Weathering Higher Education’s ‘Perfect Storm’

” Higher education in New Jersey is not immune to the winds of change in today’s political and economic climate. Colleges and universities throughout the state — indeed the country — can weather the storm, but only if we identify and face the challenges head-on. As the pressures and stakes of increasing global competition mount, we must change.
The alternative is to begin a decline that may ultimately prove irrevocable to the nation.
At The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, we fully understand this need for change. Our faculty and administration are working together on new ideas and solutions to address these challenges while preserving our dedication to quality, affordable education to our students, our community and our state.
The first challenge we face is the uncertainty of our economic funding. No college or university can be surprised at the current state and federal budget reductions affecting higher education. It has been happening for years with no positive change expected in the foreseeable future.
Previously, when state appropriations were reduced, colleges had the flexibility to set tuitions and fees to offset the shortfalls. There were also times when enhanced funding came with the caveat that we stabilize or “cap” tuition. Rarely, if ever, have we been both cut and capped, but that is the case this year.
This combination of actions can translate to weakened bond ratings and, therefore, higher interest rates to pay for capital projects, which diverts limited dollars from needed improvements.
Our second challenge is an increasingly harsh “survival of the fittest” attitude in the higher-education marketplace. Unbridled competition erodes collaboration among institutions, which can result in costly duplication of programs and services and, ultimately, increased expenses for all.
Thirdly, President Barack Obama, along with several major foundations and governing bodies, has implored colleges to graduate more students. This is not surprising given that the United States has dropped from 1st to 12th place among nations supplying college graduates aged 25-34.
Considering restrictive budgets, increased competition and more government mandates, how can New Jersey’s system of higher education survive and remain competitive?
It will certainly take some adjustments in the way we approach higher education, but it can be done. Here’s how.
Colleges must focus on ensuring all graduates master essential learning outcomes critical for 21st century success. With the exception of singularly focused colleges and universities, these outcomes need to combine a flexible liberal arts education with adaptive marketable skills.
These include knowledge of different cultures, personal and social responsibility and practical skills such as organizing and evaluating information, managing one’s time and completing team-based projects.
Each area demands a subset of skills ranging from effective writing and speaking to ethical decision-making to complex problem solving.
Collectively, we must also utilize new teaching styles, technologies and methods to promote innovative and functional educational experiences. We must help our students become “citizens of the world” in addition to citizens of New Jersey.
Students today can Facebook and Twitter with the best of them and spend much of their time multitasking. In response to these tech-savvy students, colleges must expand our educational “delivery systems.”
We must do so not simply to appease today’s generation, but because it is what the 21st century demands of our educational institutions.
Colleges must engage students with our traditional strengths of a robust and rigorous educational experience; at the same time, we must fold in their ability to process information from multiple sources. By doing so, we can capture students’ attention, challenge their intellect, and tap into their technological prowess.
We must also promote the distinctive features of our colleges and universities. The job of telling our story does not end in the classroom.
It must take place every day in a variety of ways: through articles like this, conversations in our communities and collaboration among peer educational institutions throughout the state — community colleges, public schools and private universities.
What does this all mean to New Jersey students, parents, and educators? It means: we are all in this together. The traditional “siloed” structure of colleges will not help New Jersey survive the perfect storm of the three forces of economic stresses, increased competition, and government mandates.
The good news is: colleges and universities do not need to put themselves through painful overhauls. Stockton and many colleges already have the building blocks in place. We already promote the ideas of flexibility and adaptability in academic programs.
Now we are pushing these ideas outward so they permeate everyday interactions.
They are becoming part of our academic culture and educational mindset. As we produce these significant learning outcomes, fully engage our students, and deliver learning in flexible ways, we make a difference in the lives of our students so they can make a difference in the complex, exciting and, yes, challenging world they enter.
If we keep these imperatives at the forefront of our minds and actions moving forward, the dedicated faculty, staff, and administrators at Stockton and throughout the New Jersey higher education system will continue pursuing our primary mission and fulfilling our calling as true educators.
Dr. Harvey Kesselman, a resident of Mays Landing, is provost and executive vice president of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
Art Hall was on vacation last week