Operational Efficiency in Higher Education

Leaders across the higher education space are under more pressure than ever before to do more with less. After all, student expectations and needs are growing, as are external expectations for the performance of higher education institutions. However, the operating budgets for institutions across the country are dwindling.

Improving operational efficiency and streamlining outdated processes are emerging as silver bullets for the long-term viability of colleges and universities, but what does it take to make efficiency effective?

Over the course of this Special Feature, we aimed to find out!

AUDIO | How Operational Efficiency Is Good For Everyone at the Institution

Cathy Sandeen | Chancellor Designate, University of Wisconsin Colleges and Extension

Operational efficiency in higher education can prove to be beneficial on both the back-end, operational side and on the front-end, academic side of the institution.

Pre-Collegiate Program Pipeline Leaks: A Model of Inefficiency

Edward Abeyta | Director of K-16 Programs, UC San Diego

Without adequate access to data on existing programs notionally designed to be pipelines to the academy, institutions don’t have the tools they need to efficiently reach out to students who would be well suited to their programs.

Lessons From a For-Profit: The Big Secret

Terry Rawls | President, Strategic Transitions Group

For-profit institutions learned the lessons of continuing education units and applied those customer-centered, highly-efficient practices to the entire postsecondary industry.

Five Ways Continuing Education Leaders Can Improve Their Efficiency

John DeLalla | Director of Continuing Education, University of Arizona South

Understanding the differences between CE and the rest of the institution and bringing in new efficiency-creating tools is critical for CE units to reduce their operating costs and improve their service.

The Happy Medium: On Outsourcing, Local Control and Partnering

Marc Singer | Vice Provost of the Center for the Assessment of Learning, Thomas Edison State College

Partnering on periphery services, in addition to keeping costs down and improving efficiency, allows institutions to focus on delivering their core mission.

Data-Driven Decision Making: Bringing CE’s Secret to the Main Campus

Bill McClure | Executive Director of Continuing and Professional Education, University of Massachusetts—Amherst

Data responsiveness means continuing education units focus on what the market is looking for, leading to greater demand and improved returns.

Scalability and Distance Ed: What Main Campus Leaders Can Learn From Their Colleagues in the Cloud

Rick Shearer | Director of World Campus Learning Design, Penn State World Campus

Campus leaders who want to balance operational efficiency and access scalability with educational effectiveness should look to their distance education units for best practices

Affiliated Faculty: Quality and Efficiency in Instruction

John Kokolus | Dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Elizabethtown College

The affiliated faculty model, popular among continuing education units, could help institutions reduce their instructional costs while maintaining high levels of quality.

Finding the Middle Ground between Efficiency and Innovation

Paul Marca | Executive Director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development, Stanford University

Though efficiency is central to a strong student experience, it can be challenging to implement strategies that may be seen to impact faculty innovation.

How to Overcome Resistance to Educational Delivery Changes

Sue Dietrich | Associate Vice President of Adult, Online and Graduate Consulting Services, Noel-Levitz

Re-inventing the educational model to allow students to earn degrees more quickly, without a drop-off in quality, will be critical for institutions that want to grow in the coming years.

AUDIO | Culture and Past Success Blocking Efficiency-Minded Changes

Joni Finney | Director of the Institute for Research in Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania

It’s critical that higher education leaders recognize the shifting dynamics of today’s postsecondary marketplace and begin to focus on reducing operating costs without impacting quality.

AUDIO | Efficiency Central to Nimbleness and Responsiveness

Lesley Snyder | Director of Continuing Education, UNC Charlotte

By creating internal efficiencies and freeing up staff time, institutions can become more nimble and able to respond to market changes.

AUDIO How Back-End Efficiency Is Central to the Development of a New CE Unit

Geoff Foy | Associate Provost for Graduate Programs and Continuing Education, Pacific Lutheran University

As PLU looks to build its CE unit from the ground up, the first step they’re taking is to find a management system that will allow them to scale and grow efficiently.

Managing Cause and Effect: How Committing to the Internet of Everything Can Help Institutions Scale

Ian Temple | US Higher Education Transformation and Strategy, Cisco

Committing to the introduction of critical technology tools can help institutions scale their operations and serve more students without a loss of quality.

