With costs rising, traditional college student populations shrinking, and pundits predicting that huge numbers of colleges will close in the next few decades, small colleges cannot afford to pretend that business-as-usual can sustain them. This book offers five emerging models for how small colleges can hope to survive and thrive in these very…

From 2016 to 2020, ten smaller schools in one regional library consortium participated in a user needs assessment project. This article documents the process for implementing a collaborative user needs assessment by utilizing the shared interest and enthusiasm of a team of librarians to create a consortial toolkit. The toolkit supplied direction…

This study examined how Chief Information Officers (CIOs), also known as Information Technology leaders, understand the use of technology as a strategy for reducing academic costs in small, private, liberal arts colleges in New England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight CIOs throughout small, private, liberal arts colleges in…

It looks like the fate of many small colleges is closure, "merger" (meaning effectively being swallowed up by a stronger institution) or even-subject to regulatory complexities-acquisition. That is not good news for the colleges, their staff, students, alumni, surrounding communities-nor for the higher education sector as a whole.…

Smaller, private, independent institutions of higher education across the United States are facing challenging times. This white paper by Edwin H. Welch, president of the University of Charleston, shares lessons gleaned from the institution's innovative efforts over almost 30 years. Welch's hope is that the experiences at the University of…

Community colleges serve more students than any other institutional type in the United States, and internationalization is an inherent component of community colleges that advances student knowledge, facilitates student success, and serves the needs of local communities. As most community college students do not enroll in four-year institutions,…

With the support of a grant from the Sloan Foundation, nine computer scientists from liberal arts colleges came together in October, 1984 to form the Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium (LACS) and to create a model curriculum appropriate for liberal arts colleges. Over the years the membership has grown and changed, but the focus has remained…

Initiating a consulting model for librarianship in a small college library involved a transition to an organizational model that defines positions by their relationship to constituencies. As a case study of such a transformation demonstrates, such an ''outward'' looking organization has resulted in an increased number of instruction sessions,…

Instead of hiring outside consultants for each institution's problems, these colleges set up their own three-person permanent consulting team. Among its accomplishments are: averting a financial crisis, aiding a recovery from financial crisis, reorganizing for steady states, and launching statewide planning. (Author/LBH)

Small colleges can be effective in consortial arrangements because they are more independent and often less fiercely competitive than larger institutions, making better personal relations possible. The Associated Colleges of the St. Lawrence Valley in northern New York, with four member institutions, has expanded student opportunities, shared…

The official college catalogues of the 25 institutions comprising the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) and the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) consortia were studied to provide descriptive information on the special needs and interests of smaller speech and theatre programs. Information on speech departments indicated three general…

The Small College Consortium is a project funded under Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 for developing institutions. Under the project, technical assistance and financial resources were provided to 54 colleges to learn to use new techniques and processes to overcome weak areas of their institutions. The evaluation covers the fiscal…

Guidelines have been developed for a consortium approach to teacher preparation in a small college that may need some expertise and access to teaching materials which can be provided by local school districts and other agencies. This approach to the design, management, and evaluation of the program offers the opportunity to involve the schools…

A consortium of 12 small, private liberal arts colleges in the Great Lakes region has shown that by working together, the institutions can provide major opportunities for faculty professional development through conferences and workshops. (MSE)

The Atlanta University Center, Inc., a consortium of six institutions (Clark, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Spelman, Atlanta University, and Interdenominational Theological Center) represents the world's largest nucleus of Black private higher education. Its background and the problems faced in dealing with each institution's desire for autonomy are…