BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL A fellow trustee for whom I have great respect responded to my recent column about the value of the liberal arts. I had argued that the liberal arts teach college students how to think by training them how to write, articulate, apply quantitative methods, use technology, and work in a collaborative…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Many college leaders readily agree that the liberal arts have been under attack politically, socially, and culturally for well over a generation. They earnestly argue that a liberal arts education creates productive citizens to ensure a robust democracy. These officials point to the heightened polarization within American society and a growing…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL One of the most interesting responsibilities as a college president is to serve as a member of the president-led athletic conferences. With experience as a chair of conferences at the Division I and Division III levels, I can report that there are some striking differences between the divisions. But what stands…
In our new book — How to Run a College: A Practical Guide for Trustees, Faculty, Staff and Policymakers — Dr. Joey King and I argue that governance is the worst problem affecting American higher education. Most Trustees Unschooled About Institutional Issues Most trustees are notoriously unschooled about the issues that affect their institutions. They…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL According to Inside Higher Education’s recent survey of college business officers, only 44 percent of those at private baccalaureate institutions believed that their institutions would be financially stable over the next decade. That means the leaders of these institutions – most of which lack a sizeable endowment – will need to…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Inside Higher Education (IHE) released its 2018 Survey of College and University Business Officers last week. While the findings vary across the different sectors of American higher education, many are sobering, especially for four-year private colleges. Many Small, Private Colleges’ Financial State is Perilous According to the IHE survey, conducted in…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL In our new book – How to Run a College: A Practical Guide for Trustees, Faculty, Administrators and Policymakers – Dr. Joey King and I lay out the case for revitalizing the shared governance structure under which higher education institutions operate. We see governance, especially at the trustee level, as a significant…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Several years ago, I spoke to a group of extraordinarily bright, committed colleagues from across a group of neighboring colleges and universities in a large metropolitan area. The subject – collaboration — was a precursor to a larger conversation about whether they might consider a merger of like-minded institutions to create…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL The failure to grow net tuition revenue is an existential threat to America’s colleges and universities. Most are overwhelmingly dependent upon tuition, fees, and room and board to support the educational program that they offer. Colleges operate with fixed costs in labor, benefits, land, state and federal reporting requirements, and debt…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL For the American consumer, there is a good deal of persistent confusion about the cost of higher education. Media reports usually point to the high “sticker price,” which does not reflect the actual cost of an education that most American families pay. On the public side, it fails to incorporate the…