Planning, Institutional

Change, and Our Work as Faculty

Planning, Institutional

Change, and Our Work as Faculty

Robert L. Taylor Professor of Management and

Dean Emeritus

University of Louisville

Overview

• Higher education today• Questions we should address• The environment and consequences• Current issues• Challenges to higher education• Implications • Our work plans

Purpose

To take an hour to really think about strategic issues related to our work in the metropolitan university

Higher Education Today

• Reactive or proactive?

– The dilemma of leading and/or following

– Is it possible to stay ahead of the curve?

– There appears to be a disconnect between what we teach and what is happening in the world around us

Higher Education Today

• What is the model of higher education leadership?

– Generic -- applicable globally?

– U.S. defined?

– Culturally defined?

Higher Education Today

• Is a university degree a commodity?

– Common curricula

– True differentiation a function of:• Location• Student selection• Networking Opportunities• Placement activities

Higher Education Today

• Are we still seeking a pedagogy?

– Marketed defined on the bases of convenience, flexibility, and …

– E-learning without a philosophy• Increase revenues• Minimize interaction• Maximize “convenience”

Higher Education Today

• Students

– Do they want an education, or

– Are they seeking a degree (credential)?

Questions We Should Address

• Towson as a Metropolitan University

– Research University– Comprehensive University– Liberal Arts College– Specialized College– Proprietary Institution– For-profit Institution

Questions We Should Address

• What is the scholarly agenda for the metropolitan university?

– Teaching remains a primary emphasis?

– Scholarship is related to the issues of a metropolitan setting?

– Service is emphasized in translating research into action for the metropolitan area

The Environment and Consequences• Rapidly changing

– Economic

– Technological

– Social

– Political

The Environment and Consequences

• Every institution a “university”

– European experience

– Asian experience

The Environment and Consequences• Communication

– Linking the world instantaneously• Satellites• Internet

– Providing us with world events (and non-events)

– Changing the role of the professorate• From provider of knowledge• To arbiter of information

The Environment and Consequences• Immediate gratification

– Urgent

– Overnight

– Just-in-time

Current Issues

• Perceptions and realities of higher education leadership today

– Perspectives unrelated to the mission

– Greed

– Absence of trust

Current Issues

• Public funding of higher education is weakening

– Other priorities

– Absence of clear accountability

– Publicity associated with tuition hikes and tradition of low cost

Current Issues

• Technology mediation

– Resistance to adopt new technologies

– Increased popularity of online options

– Unrealistic assessment of technology-based learning

• The Open University example

Challenges to Higher Education

• Increasing challenges to the importance of higher education

– Apparently little or no correlation between an undergraduate (or most graduate degrees) and career success

– First (undergraduate) degree holders do not appear to have any advantage in obtaining their first job

Challenges to Higher Education

• Teaching– Understanding and applying the technology-

mediated options for effectiveness and efficiency

– Delivering learning at the time and place most appropriate for students

– Measuring outcomes and engaging in continuous improvement

Challenges to Higher Education

• Quality of higher education research

– Widespread criticism that the research has not been influential in making our world a better place – exception is health sciences

– Proliferation of research expectations beyond the traditional research institutions

Challenges to Higher Education

• Research and scholarship can be used to address the problems and opportunities of metropolitan areas

– Applied research that is sponsored and conducted with metropolitan constituents

– Faculty scholarship focuses on identified problems and needs from the community

Challenges to Higher Education

• Who will do the research?

– Capacity of schools and colleges differ– Interests and capabilities of individual faculty

differ– The institution must engage in a discussion of

and decisions related to comparative advantage

Challenges to Higher Education

• Research and scholarship

– Identifying needs and matching skills– Addressing the unique issues of the

metropolitan area

– Unit differences in terms of contributions– Individual faculty differences and expectations

Challenges to Higher Education

• The role of service

– Metropolitan universities are expected and well-positioned to engage faculty resources in solving important problems

– Coordinated service is as important in the metropolitan setting as research and scholarship

Challenges to Higher Education

• Service

– Expectations for discipline, governance, and metropolitan area

– Assessing contributions

– Creating equity with teaching and scholarship

Implications

• Historical perspectives

– Democratization of higher education– Faculty compensation in the Middle Ages– The role of teacher– Technology mediation in learning– Research and service

Implications

• Observe the airline situation– One of two industries left that are labor-driven

– The business model has changed but the companies cannot

– Higher education is next• Structural model is questioned• Funding model is changing• Focus is shifting from faculty to students

Implications

• Continuous change is a reality

– We cannot return to the “good old days”

– Adaptability and flexibility replace stability and comfort

– The choice is to react or to plan

Implications

• Importance of initiative

– Choose to move from a comprehensive institution to a research-intensive institution

– Develop the transition with a strategic plan– Manage the plan with:

• Variable career emphases• Flexible work loads• Faculty ownership and commitment

The Work Plan

• Linking individual work and contributions to the unit and the strategic vision of the university

• Recognizing that each work plan will be different but equitable

The Work Plan

• Faculty work

– Is our perspective of work consistent with the world around us?

– How difficult is faculty work today and how is it perceived by others?

• Three or four courses per term• Same standards of research for all• Limits to the numbers of students taught• Availability for advising and counseling students• Example of what can be done

The Work Plan

• Enrollment management, growth and mix

• Student experience and success

• Resources for success

• Partnerships Philosophy

• Teaching

• Research

• Service

The Work Plan

• University

– Define metropolitan research

– Unit portfolio

– Ensure university portfolio meets the goals of the strategic plan

The Work Plan

• Unit

– Portfolio

• Teaching• Research• Service

The Work Plan

• Individual

– Time allocation

– Quality of contributions

– Outcomes and Rewards

The work Plan

• Participate in the changes

– Define the processes and outcomes rather than allowing others to set our objectives

– Be willing to negotiate and compromise – each of us cannot “have it all”

– Reinforce each other– Be positive in our approach – it’s much easier

and more fun

Summary

• Higher education today

• Questions we should address

• The environment and consequences

• Current issues

• Challenges to higher education

• Implications

• Our work plans

Your Agenda

• Questions

• Feedback