Another Four Things Higher Education Needs to Learn

by Jamie Farrell | Aug 2, 2010 | Monday Morning Quarterback

It was Will Durant who stated, ‘Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance”. How then, are we to build successful higher education institutions if the institutions are not progressive and are not willing to admit their own ignorance?

Having managed recruiting (admissions and marketing), operations, and academic retention departments for both for profit and state universities, while also holding executive positions in Education Lead Generation ( marketing companies that advertise and collect information on prospective students looking for information and school options) and enrollment management companies, I have worked in every aspect of higher education and bring a unique perspective to the industry. That perspective is this:

The higher education industry is insane.  Our education system has been failing because we continue to employ the same methodologies that are not moving the country forward.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.  It’s time for the Higher Education Industry to stop being insane.  It’s time for innovation.

1. Don’t be pigs

Schools make a lot of money.  Society, as well as our government, places the blame on the for-profit universities and while they are called “for-profit”, a Bachelor’s degree from a for-profit university is less than half the price of a school like University of Michigan.  The reason we blame the ‘for-profits’ is because we can see their growth as they’re public companies, but just because we don’t see the Profit and Loss Statements for state universities, does not mean the money is not there.  Next time you’re at a state university and walk by the football stadium, think of the cost of building and maintaining it.  Now think about the unnecessary costs of the rest of the sports arenas or stadiums.  This does not come for free. There are innovative models  in the higher education space that are both affordable as well as profitable.  If a school like the American College of Education (for-profit university) can offer Regionally Accredited Masters degree programs for $6,950 and still be profitable; why does another for-profit school need to offer the same degree at five times the price?  Stop being pigs! If a school needs to, offer the program at two or three times the price; but more importantly, focus on how to decrease your costs pass those savings onto your students.  It starts with the commitment to innovation from within a University.

2. This simple concept will reap enormous results:

• Higher Education Institutions cut their prices, more students will enroll.
• Because you will have more “scale” or number of students to serve, you may have a smaller margin, but will bring in more operating income by year’s end.
• Because the rates are less expensive, there will be fewer students taking out student loans; aiding the schools with the 90/10 rule as well as decreasing cohort default rates.
• Ultimately, you’ll have a higher graduation rate (or net tuition revenue) because students will not be dropping out due to financial burdens.

The model has been proven to work.  Why have none of the other schools adopted it?

3. Surprise Educators!  Higher Education is a business

It may be a business that is non-profit, it may be a business we also consider a “service”, it may be a business with a great mission; but still a business. The academic community’s lack of progressive thinking is impeding the betterment of the higher education industry.  Many state universities and community colleges are realizing that it is less expensive, more convenient, and that more students are able to be served online, yet the academics are pushing back. Why?

If I were a teacher, I would want tenure. Tenure is part of the ‘business’ aspect of their jobs.  The more revenue a school brings in, the higher the likelihood is that their instructors will obtain tenure.  This is business.  Stop fighting it.  Teachers say that the reason they do not want to go ‘remote’ or ‘scale too quickly’ is because the students may not learn as much; there may not be as much interaction; they may have to change their syllabi.  Having taken and built online courses, I can attest that this is all not true.  If the teacher wants to have the same interaction as in their classroom, there  can be chat rooms, discussion boards, or interactive webinars.  There are hundreds of instructional and curriculum designers that have overcome all of the obstacles these teachers are running from. Academics preach to be proponents of learning.  However it would appear that the educators are balking against learning how to ‘teach’ in different ways.  This is a paradox that makes no sense.  We cannot continue to be public university elitists and not think about how to increase your student base while not decreasing your academic value.  It is the obligation and the job of the academic departments to aid in figuring out how to do this; not fight against it.

4. There are companies to help; Find them

Numerous companies foresaw a need;  a need for companies that serve all facets of the Higher Education Industry.  These companies are now thriving and while most of the for-profit schools utilize some of their services, state schools and community colleges have begun to as well over the last few years.  If you are an educator and reading this – find a company to partner with that can help you.   This is the only way you will stay competitive in the market and scale your school’s student base with no monetary risk to your school.  More importantly, these companies will not change your curriculum or requirements; your academic standard remains the same; these companies work with you to put your current curriculum online.  Companies like Presidium and ESM are support companies with extensive call center and business process knowledge.  While slightly different (Presidium is huge with over 700 clients-many which are community colleges-and offers not only support services, but also technology services; ESM is well-known for their focus on state schools and business processes), both are experts in the student support industry.  They both have the business intelligence and operational expertise to manage thousands of calls at any one time.  A school cannot afford to support this.

If you truly want to get in the game, there are then companies like Colloquy and Enrollment Online Services Corp (EOServe).  I refer to these as the “A to Z” solution.   Both partner with schools and manage all aspects of their programs; marketing, enrollment, financial aid packaging, retention support,  their own LMS (learning management system) and even work with the academic departments to implement their curriculum online.  Again, the academics do not change.  EOServe works with historically black colleges and utilizes the eCollege Platform.  Colloquy is the only player in the market that does not standardize their solution and has a global understanding and international presence.  The relationship between these companies and the schools are symbiotic.  They become the university; the relationship is transparent.  It is companies like this that every school should meet with.

As the government is furiously seeking out ways to better our education system, we, as an educational community have a choice:  We can either fight their ideas of regulation or we can be proactive and be proactive quickly, employing the methods above.  This is my challenge to the education industry; employ or test the methods listed above, even pick one or two to start.  You will not be disappointed and we, the industry, will continue to better lives  without the oversight of government regulations.

Jamie Farrell

Jamie Nacht Farrell is the Owner at BizRelationsEDU. Before becoming a consultant she served as VP of Marketing / Sales and Enrollment Services at Higher Ed Holdings / American College of Education, in Business Development and Operations at Education Connection (Kaplan Inc.), and as a  Call Center Director at Education Connection (Kaplan Inc.). She began her career working in Admissions with Kaplan University.

She is also a Top User on Brazen Careerist, where she earned a scholarship for being the most social user on that network.

You can follow her on Twitter @EducationNut and read her blog at http://bizrelationships.wordpress.com