Facing budgetary pressures and competitive headwinds in both enrollment and research, institutions’ traditional academic structures and approaches are no longer sufficient. Instead, academic leadership teams must reimagine their academic strategy and offerings to better align with evolving student expectations, workforce demands, interdisciplinary pressures, and extramural funding realities.
Our academic innovation research examines proven best practices and cutting-edge ideas for transforming the academy and preparing for the future of academic programs and research. To support academic leaders—including provosts and deans—EAB organizes its research and insights into six categories. You can jump to specific sections using the links below.
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Academic Program Launch and Assessment
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Academic Efficiency and Resource Allocation
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Research Enterprise Growth
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Faculty Roles, Recruitment, and Development
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Academic Leadership and Organization
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Graduate and Doctoral Education
Academic Program Launch and Assessment
To better meet student needs and achieve enrollment and financial goals, colleges and universities must incorporate market demand into their ongoing academic program planning, review, and revitalization efforts. However, many academic leaders struggle to determine which new program launches will be successful and which existing programs need revitalization. Use our resources to surface and assess new program opportunities, diagnose sources of underperformance and opportunities for revitalization, and encourage other leaders and faculty to think creatively about how to align programs with student and market demands.
Research Report
Rightsizing the Program Portfolio Study
Use this toolkit for resources to support a more effective review and revitalization of your campus’s academic program…
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Research Report
Choosing the right undergraduate programs for revitalization
As colleges and universities are scrambling for opportunities to cut costs and grow revenues, academic leadership can’t afford…
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Research Report
Making the Academy Market-Smart
Students are increasingly considering academic program when searching for colleges, but academic program planning rarely prioritizes student demand…
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Academic Efficiency and Resource Allocation
As colleges and universities seek to drive greater efficiency, academic leaders and departments must make smart decisions about how they allocate capacity and resources so they can support institutional strategy and long-term financial sustainability goals. Explore our research to learn about known drivers of instructional costs, data-driven tools for effectively managing academic resources, and efficiency strategies that will benefit both students and the institution’s bottom line. For additional support aligning university budget models with strategic priorities, review our roadmap.
Research Report
Academic Vital Signs Study
Explore 14 analyses to guide department-level strategy, root-cause diagnostic tools for academic unit leaders, and guidance for implementing…
Strategic Advisory Services
Research Report
Breaking the Trade-Off Between Cost and Quality Study
Our briefing outlines how academic leaders can enhance quality by reallocating resources from lower impact activities to higher…
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Roadmap
Promote Teaching and Learning Strategies that Increase Course Completion
Large required courses with failure rates as high as 30-60% can create retention and time-to-degree issues for hundreds…
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Roadmap
Align Workloads and Schedules with Student Demand
Instructional costs, primarily faculty compensation and benefits, are the largest single budget line item for nearly every university—and…
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Research Enterprise Growth
Federal funding for research is stagnating, and agencies are increasingly favoring large, multidisciplinary research initiatives. Explore our resources to learn how universities can increase their competitiveness through research development, diversify research funding sources, assemble faculty teams that address real-world challenges, and communicate the impact of research in a compelling way.
Roadmap
Use Research Development to Pursue Large and Complex Federal Funding Opportunities
Federal agencies are shifting funding toward large and complex (L&C), multidisciplinary, and team-based opportunities Explore the Roadmap to…
Strategic Advisory Services
Roadmap
Communicate the Value of University Research to External Stakeholders
As federal research funding growth stagnates, universities need to appeal to a broader set of stakeholders for support.…
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Roadmap
Launch Grand Challenge Initiatives to Attract Large-Scale Research Investments
In response to stagnating federal funding growth, universities have been diversifying support for research. Discover how to launch…
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Faculty Roles, Recruitment, and Development
Balancing teaching, research, and service—especially amid evolving student needs and an increasingly competitive funding landscape—is often a significant challenge for faculty members. Academic leaders play a critical role in supporting faculty as they navigate these complexities in pursuit of their professional goals as well as establishing internal policies and procedures to govern faculty affairs. Our resources are designed to help institutions successfully recruit, develop, and support faculty across the career lifecycle.
Roadmap
Increase Faculty Diversity and Inclusivity on Campus
While the student body of college campuses has diversified over the last decades, the demographics of the faculty…
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Research Report
Scaling Learning Innovations
This study explores strategies for academic leaders to change the campus conversation on teaching and learning, from identifying…
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Research Report
Defining the Faculty Role in Student Success
Making a meaningful improvement in retention and graduation rates requires extensive coordination among stakeholders across colleges and universities.…
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Roadmap
Build a Research-Focused Faculty Development Program
Many faculty are not provided the same training and support necessary for conducting research as they receive for…
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Academic Leadership and Organization
Faculty members often rise to the ranks of academic leadership, but the qualities that make for an effective teacher and researcher don't always translate well to administrative roles. Faculty need focused development of leadership skills, or they will likely feel ill-prepared to handle financial decisions and people management issues. Use our research to develop the next generation of academic leaders​ by focusing on key competencies for effective department chairs, strengthening the leadership pipeline, and providing tailored support for new-in-seat leaders.
Research Report
Enfranchising Faculty in the New Budget Reality
Because faculty members have limited visibility into university finances and budget processes, they often don't understand the true…
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Research Report
Launching Research Faculty Leadership Development Programs
As competition for sponsored research projects continues to grow, leadership has become an increasingly significant factor in team…
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Tool
Leadership Development Resource Center
Review our collection of leadership development materials, which were compiled during over 100 research interviews with senior academic…
Strategic Advisory Services
Graduate and Doctoral Education
Economic and labor market pressures along with changing student expectations and research funding trends are forcing colleges and universities to rethink their historic approach to graduate and doctoral education. Our research focuses on how institutions can adapt their academic programs, fellowships, and support services to build a strong talent pipeline and prepare students for their careers—whether in the academy or beyond.
Research Report
Integrating Academic and Career Development Study
Growing public concern about the return on investment (ROI) associated with higher education has created pressure for both…
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Research Report
Supporting postdocs through the cost of competition in research
In a recent virtual session, we discussed the underpinnings of the cost of competition in research. Attendees shared…
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Tool
Leverage postdoctoral fellowships to recruit diverse faculty
Most postdoc programs are not designed to recruit tenure track faculty; as a result, promising candidates will take…
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