Image by Denise McQuillen from Pixabay
Last week, two colleges announced their impending closure – Providence Christian College in California and Lourdes University in Ohio. The closures will no doubt be devastating to employees, current students, alumni, and their surrounding communities. They should also serve as yet another profound wake-up call for employees, current students, alumni, and the surrounding communities of many other small schools around the country that are struggling to continue their missions in an increasingly challenging environment. The reality is that the United States currently has a significant excess capacity of institutions of higher learning, the financial situation is only likely to grow more challenging, and many schools simply are not operating sustainable financial models. What can schools do to improve the likelihood of continued survival and possibly even thriving under such circumstances?
Author Michael Horowitz offers one path in his newly released book, The Community Solution: The Power of Radical Cooperation in Higher Education. Horowitz is Chancellor of The Community Solution, “an integrated, nonprofit coalition of six colleges and universities working together as one community.” In the book, he shares from his own personal experience of the importance of higher education as a source of empowerment and change in people’s lives, his path to higher education leadership, and the development and operation of The Community Solution.
Horowitz makes a compelling case. He argues that schools can reap significant benefits through collaboration and economies of scale, resulting in cost efficiencies, improved services, higher-quality critical employees with greater retention, better strategic thinking, and improved opportunities for students. While six schools have joined his coalition, he has had conversations about the model with over 200 schools. Too often, he has found that for many institutions, autonomy trumps all other considerations – even survival.
This last point is critical. At a time when hundreds of colleges are predicted to close in the coming decade, institutional leadership needs to not only take seriously the very real threat to existence but also proactively seek creative solutions. The era of each small school running all its own financial aid, development, admissions, infrastructure, technology, and yes, even potentially curricular visioning has probably already come to an end. Many schools have not yet been willing to admit it. While I am sure there may come a point of diminishing returns to scale (and Dr. Horowitz says The Community Solution is currently focused on internal development rather than further expansion), I am unconvinced that any higher education consortium has yet reached that point. I am confident, however, that many schools could benefit from greater collaboration.
Author Michael Horowitz offers one path in his newly released book, The Community Solution: The Power of Radical Cooperation in Higher Education. Horowitz is Chancellor of The Community Solution, “an integrated, nonprofit coalition of six colleges and universities working together as one community.” In the book, he shares from his own personal experience of the importance of higher education as a source of empowerment and change in people’s lives, his path to higher education leadership, and the development and operation of The Community Solution.
Horowitz makes a compelling case. He argues that schools can reap significant benefits through collaboration and economies of scale, resulting in cost efficiencies, improved services, higher-quality critical employees with greater retention, better strategic thinking, and improved opportunities for students. While six schools have joined his coalition, he has had conversations about the model with over 200 schools. Too often, he has found that for many institutions, autonomy trumps all other considerations – even survival.
This last point is critical. At a time when hundreds of colleges are predicted to close in the coming decade, institutional leadership needs to not only take seriously the very real threat to existence but also proactively seek creative solutions. The era of each small school running all its own financial aid, development, admissions, infrastructure, technology, and yes, even potentially curricular visioning has probably already come to an end. Many schools have not yet been willing to admit it. While I am sure there may come a point of diminishing returns to scale (and Dr. Horowitz says The Community Solution is currently focused on internal development rather than further expansion), I am unconvinced that any higher education consortium has yet reached that point. I am confident, however, that many schools could benefit from greater collaboration.
As a Vice President of Earlham College and Dean of Earlham School of Religion (ESR) in Richmond, Indiana, I had the benefit of experiencing some of these improved outcomes in practice. ESR, a Quaker graduate school, was embedded within Earlham and in partnership with another graduate school from another Peace Church tradition on the Earlham campus – Bethany Theological Seminary. During my time there, ESR and Bethany formed new relationships with Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and we joined a network of Seminaries that Change the World. We had only just scratched the surface of the power of radical cooperation.
In its ideal form, the basic collaborative model, including Earlham College, ESR, and Bethany, provided significant benefits to all parties while preserving the distinct identity of each. The graduate schools reduced overhead by sharing a Joint Seminaries Registrar; they split faculty responsibility for introductory coursework and even offered joint degrees. They also benefited from campus-wide services such as security and grounds maintenance. In the case of ESR, human resources, Title IX, and other services were maintained by the College. For the College, these graduate schools provided access to graduate school opportunities on campus, largely self-sustaining facilities and employees on a corner of campus, and stronger connections to historical church traditions.
Unlike The Community Solution, however, this partnership did not have an additional overarching structure that existed above all the members. The College functioned as an outsized partner, and over time, its understanding of and commitment to graduate theological education waned. As it faced significant and entrenched financial strain on its operations, it then took actions to undermine the self-sufficiency of the graduate schools as well as their ability to fulfill their distinct strategic planning efforts. An umbrella organization has the potential to reduce some of these power dynamic concerns. It is hard to imagine that they would never emerge with partner schools of significantly different sizes.
