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Webinars
Higher education leaders increasingly find that their institutional business model is unresponsive to the needs of the market they serve. The academic portfolio of programs does not reflect demand from students and employers. And students question the value of the degree given the time and cost to obtain it and the perceived outcomes that result. Compounding the problem, faculty and staff delivering programs and services lack the mental model and language necessary to support needed change to achieve a sustainable model.
Join us on June 28 as rpk’s Founder Rick Staisloff discusses higher education’s current business models and their responsiveness to a changing market with Sandy Baum, nonresident senior fellow in the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute and professor emerita of economics at Skidmore College.
Rick and Sandy will engage around these key topics:
- In what ways is the long-standing business model(s) in higher education able to address current needs of students and employers, and how might that model need to change?
- What hinders the move to greater transparency and accountability across stakeholders serving higher education?
- How might a shift to more economic thinking impact current debates around free education, cost structures, and outcomes in higher education?
Across all of these topics, Rick will share from rpk’s use cases, and Sandy will share from her most recent publication Campus Economics, How Economic Thinking Can Help Improve College and University Decisions.
Higher Education has historically been reluctant to engage in strategic partnerships, based in large part on a mistaken belief that all programs and services must be directly delivered by an institution in service to a unique mission, culture and student population. That resistance is beginning to erode, however, as institutions recognize the potential for both cost savings and expansion of programs and services under strategic partnership models.
Join us on April 19 as rpk’s Founder Rick Staisloff discusses the shift toward strategic partnerships with John MacIntosh, Managing Partner at SeaChange. SeaChange helps nonprofits apply quantitative approaches to current challenges – including grant-making in support of mergers and sustained collaboration.
Rick and John will engage around these key topics:
- Where does higher education’s historic reluctance to consider strategic partnerships come from, and what’s driving the current openness to these partnerships?
- What are some common factors behind successful partnerships, and what pitfalls should be avoided?
- How might leadership begin a conversation around strategic partnerships with their senior teams and boards?
Across all of these topics, John and Rick will share from rpk’s and SeaChange’s use cases in supporting institutions with a move toward strategic partnerships.
Higher Education’s Shift to Strategic Finance
We’re excited for our next Webinar Wednesday installment on November 9th at 1 p.m. ET! We’ll be discussing the application of a strategic finance lens in higher education, and the forces that support and create obstacles to this shift.
Joining us will be one of our great partners in the work:
Matthew Crellin, Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Matt will share from his deep experience in championing and doing the hard work around strategic finance. We’ll plan to touch upon existing capacity around strategic finance, the levers that impact that capacity, and use cases that encourage our belief that higher education is increasingly adopting strategic finance best practice.
There are great lessons for all of higher education in Matt’s experiences, but this session is especially relevant for institutions and senior higher education leaders who recognize that the time for change is now.
We’re excited about our next Webinar Wednesday installment on June 15!
We’ll be discussing the business model behind student access and success strategies to attract new student populations as the demographic cliff approaches. We will be joined by individuals who are already doing the hard work to address this challenge, including:
– Luke Dowden, Chief Online Learning Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor, Alamo Colleges District
– Cristen Moore, Independent Consultant to HCM Strategists
Cristen and Luke will share from their own experiences designing strategies to attract, enroll and support new student populations through transfer agreements and adult-centered enrollment approaches. This conversation will center these approaches in the current enrollment landscape, discuss the financial sustainability of these approaches, and identify the challenges and best practice in moving to action.
There are great lessons for all of higher education in their experiences, but this session is especially relevant for institutions and senior higher education looking to diversity their enrollment management strategies in response to shifting enrollment patterns.
We’re excited for our next Webinar Wednesday installment on April 20!
We’ll be discussing the critical decisions higher education must make to move toward sustainable business models. And we will be joined by individuals who are doing the hard work, including:
– Charles Ambrose, Chancellor, Henderson State University
– William Reuter, Special Advisor, SUNY Erie, and previous Interim President and Chief Administrative and Financial Officer
Chuck and Bill will share from their own experiences of moving boldly to change the business model. This conversation will touch on approaches to understand current state, best practice in moving to action, and strategies for engaging all stakeholders. There are great lessons for all of higher education in their experiences, but this session is especially relevant for institutions and senior higher education leaders who recognize that the time for change is now.
