Dana College (Dana.edu) was dying. A corporation was willing to buy it. However, Dana did not teach in the main, 21st century technical skills which is true of most little liberal arts colleges. Dana's demise first came in cuts for faculty in terms of benefits (Manghan, K. 1/16/2009). The entrance of the federal government was an attempt to stop a…

In autumn, most colleges' football fields are covered with a thick carpet of grass or artificial turf and are adorned with yard lines. But the football field at Paul Quinn College was carved up by plowing and planting. This past fall, portions of the college's gridiron were covered with sweet potatoes, watermelons, peppers, rosemary, and sugar…

Many small institutions face difficulties, and the person who bears the brunt of dealing with those challenges is the college president. While each situation is unique, presidents can learn from the experiences of others, and at the very least, commiserate with each other regarding the challenges they face, especially when their institutions are…

Colleges survive sometimes because they are able to merge with another institution (a for-profit company, another private college, a state university). The change at the College of Charleston was shaped in the 1970s, when the college did not "merge" with a state institution--it "became" a state institution, which grew.. and…

Underperforming institutions frequently face financial and enrollment challenges, and/or lack a sense of direction and momentum. There is no single or easy approach to turning things around and putting the institution on track to positive development. In 1983, Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, faced declining enrollments, a growing…

Since the establishment of the University of Hong Kong in 1911, higher education in Hong Kong has been transformed from an elitist system to one that supports the Hong Kong government's vision of a highly educated workforce and widely accessible lifelong learning. Between the late 1970s and 1994 the system expanded from admitting 2% of college-age…

This report examines the change process at a regional university in achieving a higher level of excellence in all its programs and activities. Results from 30 interviews are discussed in explaining how this university endured a major retrenchment and survived and thrived while simultaneously contributing to the surrounding community's economic…

An examination of trends in undergraduate liberal arts degrees and curricula reports two findings: (1) renewed interest in the liberal arts degree has occurred primarily outside liberal arts colleges, within universities; and (2) the struggle for institutional survival has caused some colleges to scale back or abandon their original missions. (MSE)

It is proposed that fiscal, technological, and societal pressures on higher education around the world require new administrative approaches and faculty-administrative collaboration to ensure institutional stability, even survival. Recommended techniques are outlined. Notes on government policies for higher education in Australia, Sweden, and the…

Based on data gathered on-site at 13 colleges and universities, this volume offers an in-depth analysis of how colleges and universities have been affected by hard times, how they have risen to the challenges, and what their responses mean to the public and its support for higher education. Part 1 describes the study itself in detail and reports…

A study of five private liberal arts colleges (Arkansas, Catawba, Pomona, Waldorf, Washington) examined organizational changes in the 1980s, contributing factors, and overall institutional impact. Results suggest the colleges were better places to work and learn than a decade earlier, with improvements in campus life, curricula, faculty…

This paper suggests that contemporary educational historians have failed to appreciate the extent to which the institutional response to industrialism was actively induced by the financial hegemony of the new corporate elite and simultaneously advanced by the emerging authority of the central state. Further, it argues that progressive era higher…

A study of 65 doctoral programs in higher education indicates disturbing trends: (1) mergers into larger academic units; (2) significant decline in student diversity among rather stable populations; and (3) retirement of most tenured faculty within 10 years. Despite continuity and stability overall, these changes suggest a need for unified…

This reflective paper is an account and analyses of the change process forced upon a university's education department in the light of unexpected financial downfall. Rather than rehearse the well documented research on innovation and change it focuses on the process from the head of department's prospective. The issues raised highlight that there…