Embedded graduate schools with some internal structures of their own are perhaps more shielded from some impacts of their parent institutions than one of many undergraduate departments. At the end of the day, though, they serve at the whim of the colleges and universities where they reside. Regardless, it seems clear that small theological schools will not survive if they try to replicate all services independent of one another. The path forward for viability must include some significant level of collaboration.
The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, is perhaps a closer approximation of The Community Solution approach. This consortium was founded in 1962 and includes “8 member schools, 5 academic centers, and 5 affiliates.” While I am aware of this effort, I am far less knowledgeable about its strengths and challenges.
These examples from graduate theological education reflect my own background and experience. The possibilities for cooperation and collaboration can and should extend far beyond them. Thanks to Jay Keehn, I was able to participate in a video conversation with Dr. Horowitz about his book and The Community Solution during a recent session of Dr. Keehn’s Tomorrow’s Higher Education Club. Toward the end of the discussion during Q&A, I had the opportunity to ask Dr. Horowitz where he thinks collaboration has the potential to be most successful – by region, for example, or discipline, size, etc. His response was immediate and clear – technology means regional proximity should no longer present a barrier to collaboration (The Community Solution includes schools in California, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon). The main factor in determining the likelihood of success is a willingness to work together. For this to happen, boards need to recognize the urgency of the situation as well as the value of participating in something larger than their own institution.
"And the biggest delusion", asks Horowitz in The Community Solution? "So many universities think they are unique. They believe that their challenges, their governance, and their histories make them exceptions to the rules of sustainability. They insist that what worked in the past can still work today, even as enrollment declines, financial pressures mount, and peer institutions collapse around them.
"But the truth is that higher education is facing systemic challenges that most independent institutions cannot solve alone. The ones that recognize this - that embrace the power of scale, shared expertise, and strategic coordination - position themselves for long-term success."
If you are interested in the future of higher education, either for your own school or the sector as a whole, The Community Solution should be on your shortlist to read. The subject could not be more timely.
More on higher education:
- Can open immigration solve the enrollment crisis?
- Does your school need a board reset?
- Dreaming higher ed all up again
In its ideal form, the basic collaborative model, including Earlham College, ESR, and Bethany, provided significant benefits to all parties while preserving the distinct identity of each. The graduate schools reduced overhead by sharing a Joint Seminaries Registrar; they split faculty responsibility for introductory coursework and even offered joint degrees. They also benefited from campus-wide services such as security and grounds maintenance. In the case of ESR, human resources, Title IX, and other services were maintained by the College. For the College, these graduate schools provided access to graduate school opportunities on campus, largely self-sustaining facilities and employees on a corner of campus, and stronger connections to historical church traditions.
Unlike The Community Solution, however, this partnership did not have an additional overarching structure that existed above all the members. The College functioned as an outsized partner, and over time, its understanding of and commitment to graduate theological education waned. As it faced significant and entrenched financial strain on its operations, it then took actions to undermine the self-sufficiency of the graduate schools as well as their ability to fulfill their distinct strategic planning efforts. An umbrella organization has the potential to reduce some of these power dynamic concerns. It is hard to imagine that they would never emerge with partner schools of significantly different sizes.
Embedded graduate schools with some internal structures of their own are perhaps more shielded from some impacts of their parent institutions than one of many undergraduate departments. At the end of the day, though, they serve at the whim of the colleges and universities where they reside. Regardless, it seems clear that small theological schools will not survive if they try to replicate all services independent of one another. The path forward for viability must include some significant level of collaboration.
The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, is perhaps a closer approximation of The Community Solution approach. This consortium was founded in 1962 and includes “8 member schools, 5 academic centers, and 5 affiliates.” While I am aware of this effort, I am far less knowledgeable about its strengths and challenges.
These examples from graduate theological education reflect my own background and experience. The possibilities for cooperation and collaboration can and should extend far beyond them. Thanks to Jay Keehn, I was able to participate in a video conversation with Dr. Horowitz about his book and The Community Solution during a recent session of Dr. Keehn’s Tomorrow’s Higher Education Club. Toward the end of the discussion during Q&A, I had the opportunity to ask Dr. Horowitz where he thinks collaboration has the potential to be most successful – by region, for example, or discipline, size, etc. His response was immediate and clear – technology means regional proximity should no longer present a barrier to collaboration (The Community Solution includes schools in California, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon). The main factor in determining the likelihood of success is a willingness to work together. For this to happen, boards need to recognize the urgency of the situation as well as the value of participating in something larger than their own institution.
"And the biggest delusion", asks Horowitz in The Community Solution? "So many universities think they are unique. They believe that their challenges, their governance, and their histories make them exceptions to the rules of sustainability. They insist that what worked in the past can still work today, even as enrollment declines, financial pressures mount, and peer institutions collapse around them.
"But the truth is that higher education is facing systemic challenges that most independent institutions cannot solve alone. The ones that recognize this - that embrace the power of scale, shared expertise, and strategic coordination - position themselves for long-term success."
If you are interested in the future of higher education, either for your own school or the sector as a whole, The Community Solution should be on your shortlist to read. The subject could not be more timely.
More on higher education:
- Can open immigration solve the enrollment crisis?
- Does your school need a board reset?
- Dreaming higher ed all up again
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