|
|
|
|
|
|
Members
of the Council of Independent Colleges during the 2002 Presidents Institute
annual meeting endorsed a report on the results of the Council’s
year-long strategic planning process. The "Report
to the CIC Membership on Strategic Planning" describes CIC’s
strategic planning process, which was initiated to determine future
directions for CIC.
CIC conducted a total of 22 roundtable discussions
(17 with presidents, four with chief academic officers, and one with
church association executives) between March and October of 2001 (see
the fall issue of the online Independent).
Two additional meetings were held in July and November to assess the
findings of these roundtable discussions and sharpen understanding of
the key issues. Substantial, initial financial support for these efforts
was provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundations, Inc.; additional
support came from The Booth Ferris Foundation and The Christian A. Johnson
Endeavor Foundation.
The
report to the membership enumerates the current challenges facing independent
colleges and universities as expressed by campus leaders. It also includes
suggestions made by roundtable participants of ways that CIC can assist
institutions in meeting those challenges, and then raises questions
about how CIC should develop as an organization to provide these programs
and services.
CIC
President Richard Ekman said "There was considerable agreement
across the roundtables about the current challenges our members face.
CIC’s challenge now is to consider the suggestions and ideas generated
by the strategic planning process and begin the implementation process."
The
six major challenges now facing independent colleges and universities,
and possible activities that CIC could undertake to help institutions
address the challenges, the report states, are:
- Financing
high quality education. Revenue issues, including tuition discounting
and enrollment management, and expenditures such as hiring and retaining
faculty, deferred maintenance, information technology, and facilities
maintenance and construction are among the set of financing issues
that constitute the most important challenge for independent institutions.
Possible new programs and services include holding Presidents Institute
sessions on these issues; publishing papers and guidebooks; developing
access to quantitative data sets; and establishing an information
technology advisory service.
-
Making the case for independent colleges and universities.
The competitive nature of higher education was a context for almost
all of the roundtable discussions, leading to the request that "independent
institutions, singly and together, make a stronger case for the forms
of education offered by small to medium-sized, teaching-oriented,
independent colleges and universities." Potential activities
suggested for CIC include gathering data about successful programs
and developing activities to give the private sector of higher education
an increased national voice.
- Presidents
and trustees. "Since board action is often the central instrumentality
of institutional success, presidents must develop boards capable of
exercising genuine leadership." Among the ways CIC could help
presidents improve relations with their board: hold regional meetings
for presidents and trustees; establish a roster of consultants to
assist presidents with their boards; and gather and share examples
of board information and organization.
- Faculty,
institutional mission, and leadership. "Significant numbers
of faculty members’ retirements, long predicted, are now underway;
and institutions will be reshaped in this process." The suggested
avenues for CIC action included framing a larger dialogue, involving
presidents and chief academic officers about the broader (mission)
and more focused (advising) aspects of recruiting and strengthening
faculty members.
- Changing
student body.
"The increasing diversity of students …reflects trends in
the larger society [and] the broad accessibility of higher education.
But overall these student populations differ significantly from those
of earlier decades, including more students genuinely at risk; and
they are testing institutional resources." Sharing effective
practices on serving diverse groups of students and on providing faculty
and staff development opportunities were among the ways suggested
that CIC could address the issue.
- Ensuring
quality.
"There is concern that many of the regulatory organizations are
insufficiently aware of the burdens of time, staffing, and money caused
by standards and processes formulated with larger, public institutions
in mind." CIC might be able to help by developing better mechanisms
for accreditation, suggested roundtable participants.
Because
most of the challenges identified have broad institution-wide implications,
roundtable participants suggested that CIC "increase the number
and variety of services tailored for presidents" and that chief
academic officers "continue to be seen as a key CIC constituency,"
the report states.
Overall,
participants thought that CIC did not need to be a radically different
type of organization, and they "were generally pleased with CIC’s
existing activities and would like CIC to do more."
Independent
The Council of Independent Colleges
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 320 • Washington, DC 20036
tel: (202) 466-7230 • Fax: (202) 466-7238 • e-mail: cic@cic.nche.edu
• www.cic.edu
Last updated: April 12, 2002
Copyright © 2002 The Council of Independent Colleges
|