Six Changes That Actually Occur When an Institution Becomes More Efficient

Mike Scheuermann | Associate Vice President of Instructional Technology and Support, Drexel University

Major process changes and improved student experience are more likely outcomes to efficiency-related changes than downsizing, which ultimately accomplishes very little.

Efficiency Through Expansion Is the Key to Success

Ray Schroeder | Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning, University of Illinois, Springfield

While efficiency-related changes can sometimes lead to layoffs, the most successful institutions create efficiency through expansion.

Differentiating “Efficiency” and “Downsizing”

Ken Udas | Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer, University of Southern Queensland

Efficiency-related changes often don’t translate to downsizing, but simply a different way of doing a job. However, poorly communicating this difference could have a negative impact on executives and staff alike.

AUDIO | How Business Practice Improvement Draws Returns for All Units

Bill Dracos | Chief Business Practice Improvement Officer, Emory University and Jamie Smith | Director of Business Practice Improvement, Emory University

As institutions grow rapidly, it’s easy for inefficiency processes to become ingrained, despite their inability to serve the needs of an increasingly larger organization.

The Hidden Cost of Efficiency-Related Change

Charles Dull | Assistant Dean for eLearning and Innovation, Cuyahoga Community College

Efficiency-related changes, caused by the commoditization of the postsecondary space, may offer some returns for the wider institution, but have a negative impact on the faculty.

Efficiency Through Innovation: Improving the Accessibility and Efficacy of Data

Brendan Aldrich | Executive Director of Enterprise Information Management, City Colleges of Chicago

By making data available in real-time and accessible in such a way that meets the unique needs of varied stakeholders, City Colleges of Chicago have improved efficiency system-wide through data-driven decision making.

AUDIO | How To Get Institution-Wide Buy-In for Major Changes

Jack Suess | Vice President of IT and CIO, University of Maryland Baltimore County

IT leaders can get institution-wide buy-in for major efficiency-creating projects by tying those projects to institutional goals.

Cannot Have Shared Services Without Stakeholder Buy-In

Kathleen Bienkowski | Associate Vice President of Research Administration Service Centers, Emory University

Higher education institutions are increasingly looking at shared services as a mechanism to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, but without sufficient buy-in from staff and faculty, the project could struggle to succeed.

AUDIO | Patience and Understanding Critical to Successful Transitions

Michael Stearney | Dean for Enrollment Services, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Resistance to change around major efficiency-creating projects is to be expected, but leaders need to be patient and understanding if they hope to gain buy-in from staff.

AUDIO | Communication Key to Institutional Change Acceptance

Karen Goldstein | Executive Search Consultant, Witt/Kieffer

In order to ensure critical efficiency-related changes are implemented institution-wide, college and university leaders must focus on effectively communicating with staff and faculty.

Shared Services: Bringing Efficiency from NASA to Higher Education

Kenneth Newton | Director of Service Delivery in the Shared Services Center, NASA

Moving toward a shared services model can reap major rewards for higher education institutions nationwide, spelling significant benefits for a wide range of stakeholders and the wider citizenry and economy.

AUDIO | Economies of Scale and Higher Ed: What Postsecondary Leaders Can Learn from Industry

Jeffrey Camm | Head of the Department of Operations, Business Analytics and Information Systems, University of Cincinnati

By taking advantage of economies of scale and putting effort into learning more about their customers, higher education institutions could improve their efficiency and minimize costs.

Efficiency Central to Innovation and Growth, Despite Upfront Cost

Evan Duff | Vice President of Adult and Professional Studies, North Carolina Wesleyan College

Though critics of efficiency will point to upfront costs and task reduction, these changes are necessary to allow institutions and their staff to innovate and grow.

AUDIO | Misconceptions Challenge Efficiency in Higher Ed

Dennis Jones | President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

Although there is an expectation that the changes being demanded by policymakers and the public can be achieved through operational savings alone, greater investment is required for institutions to be truly successful.

