information that is current and accurate. But what is current is not always accurate, and what is accurate is not always current. Higher education is no different. So the question of the day is how to sift through the sea of information out there to get at what it is that we want to know from reliable sources.  What constitutes an “expert” is dependent on a number of factors, including the specific kind of information being searched, and profile characteristics of the searcher.  It is also dependent on the sources of information that searchers choose access. In this episode I’ll explore how all this goes into determining where to look for “experts” and how to assess their “expertise.”

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

Have you ever wondered how well colleges and universities are preparing students for the workforce?  More to the point, have you ever wondered how the perspective of the higher education community compares with that of employers and students?  Well, wonder no more.  In this episode I’ll look at the results of several studies that will reveal how well higher education thinks it is doing at career preparation, and what students and employers think. And I’ll look beyond technical professional preparation to the soft skills that employers are seeking in today’s workforce.  In particular, I’ll discuss the value of effective communication in ensuring workplace success. 

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

Higher education is all about data and information.  But is this  “knowledge”?  More to the point, what’s the difference?  The same traditional sources have churned out studies and reports for decades with almost no change in results.  Facts and figures go in and are digested, but not much seems to come of it.  So the studies are replicated, with the same results.  The data and the “knowledge” build up with very few plans to do anything. Knowledge without a plan is just, well, knowledge.  Some have called this “analysis paralysis.”  I call it “information constipation.”  Tune in and find out why.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network

A recent ACE study reports that college and university presidents are serving for increasingly shorter periods of time, and a majority of those currently in office don’t plan to be there—or in higher education at all—within five years. Presidents find themselves assailed by scandal, politics, business woes, and general scrutiny as never before.  All of this sounds familiar.  It sounds like the pressures that CEOs in corporate America have been subject to all along. So what’s the deal with higher education?  What makes it different? Why are presidents struggling, failing, and abandoning the ivy walls?  In this episode I’ll explore what makes the college presidency today so thorny and what higher education leaders can do about it.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

Innovation and transformation in higher education (and elsewhere) is not just about brilliant insights or unfettered creativity.  That part is easy. The key is perseverance in the face of overwhelming obstacles and resistance.  If failure is an option, it is inevitable. Excuses are the remnants of forsaken aspirations.  Progress is the result of determination, grit and tenacity. Excuses and progress start from the same place, but they end very differently. The most successful innovations eventually become the status quo and are the foundation for the next transformation. I’ll discuss a significant example of all of this as I describe the phenomenon of the University of Phoenix from its beginning in 1976 to its rise as a leading innovator in higher education.  You may be amazed at how little you really know about the university, or how much it affects how higher education conducts its business today.  So tune in.  What have you got to lose?

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

A recent post by Joe Sallustio (@JoeSallustio) on LinkedIn raised several interesting points about how higher ed views and responds to the competitive education landscape. He points out that higher ed is attuned primarily to institutional competition within the higher ed community, and so marketing is largely focused against other institutions within the community.  But he also points out that the competitive environment today extends far beyond the boundaries of traditional academe, and  that the “interest funnel” for students looking for education opportunities is much wider at the top as new players now offer alternative pathways in the education arena.  This changes the whole competitive perspective and marketing strategy for the higher education sector.  Or at least it should. In this episode I’ll expand on Joe’s insights and discuss a key element in all of this:  Differentiation. I’ll ask how higher education can differentiate its value vis a vis the plethora of education options available for prospective students.  And I’ll tell you how we did it in the old days.  You may be surprised.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.

One of the biggest obstacles to success in higher education (and elsewhere) is operating in silos. The ability to see the big picture from multiple perspectives is key to providing a comprehensive education experience. Institutional units need to understand what is happening in other parts of the enterprise and how the units must work together to deliver a quality, value-added education.  The ability to perspective switch is also essential to an institution’s ability to remain viable and sustainable.  In this episode I’ll discuss an example from my time in higher education administration and delve into an innovative approach developed and implemented at National University in California.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network

In Episode 59 I took a look at the level of confidence that presidents and chief financial officers have in their institutions’ viability and higher education in general.  I still don’t get how the relatively positive outlook of these groups aligns with the trends toward closures, downsizing, mergers and acquisitions that we are witnessing.  But recent studies from Gallup and Insider Higher Ed offer other perspectives, provided by the American public and university business officers. In this episode I’ll look at the erosion in confidence expressed by the general population, and how the view of business officers varies from that of other higher education leadership concerning the health of the education sector. And more importantly, we’ll consider the road going forward. Or not.

EdUp Insights with Bill Pepicello is part of the EdUp Experience Podcast Network.