A. Keynote : Agility

The theme of the annual EACUBO meeting was Agility which is presented as being the next corporate approach to be adopted in higher Education... following Total Quality Management and then reengineering.

Agility is defined as the ability of an organization to thrive in the face of continuous and unpredictable change. Those who will thrive in this environment will anticipate change and act first. The keynote speaker Mr Aris Melissaratos, of Westinghouse is actively involved with the Iacoccca InstituteÕs Agility Forum at Lehigh University.

Change is a constant. While American Higher education is still preeminent in the world, he advised higher Ed leaders to contemplate new approaches while at the top. He noted examples of those who did not heed this message such as Swiss watch manufacturers and recently IBM. He challenged higher Ed to anticipate the global environment, customer focus and new forms of competition by offering better products and services on a timely basis. He suggested agility will empower adaptive people and organizations. Business Officers are especially important as they oversee two of the areas whose documents that are the greatest inhibitors of organizational flexibility namely the Comptroller and Human Resources manuals.

Time is an important ingredient. We need to manage information on a real time basis. A systems approach to the enterprise is needed that integrate elements and avoid single point solutions. Processes are interdependent and their evaluation cannot be done piecemeal. Work needs to be addressed by teams rather tan individual specialists. Jobs need to be more broadly defined.

Some features of agile institutions are lean managements, well integrated computer and telecommunications systems, globally supportive to customers through voice, data and video capability. Much of this has been applied successfully in agriculture and manufacturing. The service sector has great opportunity for improvement. . The power of information systems is finally being realized in improving productivity.

Presidents need to support process improvement. CFOs have responsibility to encourage and foster this effort early on. A customer orientation anticipates needs . Faculty need to understand who the customer is. Total quality had as its goals the satisfaction of the customer. Students are our customers, not our products. Agile organizations enrich their customers.

• 1.Enrich the customer .. curriculum needs to be designed to foster value to students.
• 2. Human resources need to be adaptive. Team efforts,/team rewards, foster generalists and think cross functionally.
• 3. Agile organizations are connected and networked. Every mind/desk is wired. Enhancing communication systems replace bricks and mortar as strategic facility renewal.
• 4. Leaders are not Òcorronated with photos on every lamppostÓ but are instead customer focused, present to meet and talk with students /alumni .

B. Trustee view of Agility Dan Altobello, a trustee at Mount Holyoke and Loyal(MD) universities and a former Marriott VP presented a ÒTrustee View of AgilityÓ He noted change is outpacing our ability to anticipate it. Schools are too large, there are too many part time teachers, standards are declining, costs are escalating too rapidly, graduate debt is too high, government aid is declining, enrollment growth is in non-white students many who grew up in poverty (46% of African Americans under 18 are living in poverty)

He referred to EinsteinÕs comment that is was not possible to solve problems with the same level of thinking that created the problem. Education has been slow to adapt. Processes a are often too consultative. Colleges need to focus on value to its stake holders... its students. Non traditional students in particular need to be integrated.

Trustees need to see a strategic vision, establish priorities accordingly, focus agendas on critical issues, monitor performance and become strategic assets themselves to the institution. Faster decison making needs to be encouraged.

Administrators need to focus on core competencies, strive to be unique, establish realistic budgets, use faculty wisely, foster assessment . He warned that competition is coming from different places. Corporations are starting their own schools such as Motorola and McDonalds Universities.

C NACUBO DC Update Jay Morley, the new President of NACUBO discussed ways that NACUBO could play a greater role with the ÓPresidentialÒ organizations in DC. He noted some challenges in higher education and outlined ten reasons why good organizations fail:

• 1. Status Quo management
• 2. Too much success breeds failure
• 3. Cost inefficiencies
• 4. Internal conflicts
• 5. Regulatory barriers
• 6. Neglect of emerging markets..or low cost competitors
• 7. Non traditional competitors...TV, religion, corporate education
• 8. Rapid technological advances
• 9. Rapid deregulation ..what would happen if business stopped requiring a college degree of employees?
• 10. Unexpected events

Morley reviewed some of the legislation in DC that might impact higher education. Most is negative in terms of budget cuts, regulations and greater IRS monitoring, NACUBO has identified five major strategic directions :

• 1. Be seen as the leader in addressing higher educations financial and business management issues
• 2. Participate in creation of new knowledge in financial and business management and disseminate
• 3. Work in collaboration and cooperation with regulators to utilize business financial information in higher education
• 4. Partner with other associations influential in building public confidence in shaping public policy on issues such as tuition, access, technology, competition, and demographics.
• 5. Encourage professional values and ethical behavior

D. Pew Trust update Ann Duffield program director of the PEW trust Higher Education Round table described the Round table effort and some other approaches to reform in higher education. 120 campuses are currently participating. Participants have a team of 25 to 30 for a day or two retreat on major campus issues. Some common issues that seem to be consistent from one institution to another are :

• 1. Angst about dealing with diversity
• 2.College as a career path vs bid time and growingup
• 3.Job orientation of students vs Liberal arts values
• 4. Public funding of education
• 5. Technology especially the link to pedagogy
• 6. Disconnections between students whose world that is media dominated and faculty who are too specialized and threatened by students who often know more about new technologies than their teachers
• 7. Too many courses in the curriculum especially in humanities
• 8. Faculty feel left out of dialogue on the cost framework..budget/tuition etc.
• 9. CFO/Faculty respect for each other seems to be in elation to the health of the institution.

Various schools have used this process quite differently.

• 1. Some had a good conversation and stopped there.
• 2. Some are using it for a foundation for planning and academic redesign
• 3.Some are using it to modify their governance processes
• 4. Some have undertaken specific redesign efforts . RPI is redesigning its curriculum to move to a four course/four credit approach while the University of Illinois is moving to a smaller budgetary unit approach

Looking ahead, Pew will take in about 12 more schools this year and will plan some collaborative meetings of the whole group. They will soon have a new World Wide Web page this winter which should be an interesting site.