AUDIO | High-Touch, High-Tech: The Future of Postsecondary Efficiency

Wayne Smutz | Dean of Continuing Education and Extension, UC Los Angeles

By introducing tools that allow staff to focus on high-touch tasks, institutions can improve their customer service while simultaneously reducing operating costs.

AUDIO | Back-End Automation Leads to Better Student Service and Institutional Savings

Elizabeth D. Capaldi Phillips | Provost Emerita, Arizona State University

By automating some aspects of the heavy lifting faced by academic advisors, their time is freed up to provide customized support to students.

Staff Effectiveness and the Modern Efficient Institution

Kendra Cooks | University Controller, UNC Charlotte

By focusing on staff competency and training, UNC Charlotte was able to become more effective and evolve as an organization.

AUDIO | How an Evolved IT Unit Can Take an Institution from Good to Great

Tracy Schroeder | Vice President of Information Services and Technology, Boston University

Institutional IT units must play a central role in the development and transformation of colleges and universities.

AUDIO | The Differentiating Value of Efficient Institutional Management

Eric Denna | Vice President for Information Technology, University of Maryland

Though highly efficient business management practices are not a market differentiator, they are mission critical for a successful institution and they impact the student experience.

AUDIO | How Removing Silos Supports Institutional Growth and Diversity

Dave King | Associate Provost of Outreach and Engagement, Oregon State University

If institutions commit to improving processes and reducing silos, they will be able to offer more options, attract a wider group of students and grow.

Just-In-Time Technology: Improving Retention and Success of “New Traditionals”

Colleen Carmean | Assistant Chancellor for Instructional Technologies and Director of Institutional Research, University of Washington Tacoma and Darcy Janzen | E-Learning Support Manager, University of Washington Tacoma

Tools designed to automate personalized retention-developing tactics are critical to student persistence and success, helping institutions boost their performance metrics.

AUDIO | How Process Streamlining Supports the Student Experience

Carolyn Young | Director of Continuing Studies, Western University

Back-end efficiency is critical for institutions that want to give their students a modern customer experience.

Efficiency Through Third-Party Relationships Can Lead to Differentiation

Sharon Duffy | Dean of Extension, UC Riverside

By working with vendors to implement systems that create back-end efficiencies, staff and executives can spend their time focusing on serving the needs of students and providing a top-end customer experience.

AUDIO | Student Experience and Efficiency Go Hand-in-Hand

Marie Cini | Provost, University of Maryland University College

Operational efficiency is central to providing a strong student experience for today’s postsecondary institutions, especially when it comes to serving non-traditional learners.

A Successful University-Corporation Partnership Requires Institutional Agility

Joanne Goldstein | Associate Vice President for Workforce Development and Employer Engagement, Northeastern University College of Professional Studies

Institutions should focus on creating multiple levels of relationship with a corporation to ensure their partnership is long term, successful and mutually beneficial.

AUDIO | Efficiency Through Technology Central to Operational Excellence

Diana Wu | Dean, UC Berkeley Extension

By adopting a range of technology tools, institutions can provide a much higher level of customer service become operationally excellent.

Efficiency: The Secret Top Schools Already Know

Shaul Kuper | Chief Executive Officer, Destiny Solutions

By creating a solid and smooth-running back end, colleges and universities can improve the customer experience for their students and set themselves on the path for long-term success.

Translating Operational Efficiency to Student Benefits

Becky Takeda-Tinker | President, Colorado State University—Global Campus

Focusing on creating efficiencies through external partnerships and better use of technology creates visible differentiators for students.

AUDIO | Demand for Efficiency Gives Institutions Leg Up in Marketplace

Robert Wensveen | Associate Director of Continuing Education, University of Calgary

Efficiency is a critical need in the mind of today’s students, and by serving this need institutions can actually improve their positioning and market share.

AUDIO | Greater Efficiency Shows Students that Institutions Put Them First

Meg Benke | Professor, Empire State College

The student experience is vastly improved when institutions turn the spotlight on improving back-end and bureaucratic efficiency.

