It’s almost become old hat to say that the higher education economic model is “broken.” Unstable future revenues. Ballooning costs. For some, it’s survival at risk. But even the most fortunate are concerned that there won’t be sufficient budget to sustain excellence, much less fund new ambitions. Yet despite all the talk about an economic model that fundamentally needs to change, college and university executives note a dearth of critical information, worrying that:
- Institutions have been too reliant on straightline forecasts—not taking into account that future economic drivers may be very different.
- The threat of a fiscal cliff is looming—but it’s unclear when that will occur, what are the best inflection points, and how fast we need to act.
- Stakeholders keep hearing that the “sky is falling”—but don’t believe it or think “it won’t happen here” absent credible data.