Good business, thriving university: watch out for blatant business-practice usage, it just might turn your school around - Viewpoint

University Business, Sept, 2003 by John Lahey

All across America, colleges and universities are teaching students to be successful in business. At Quinnipiac University, we are turning the tables. By adopting the mindset of business executives, we are blending business into higher education--with remarkable results. The ability to develop and act on new ideas is especially critical in these rapidly changing times. Equally important is a management philosophy firmly rooted in sound business principles. After all, IHEs are subject to many of the same market conditions affecting business. Viewed as an industry, higher education's products are academic programs, and its customers are students. Yes, strategic planning, product quality control, customer service, marketing, and (God forbid) even profits matter as much today, as do academic traditions.

To some academic ears, this may sound like heresy, but more colleges and universities should consider it, especially in view of the success we have had at Quinnipiac. A quick look at the facts is enough to make even the most skeptical critic a believer. Over the past 15 years (1987-2002), our undergraduate and graduate enrollments have jumped from 2,000 to 6,600, and full-time undergraduate enrollment alone increased from 1,902 to 4,800; freshmen applications have shot up from 1,000 to 8,000; graduate programs have risen from 4 to 21, the operating budget has increased from $22 million to $155 million; and endowment has increased from $5 million to $85 million. The School of Business recently received AACSB accreditation (something only 30 percent of the business schools in the U.S. have achieved); the Schools of Communications and Health Sciences enjoy a national reputation; and the Law School, acquired in 1992, is one of only 188 ABA-accredited law schools in America. Formerly a college, Quinnipiac was officially designated a university in July 2000 and for the sixth straight year, U.S. News & World Report has cited Quinnipiac as one of the best universities in the Northeast.

This is all pretty impressive for an institution that struggled in earlier years. Between 1982 and 1986, when increasing numbers and percentages of high school graduates were going to college, enrollment at Quinnipiac declined 25 percent and the school was floundering. Too many markets were being served, the budget was being balanced on the expense side only (with no proposed growth plan), and there was no clear direction or strategy in place. The institution had enormous potential, but we had to develop a strategic plan--one with a clearly defined vision. The vision we created was brief, simple, and direct: to offer high quality career-oriented programs at the bachelor's and master's degree Levels, and to offer them in an environment where student (customer) interests come first. (An average $100,000 for four years at a private institution is a Lot of money, and that makes students--and their parents--pretty important customers indeed. If a $100,000 customer walked into your store, how would that customer be treated?)

SWOT analysis. First, we thought it important to evaluate where Quinnipiac was, the nature of its competitive environment, and where best to direct its future. Recognizing the merits of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, an assessment tool widely used in business, I initiated my own version to identify Quinnipiac's strengths and weaknesses and the major factors, internal and external, affecting the institution's competitiveness. Over 200 people within Quinnipiac, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees, were asked to complete a survey of what they saw as the institution's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and indicate how they would like Quinnipiac to look, 10 years into the future. The first survey was completed in 1987; it has been repeated every five years since. SWOT gave us the information we needed, enabling us to define our market niche more clearly and get on board from the start people who would be committed to implementing the eventual strategic plan. SWOT was also instrumental in guiding the development of Quinnipiac's mission statement which provided the philosophical anchors and direction for the development of the goals and objectives that needed to be achieved. It also provided clear parameters for ruling some product lines in and some product lines out.

To-the-point strategic plan. Strategic plans for IHEs are indispensable for success, but I don't believe in hefty plans that sit on shelves and collect dust. A strategic plan can be fairly simple, containing a one-page mission statement; a one-page list of major long-term goals; and for each goal, a one-page statement of objectives, priorities, and activities for achieving those goals. Because in 1987 we had adopted a new direction in our strategic plan, existing programs had to either support it or be eliminated, and so, defining our core businesses and proper product mix were very important tasks. Just as in any other business, recognizing what to say "no" to is just as important (maybe more so) than what to say "yes" to. In fact, saying no is probably the most difficult thing in higher education or business. To decide not to be involved in an area or a product line, even if it's profitable at the time, is difficult, since every program has a constituency that doesn't want its area eliminated. Since associate degree programs and continuing education offerings no longer fit Quinnipiac's mission, these were cut. Essentially, we decided to abandon the low end of the marketplace, as it was inconsistent with our plan to focus on high-quality bachelors and master's programs in professional areas. Based on our clearly defined mission, we also decided that we would not develop or offer any research-oriented Ph.D. programs. Health and business were already strong programs and, following SWOT, were targeted for even greater growth and improvement. Communications, with only 70 students in 1987, was identified as a growth area, and today is our newest school with over 700 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Graduate programs, almost nonexistent 15 years ago, represented a new market that fit the strategic plan. Accordingly, we created 16 new master's-level programs in business, health, communications, information systems, and education, which added value and generated revenue. A neighboring university was losing its law school, so we seized the opportunity to add a School of Law. It fit our mission of offering high-quality career-oriented programs, the timing was right, and the potential was clear.