We’re excited for our next Webinar Wednesday installment on February 16. We’ll be discussing the importance of ensuring alignment between academic program offerings and the institutional business model. We will be joined by two individuals who have done, or are working on doing, exactly that:
– Terry Brown, Vice President of Academic Innovation and Transformation for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
– Howard Smith, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Pittsburg State University
Terry and Howard will share from their own experiences of understanding academic program return on investment, how the academic portfolio at institutions connects into the overall institutional strategy and business model, and the challenges around culture change that are necessary as program and portfolio management becomes more data-driven. There are great lessons for all of higher education in their experiences, but this session is especially relevant for institutions and higher education leaders wrestling with how to adjust academic offerings in response to changing student needs and shifting enrollment patterns.
We’re excited for our next Webinar Wednesday installment on October 13. We’ll be discussing Transformation at Scale and will be joined by two great leaders in the field:
– Dr. Barbara Bichelmeyer, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, University of Kansas
– Dr. Yasmine Ziesler, Chief Academic Officer, Vermont State Colleges System
Barbara and Yasmine will be sharing their stories of transformation across institutions and systems. There are great lessons for all of higher education in their initiatives – especially given that they were achieved in the midst of a pandemic.
Learn more about:
– Reallocating existing resources toward new shared future vision.
– Moving toward change at scale.
– Securing faculty and staff buy in for bold change.
– Adopting an ROI approach at your own institution, with an emphasis on moving successfully from post-pandemic survival to recovery to sustainability.
Past Events
Using a Data Framework to Inform Academic Portfolio Decisions
West Virginia University (WVU) recently underwent a painful but necessary process to support the health and sustainability of the institution. That process included the evaluation of the academic portfolio (programs and departments) with the goals of preserving offerings that meet student needs, achieving instructional efficiencies, delivering on student success, and supporting the long-term health of WVU.
In this session, Paula Congelio, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Mark Gavin, Senior Associate Provost for Academic, Budget, Facilities and Strategic Initiatives at West Virginia University, will share the process, metrics, and lessons learned at WVU. Paula and Mark will be joined by Katie Hagan, a Principal at rpk GROUP, who will help contextualize the WVU experience in the broader landscape of higher education’s challenges and opportunities.
At rpk, Katie leads the firm’s Academic Portfolio and Resource Review projects, enabling institutions and systems to reallocate resources to meet the needs of students and employers. Katie also serves on rpk’s leadership team. Prior to joining rpk GROUP, Katie Hagan was a research associate and faculty fellow at the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, as well as a policy fellow for a state education advocacy organization in North Carolina.
As senior associate provost, Dr. Mark Gavin oversees academic budgets, facilities, and strategic initiatives for the Office of the Provost. Gavin was previously the associate dean for graduate programs, research, and executive education in the WVU College of Business and Economics. An award-winning and widely published scholar in management, he has led several professional organizations in the field and serves on the editorial board of numerous relevant journals. Prior to joining the WVU faculty in 2011, Gavin spent 16 years in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.
Paula Congelio joined West Virginia University in 2012 as the Senior Director of Finance and Reporting for the Health Sciences Center of WVU. In 2014, she was promoted to the Associate Vice President of Finance for the Health Sciences Center and in 2017 was promoted to the position that she now holds, Vice President of Finance/Chief Financial Officer for the West Virginia University. In this capacity, she is responsible for finance, budgeting, reporting and shared services for the University. Congelio also oversees Auxiliary and Business Services, Dining Services, Erickson Alumni Center and WVU Bookstores.
Note: Session time listed in ET
Strategy, Culture, and Data – Executing on Critical Change Initiatives
Institutions are facing internal and external pressures that accelerate the need for substantial and rapid change. Leaders must now shepherd their organizations through transformation that may significantly disrupt traditional institutional approaches.
