By Michael Horn - EvoLLLution. 1. How does operational efficiency impact the cost of the higher education “product”, both for the institution to deliver and for the student to consume?
It’s a really important issue. The one that grabs headlines is the debt crisis for students and the cost to students. That would be one reason to think about it — to lower the cost to students — but the other reason that concerns the institution itself is the one that gets far less coverage. More...

By Diana Wu - EvoLLLution. 1. How can better operational efficiency help institutions become more nimble and responsive to market needs?
One way I think about operational efficiency is, “Why do we need to be more efficient?” Your end goal is not just to streamline or to reduce cost or to even think about how to better serve your customers. The end goal is actually about your organization’s broader goals; how to become nimble and responsive to market needs. More...

By Shaul Kuper - EvoLLLution. For a long time, efficiency was seen as an enemy of the Academy. Lurking in the shadows and threatening to take away from rigor and performance, efficiency was all but avoided at top institutions. But it’s no secret that the business model of higher ed is changing, and as a result, efficiency is being looked at through a different lens. More...

By Robert Wensveen - EvoLLLution. 1. What are some of the operational improvements that can help institutions effectively react to new opportunities and serve new marketplaces?
The first thing to consider is time to market for new courses and programs. If you can take a course and program or a new program and meet the demand the industry or the public has efficiently and quickly, then you’re going to be successful. More...

By Becky Takeda-Tinker - EvoLLLution. Does “efficiency” matter in higher education? If we consider what currently challenges American higher education — rising tuition rates, growing student debt, declining enrollment —  I believe it does. But efficiency is meaningless to students if they don’t see or experience the benefits directly. In other words, as institutions work to streamline and improve their internal processes to optimize staff contributions while lowering costs, it’s important they also take the opportunity to address changes that benefit students, and then communicate the effects of those changes as appropriate. More...

By Sharon Duffy - EvoLLLution. 1. How can better operational efficiency help institutions react to new opportunities and serve new marketplaces?
As a self-funded organization, we have to be efficient and responsive to the expectations of our students and other constituents we serve. We have to be flexible and this means our systems have to have enough structure that we aren’t always starting from scratch and reinventing processes when new opportunities come. More...

By Marie Cini - EvoLLLution. 1. As operational budgets start to shrink, but student expectations grow, operational efficiency has started to take center stage as a silver bullet for higher education administrators. When an institution is really efficient, though, do students notice the difference?
Operational efficiency is now starting to be viewed almost as an imperative; it’s not even a choice any more. Do students notice the difference? Absolutely. More...

By Joanne Goldstein - EvoLLLution. The relationship between business and higher education has tightened over the past decade and is at the point where there’s the possibility of great symmetry and synergy between the two. Its genesis and evolution have been well documented. In this competitive landscape, however, academic institutions need to differentiate themselves from their peers so that corporations select them as their preferred educational provider. More...

By Colleen Carmean - EvoLLLution. Just In Time. Famous words of the time-stressed, over-committed adult learner that now makes up more than 38 percent of the college-going population (according to a recent Student Clearinghouse report). Whether in assignments, courses, financial aid or getting to class, adult learners behave like most time and task-stressed adults; we queue things up as they need to get done. And sometimes, some of the demands just slip through the cracks. More...

By Dave King - EvoLLLution. 1. How does serving a diversity of students across the ‘spectrum of access’ impact an institution’s relative market potential?
These days, you have to go where the learners are. Our goal with trying to create a more seamless Spectrum of Access was to provide a granular approach for students so they could find what they want when they want it. That’s the old adage that has come from online access; you get what you want when you want it. More...