This article illustrates why engaging in partnerships is a vital strategy for higher education institutions to sustain and strengthen their operations, support the student experience and advance their mission.
Public-private partnerships (P3s) and outsourcing have been on my mind more recently as financial pressures, demographic shifts and political turbulence push colleges and universities to rethink how they operate.
At root, it’s a story about higher education doubling down on what it does best, transferring knowledge, creating knowledge and, in a number of institutions, delivering healthcare. But there is also a third pillar we cannot ignore: the student experience. Whether on campus or online, in residence halls or in commuter programs, the student experience is central to both success and identity. And here, as with so much else, the question is not whether to partner or outsource, but how.
Pressures driving change
The higher education business model has been under stress for decades. Declining numbers of high school graduates, rising academic program delivery costs, shifting political expectations and new demands from students and families are all eroding the traditional scaffolding of colleges and universities.
In this environment, institutions are rediscovering an old truth: they cannot do everything. They must concentrate scarce resources on their core competencies. That means three things:
- Knowledge transfer and creation: Teaching and research are at the heart of what colleges and universities do
- Healthcare: In those handful of institutions that provide it, advancing medicine and community health is both mission and service
- Student experience: The learning environment, both inside and outside the classroom, is decisive for recruitment, retention and success