AUDIO | Efficiency or Irrelevancy: The Time is Now to Choose

Michael Horn | Co-Founder and Executive Director, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation

Given the current postsecondary climate, higher education institutions need to improve their operational efficiency or face major transformations.

AUDIO | Efficiency Is the First Step Toward Long-Term Sustainability

Kenneth Hartman | Senior Fellow and Principal Analyst, Eduventures

If institutions don’t take seriously the need to modify their business practices, they will face significant consequences in the coming years.

How Data Management Creates Strategic Advantages for Institutions

Sharon Blanton | Vice President and CIO, Hawaii Pacific University

Effective collection and analysis of data is the first step institutions need to take to improve their operational efficiency.

AUDIO | Personalized and Automated: How Efficiency Benefits Students and the Institution

Timothy Renick | Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success and University Vice Provost, Georgia State University

By implementing technologies that create a supportive and personalized environment for students, the institution and its staff also benefit.

Navigating the Bureaucracy of Higher Education: How Processes Impair Persistence for Adults

Scott Greenberg | Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Framingham Sate University

The bureaucratic processes designed to protect traditional-age students can easily create a series of roadblocks for adult learners that hampers their persistence.

AUDIO | Improving Procurement and IT Efficiency Critical for Institutional Success

Jeff Denneen | Global Higher Education Practice Leader, Bain & Company

Improving processes around procurement and IT can be greatly beneficial for institutions navigating cost challenges.

How to Make Sure Your Team is Suited to 21st-Century Higher Ed

Paige Francis | Chief Information Officer, Fairfield University

It’s critical for postsecondary leaders to assess how staff time and effort is spent to ensure they are working in the most effective way possible.

Bringing Data to the Core of Institutional Operations

Kristin Kennedy | Manager of Business Intelligence, Arizona State University

While data has great potential for stakeholders institution-wide, very few users actually know how to access that data to put it to effective use.

Automation: Moving Communication Management Into the 21st-Century

Walter Rankin | Deputy Dean of the School of Continuing Studies, Georgetown University

Finding systems to automate the organization of critical tasks can allow staff and faculty to focus on high-value communications that make a difference to students.

Software-as-a-Service: Creating Operational Efficiencies and Democratizing Access

Vas Vasiliadis | Director of Products, Communication and Development, University of Chicago

Software-as-a-Service systems can revolutionize higher education functions across a wide variety of verticals, reducing costs and improving usability for all stakeholders.

Three Ways Institutions Are Using Technology to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness

David Dodd | Vice President of Information Technology, Stevens Institute for Technology

Technology is making great strides in helping institutions become more efficient and effective organizations, from teaching and learning to management.

The Simple Keys to Effective Postsecondary Change Management

Marian Burkhart | Executive Director of Strategy and Governance, Lone Star College System

Institutional leaders should focus on clear and supportive communication to ensure their staff are comfortable with any major changes taking place.

Four Ways To Manage Change In Preparation for a Major Implementation

Boyd Knosp | Associate Dean for Information Technology, University of Iowa

Major implementations require buy-in from stakeholders at all levels; following these steps will help to make the transition smooth.

AUDIO | New Product Development Requires Significant Collaboration

Rob Thompson | Director of Academic and Core Applications, Wayne State University and Daren Hubbard | Senior Director of Enterprise Applications, Wayne State University

Collaboration with stakeholders through product development is key for institutional leaders, especially when creating new campus-wide tools internally.

The Importance of Measuring Operational Efficiency in Higher Education IT

Chris Megill | Associate Director of Technology Services, George Washington University

By measuring success and adjusting for weaknesses, an institutional IT unit can adapt more quickly to changing needs and improve the efficiency of the campus-wide technology services.

AUDIO | The Ins and Outs of Measuring Postsecondary Efficiency

Leah Lang | Manager of Core Data Service, EDUCAUSE

The relevance of particular data points is ultimately dependent on the way the data is meant to be used.

AUDIO | Moving Away From Input-Focused Metrics

Donna Desrochers | Principal Researcher for the Education Program, American Institutes for Research

Although institutions traditionally measured their efficiency through static input metrics, more focus is now being paid to resource allocation and costs for students.