In this session, Rilie Sibold, Associate at rpk GROUP, and Dr. Steve Simpson, Chief Strategy Officer at Oakland Community College (OCC), will speak to OCC’s three-year long transformation. By developing strategy, influencing culture, and executing on data-informed approaches, OCC was able to meet the challenges of the day and prepare for a stronger future.
Attendees will develop a deeper understanding of critical change initiatives including:
- How to assess and expand institutional capacity for change
- The role of culture, data infrastructure, and strategic planning in developing a shared future vision and change management plan
- Understanding university data and acting on data-informed decisions
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from OCC’s journey and apply learnings at their home institutions.
Rilie Sibold is an Associate with rpk GROUP. For more than 10 years prior to joining rpk, Rilie worked in Kansas institutions of higher education leading sustainability and innovation efforts at university, technical, and community colleges. Her work connected academic and business models through revenue and cost analysis, and an understanding of student/employer demand and markets. As an Associate, she supports our clients in fulfilling mission and student success under a sustainable financial model.
Dr. Steve Simpson is currently the Chief Strategy Officer at Oakland Community College and is responsible for planning, accreditation, quality, and institutional effectiveness. Previously, Simpson was president of Baker College of Jackson, where he held multiple positions of escalating responsibility at the Jackson, Allen Park and Flint campuses, and online and graduate studies for all 10 campuses. Simpson holds an Ed.D. and an M.Ed. in educational leadership from Argosy University Online, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Note: Session time listed in ET
Academic Portfolio Data Frameworks – Lessons Learned at WVU
West Virginia University (WVU) recently underwent a painful but necessary process to support the health and sustainability of the institution. That process included the evaluation of the academic portfolio (programs and departments) with the goals of preserving offerings that meet student needs, achieving instructional efficiencies, delivering on student success, and supporting the long-term health of WVU.
In this panel session, Mark Gavin, Associate Provost for Academic, Budget, Facilities and Strategic Initiatives at West Virginia University, will share the process, metrics, and lessons learned at WVU. Mark will be joined by Katie Hagan, a Principal at rpk GROUP, who will help contextualize the WVU experience in the broader landscape of higher education’s challenges and opportunities.
Moderator
- Molly Mercer, Chief Financial Officer, Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education
Speakers
- Katie Hagan, Principal, rpk GROUP
- Mark Gavin, Associate Provost for Academic, Budget, Facilities and Strategic Initiatives, West Virginia University
At rpk, Katie leads the firm’s Academic Portfolio and Resource Review projects, enabling institutions and systems to reallocate resources to meet the needs of students and employers. Katie also serves on rpk’s leadership team. Prior to joining rpk GROUP, Katie Hagan was a research associate and faculty fellow at the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, as well as a policy fellow for a state education advocacy organization in North Carolina.
As associate provost, Dr. Mark Gavin oversees academic budgets, facilities, and strategic initiatives for the Office of the Provost. Gavin was previously the associate dean for graduate programs, research, and executive education in the WVU College of Business and Economics. An award-winning and widely published scholar in management, he has led several professional organizations in the field and serves on the editorial board of numerous relevant journals. Prior to joining the WVU faculty in 2011, Gavin spent 16 years in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.
Note: Session time listed in ET
No Pain, No Gain? Student Perspectives on the Academic Credit Transfer Process
When do students learn about how their transfer credits will apply? And how much time do they spend trying to figure it out?
During this session, Donna Desrochers, Senior Associate at rpk GROUP, and Melissa Chavarria, Research Associate at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), will share findings from new research on student transfer experiences stemming from student focus groups and journey mappings.
By the end of this session, attendees will:
- Understand the time & cost to students attempting to transfer academic credit between institutions
- Learn about the challenges/barriers facing students as they transfer credit
- Learn about policies & processes at 2- and 4-year institutions that could reduce students’ time and cost burdens
Attendees will be given resources to bring back to their home institutions and an opportunity during the session to engage with other attendees on best practices.
Note: Session time listed in ET