A couple of factors are leading students and parents to look at colleges as though they are a commodity item and these factors are created by the colleges themselves: 1. focusing on only the economic value of a college degree – higher paying jobs that result from the degree earned 2. how quickly can […]
Public higher education is at a crossroads. The fact that barely over 50 % of the students enrolled at a four year university today will cross the graduation stage with a diploma in six years is astounding. Student loans are soaring with students taking out astronomical loans to pursue that diploma, but find they are […]
Every college or university I have visited complains of the silos between departments. These silos are like invisible walls that prevent co-workers from working together and building relationships. These walls create a competition between departments and people that makes it so much more difficult to deliver a wonderful experience to the student. The student […]
“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair?” So goes Shelley’s famous warning to pretensions of greatness and hubris. One cannot help but recall Shelley’s celebrated sonnet when listening to the intractable positions taken by many stakeholders in Higher Ed. Numerous articles have been written about the bursting of the Higher Education bubble. I […]
This week I was on several college and university campuses as the first week of school was getting under way for the year. It was hard not to miss the many parents that were wistfully watching their young son or daughter get settled in their living residences and start to learn their way around the […]
The subject NYT opinion piece should be a watershed. It starts off with the perfunctory attacks on business practices in education, reformers, market solutions and competition. But, after aimlessly meandering through the woods, it then remarkably, makes a U-turn and announces that education could learn from the time-tested business strategies of Dr. Deming. Dr. Deming […]
When you pull down the tray in front of your airline seat and see that it is broken, do you think that the cabin crew is falling down on the job, or do you start to worry about the plane’s engine? When you see a smudged lipstick print on your wine glass, do you think […]
If we want improvement in our processes, it is important to measure. By not measuring, we don’t really know what or how big is our problem or obstacle. I am often asked the question: “How do you measure service?” Below is a worksheet that may help you. MEASUREMENT WORKSHEET 1. What are ways our department […]
Great coaches know the importance of keeping their team in line with a clear vision of where they are going. When team members drift off, the coach is right there to bring them back. When I ask the question to managers “why is counseling employees challenging?” I usually get the responses: it’s uncomfortable, I don’t […]
More and more, as I work with colleges and universities, I am hearing the word “transparency” coming up as a needed service standard. This implies to me, that currently, there is little to no transparency. Is it that we live in such a non-transparent world today that people are wowed by the organization that actually […]