3 hard facts

shaping higher education thinking + behavior

Fact #1
Your institution is on its own
Take decisive action
Partner with faculty, consider
affiliations change the
trajectory
Get creative
Innovate in finances, academics,
promotion everything
Target demographics
Find out what's important to new
groups and provide it
Distinguish yourself
Separate your institution from the
distressed-college fold begin
with a realistic view of your
situation
2016 Grant Thornton LLP | All rights reserved2
Fact #2
Opportunity abounds

Seize opportunities in Create unique offerings

student growth such as liberal arts + vocational
objectives
1 Demographic groups such as
Hispanic Promote your uniqueness
2 Students in the West and
Develop online or hybrid
South
delivery systems
3 Students outside your
geographic reach

2016 Grant Thornton LLP | All rights reserved3

 Fact #2 cont.
Opportunity abounds
Leverage simplicity
Focus on doing only a few things
do them well
Identify less-attractive programs
reduce or eliminate them
Read the article
Maturing from adolescence into adulthood:
Major factors shaping the sector in 2016
Explore new initiatives
As revenue slowly grows, resist
pressure to restore budget
reductions to low-priority
expenses
Instead, use the incremental
revenue for innovation such as
attracting new students and
improving retention
2016 Grant Thornton LLP | All rights reserved4
Fact #3
This may be the decade of the distressed college
Distinguish yourself
Separate your institution from the
distressed-college fold begin
with a realistic view of your
situation
Consult with key stakeholders to
learn and gain their support
Determine a projection based on
your current course the usual
conclusion is that your current
course is not sustainable
Then think boldly about new
paths consistent with your
mission but possibly in sharply
different ways
2016 Grant Thornton LLP | All rights reserved5
Read the article
Maturing from adolescence into adulthood:
Major factors shaping the sector in 2016

See the full report

The State of Higher
Education in 2016

2016 Grant Thornton LLP | All rights reserved6

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