Who will be president? Higher education’s accelerating leadership crisis:

A new playing field: The changing landscape of college athletics:

The future of AI in higher education: Embracing disruptive innovation:

At the academic core: The rising influence and risks of public-private partnerships:

Higher education institutions often see themselves as great equalizers—crucial platforms for social mobility. Yet today, many view college as a maintainer of inequality.

In the past decade, the share of Americans expressing high confidence in the value of higher education fell sharply, from 57% to 36%.7

just half of bachelor’s degree holders believe their education was worth the cost

about half of college graduates are underemployed after graduation

The prevailing national narrative revolves around the debt students often take on to pursue higher education, in an era in which entry-level wages have risen three times faster for high school graduates than their college-educated peers.

This also means looking at the full spectrum of student stakeholder groups, which include adult learners looking to reskill and upskill to keep up with market demand.

The traditional metrics often cited by higher education institutions and regulatory bodies (for example, retention and graduation rates) are increasingly at odds with public perception and the reality of how universities are being leveraged throughout one’s career.

Outcome-oriented metrics—which focus on jobs, student debt levels, return on investment (ROI), and other indicators of economic mobility—resonate more with today’s students

New Era Forum, “We are not speaking the same language.”

Some states now require state institutions to demonstrate that their programs have a positive ROI. The North Carolina General Assembly recently required the University of North Carolina Systemto study the ROI of its educational offerings to its graduates. This study, published in November 2023, found that 94% of the system’s undergraduate and 91% of its graduate programs resulted in a positive return on student investment.

Publicly available dashboards offered by the system show the ROI for students and institutions by program. In all, University of North Carolina System bachelor’s degree holders earn a median lifetime amount of US$1.2 million

he Postsecondary Commission, an emerging accreditor, is building an accreditation model focused on student outcomes, including earning power and economic mobility.

The Higher Learning Commission is mobilizing to accredit credentials as well as degrees.

The average tenure of university presidents continues to decline—between 2006 and 2022, it fell from 8.5 years to 5.9 years.

A recent American Council on Education study indicates that 55% of presidents plan to step down from their positions within the next five years.

In 2023, ACE reported that 59% of presidents were not actively preparing a successor for their positions.

Fewer than 30% of institutions cited had a plan for future presidential searches, and just 14% had a temporary succession plan.2

The same report suggests that 54% of college presidents come from an academic background.25 However, relatively few candidates with academic backgrounds are fully equipped to handle the political maelstrom of the modern university presidency. On the other hand, external candidates who have developed their leadership skills in business, politics, or government may be ill-prepared to navigate the complex internal environment of faculty governance and accreditation.

Ensure that presidential search committees look for leaders from culturally and professionally diverse backgrounds.

It is critical to define the lines between board governance, faculty governance, and managerial decision-making and to educate board members to serve as both partners to management and as an oversight body.

Arizona State University’s Leadership Academy offers a year-long training program for ASU faculty and staff with the goal of developing a university-wide pipeline of future leaders.

Arizona State University, in partnership with Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership, also runs the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership,

The NCAA’s proposed changes would affect scholarship requirements, health insurance, and tuition assistance.

While universities entering a new subdivision may receive more media revenue, the potential costs associated with paying student-athletes as employees will require a variety of changes in budgeting and planning.

Establish institutional guidelines for the financial support of student-athletes:

Develop approaches to support student-athletes' mental and physical well-being:

Establish processes and governance around Title IX implications:

Develop long-term strategies for preserving the unique character of college athletics:

The debut of ChatGPT was unprecedented, with 100 million users signing up within just two months.34 This adoption rate, which exceeded even the most optimistic predictions, demonstrated the widespread popularity of this transformative technology.

While an overwhelming majority of higher education faculty and administrators believe that gen AI will impact their institutions in the next five years, far fewer—just one in five—believe their institution is prepared for this change.35

Curriculum evolution:

Enhancing core operations:

Streamlining routine tasks:

Change management can help address these concerns by facilitating a smooth transition.

focus on providing training and learning experiences for staff and faculty across the university

We are on the brink of a new era defined by the augmentation of human intelligence with generative AI

MainStay,

Arizona State University announced a new collaboration with OpenAI.

Georgia State University conducted a research study to explore how AI could support high school students as they navigated tasks and decision points on the road to college.

The birthplace of AI, Carnegie Mellon University,

Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation helps embed AI across the curriculum

74% of respondents said these partnerships provide unique competencies and superior services compared to in-house alternatives.

The US Department of Education’s Dear ColleagueLetter GEN-23-03 spotlighted the critical importance of managing risk as a collective responsibility of the organization, emphasizing the necessity of cooperation, clear communication, and shared accountability across institutions. It underscored the need for due diligence, monitoring, and adequate controls

These lie primarily in three critical areas: financial implications, reputational risk, and quality of education.

Frequent changes in higher education leadership can add another layer of complexity, bringing new emphases and directions that may not align with existing contracts.

enterprise risk management programs

If a public-private partnership fails to deliver a crucial service, it can create disruptions that could significantly affect students, faculty, and the entire institution.

The US Department of Education is expected to release new guidelines for how higher education institutions can work with online program managers and other external providers.

The University of Michigan has embarked on the largest third-party development project in student housing, partnering with American Campus Communities to construct five new residence halls and a dining facility anticipated for completion in 2026.

In 2021, Georgetown launched a sustainable utilities partnership with energy services provider ENGIE North America and portfolio management firm Axium Infrastructure to support efforts to reduce energy-use intensity, increase their share of renewables, and mitigate their carbon footprint.43

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