In this article, Robert M. Gates, former Secretary of Defense and chancellor of the College of William & Mary, makes three observations about public higher education: (1) Over the past generation we have seen a gradual abandonment of the principle that higher education is a public good and the emergence of a view that it is a private consumer…

The reductions in state tax support for public universities that began around 1990 and continue today are progressively redefining relations between government and public higher education. The reasons for the drop in appropriations per student vary from state to state and include aging electorates, voter fervor for tax cuts, and mandated…

Public universities are microcosms of the broader trends at work in the society, and they have been for decades. From the wide range of students they educate to the transformative research they develop to their ameliorative impact on local communities, public universities provide a litmus test for the country's ever shifting demographics, mores,…

A Dartmouth University professor puts the tasks that all organizations must perform into three boxes: (1) a box containing those things an institution does to make its core business as excellent as possible; (2) a box of "selective forgetting" for eliminating activities no longer productive or useful; and (3) a box of innovation for selective…

Public college and university foundations are undergoing a significant transition that could change their relationships with the boards and presidents of the institutions with which they are affiliated. Such foundations have been around for over a century. The growth in the value of assets held by foundations, and their increasing significance to…

Much has been made of the Internal Revenue Service's introduction of the completely revised Form 990 last year. The Internal Revenue Service's primary goals in implementing the revised form are to increase transparency and promote accountability and compliance. Indeed, the information required in the new form will offer the clearest picture to…

There are currently three categories of independent colleges and universities: Those that are flush with resources, those that are stable but suffering from the effects of the recession, and those whose financial stress has been exacerbated to the breaking point. In this article, the author poses solutions that may represent useful options for…

A study of 21 flagship public universities and four entire state systems (in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia), conducted by the authors, demonstrates that if this country is to regain its leadership in higher education, it must fix two interwoven problems: (1) the stagnant level of overall educational attainment, as measured by…

The downturn in the economy of the author's state, North Carolina, so far is less severe than that of much of the rest of the nation, due to their diversified economy, financial discipline, constitutional mandate for a balanced budget, "rainy day" fund, and many years of consistent investment in higher education. In the University of…

Most economists expect the current economic downturn to be one of the most severe since World War II. In fact, there is a very real danger that the changing circumstances of students, families, state and federal governments, and educational institutions could interact to significantly diminish educational opportunity in the United States. The most…

During this period of continued economic uncertainty, higher-education institutions are facing a variety of challenges that by now are very familiar to governing boards and institutional leaders, including poor investment returns, reduced liquidity, limited choices in how they structure debt issues, and threats to flexibility in tuition pricing.…

The counterintuitive approach of the world's greatest value investor, Warren Buffett, may be the best hope for colleges and universities during this recession. Buffett's time-tested philosophy of seeking value and investing for the long term remains a sound approach, even if his short-term returns have declined along with those of the rest of the…

Discusses how declining state appropriations, rising demands for access, and steady pressures for new accountability have cast public higher education in a new light. Offers ways of dealing with the implications of these trends. (EV)

The style of most public university governing boards is perfunctory policymaking, when it should be concerned with making dynamic improvements to create a more responsive institution. Many public university trustees are simply unaware of the sweeping nature of their governance responsibilities, and many important issues never show up on board…

Urges governing boards at public colleges and universities to support budgeting for performance as a means of assuring public accountability while protecting academic autonomy. Considers performance incentives, the role of performance indicators, the distinction between performance funding and performance budgeting, possible problems, and the role…