This chapter provides individual and institutional strategies for confronting the historical challenges facing community college faculty, especially the prestige model, mission ambiguity, and declining resources.

This chapter describes the evolution of a regional public university president's communication strategy from being a fact-driven presenter to becoming the university's principal storyteller by integrating institutional data and metrics with meaningful stories from students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The case describes a "crisis of…

This chapter presents four central themes that are distilled from the volume. First, regional public universities (RPUs) are mission-centered as access- and teaching-oriented and civically engaged institutions. Second, no matter how RPUs are sampled and classified, they are at the center of college access and equity. Third, RPUs deploy lean…

This chapter explores the theoretical assumptions underlying both the IP system and its counternarrative, academic openness, to encourage stakeholders to look beyond extremes as depicted in political rhetoric, and find a compromise consistent with the common mission of faculty, universities, and publishers.

This chapter captures the mission and spirit of the California State University in its efforts to institutionalize undergraduate research and support the success of students traditionally underrepresented in higher education.

At every college and university, students enroll with expectations and aspirations about the kind of experience and the kind of outcomes that the institution delivers. When those expectations are met and exceeded, students are satisfied and likely to remain committed to their college choice. When their experience falls short of their expectations,…

Student movement between institutions can no longer be deemed atypical. Approximately one-third of all students transfer during their college career and of those who transfer, 25% will transfer more than once. While movement from two-year to four-year institutions is still the most prevalent transfer pathway, it is important to note that 43% of…

Adult degree programs have been seen as a win-win solution for private colleges and adult learners, but their innovative and often-entrepreneurial postures are not a natural fit with governance structures in more traditional institutions. Through narrative and illustrative vignettes, this chapter presents an overview of efforts employed by some…

North Park University's adult program has moved steadily from a centralized governance structure toward a more distributed structure in many ways. The School of Adult Learning hires its own faculty, some of whom are full time in the adult program. The school also has autonomy over academic policy. Ultimately, this academic autonomy has fostered…

As America moves toward the ideals of its founding documents, some scholars have termed it "postethnic America," where culture rather than color or ethnicity will have more influence over the country's affairs. In postethnic America, the country will realize that all "are created equal," and no groups will be treated…

Strategic planning is seen as a process that articulates institutional mission, weighs external opportunities and threats, gauges internal strengths and weaknesses, and determines appropriate action. Benefits and pitfalls in planning are discussed. (MLW)

Threats in the external environment, the arrival of a planning-oriented new president, and new regional reaccreditation criteria prompted West Texas State University to undertake a successful strategic planning venture. Leadership must focus strategic planning in a manner that recognizes the decentralized and collegial elements present in higher…

Center College of Kentucky's "central myth," or self-understanding, articulated strategically, became the basis for planning and decisions responsible for significant institutional achievement. (MLW)

Strategic planning can successfully counter crises threatening a college's survival by clarifying the mission, by shaping institutional reorganization and curriculum development and by focusing marketing efforts and attracting new support. Crisis background, financial exigency, and reorganizing strategically are discussed. (MLW)

In the newly competitive realm of higher education, strategic planning offers a systematic method for defining colleges and universities in order to enhance their strengths and market positions and to shape their futures. The focal elements of strategic planning and benefits and limits of strategic planning are discussed. (MLW)