BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL In our new book, How to Run a College: A Practical Guide for Trustees, Faculty, Administrators and Policymakers, Dr. W. Joseph King and I assert that the current operating model by which colleges meet their expenses no longer works. This financial crisis is best viewed through one revealing statistic – the…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL American colleges and universities are reaching for every means through which they might increase net tuition revenue. Net tuition revenue is the revenue that the college takes in from tuition after factoring in (i.e. deducting) all institutional financial aid. Net Tuition Revenue is Flat or Decreasing at Many Colleges The harsh…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL As enrollment continues to soften at four-year residential colleges, college administrators must increasingly justify the philosophies behind and the costs associated with them. It’s a sad commentary when colleges must defend what was once perceived to be the best justification for students to attend them. The older argument fell along these…
Athletics contribute enormously to college life. They provide a unifying force across the campus community in which the college’s principal stakeholders – faculty, students, staff, alumni, parents, donors, and the community – can rally with pride in support of the institution. Athletics are often the public face of a college. At the largest institutions, this…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL It’s August. For many families, it’s time to participate in a celebrated American ritual: moving a son or daughter to college. While thousands of parents and children bid each other farewell after moving belongings into a dorm room, the experience is acutely personal. Every child has a different and unique relationship…
I doubt my college is unique in having offered over the years “events” too numerous to count where free pizza, ice cream, or doughnuts have been, if not the main course, at least one served up as part of some kind of learning experience. The publicity posters–first paper, now double-blasts of paper and email graphics–have…