How can colleges stay relevant in the twenty-first century?
Residential colleges are the foundation on which US higher education is
based. These institutions possess storied traditions fondly cherished by
students, alumni, and faculty. There is no denying, however, that all
colleges today struggle with changing consumer preferences, high sticker
prices, and aging infrastructure. Technological and pedagogical
alternatives--not to mention growing political pressure--present complex
challenges. What can colleges and smaller universities do to stay
relevant in today's educational and economic climate?
In their concise guide, How to Run a College, Brian C. Mitchell and W.
Joseph King analyze how colleges operate. Widely experienced as
trustees, administrators, and faculty, they understand that colleges
must update their practices, monetize their assets, and focus on core
educational strategies in order to build strong institutions.
Mitchell and King offer a frank yet optimistic vision for how colleges
can change without losing their fundamental strengths. To survive and
become sustainable, they must be centers of dynamic learning, as well as
economic engines able to power regional, state, and national economies.
Rejecting the notion that American colleges are holdovers from a bygone
time, How to Run a College shows instead that they are centers of
experimentation and innovation that heavily influence higher education
not only in the United States but also worldwide.