The New Business Model

So the question becomes what a new business model for higher education might look like.  The beginning of the answer here is simple--look to successful models elsewhere. Don’t reinvent the wheel.  If higher education is to adapt successfully, it must look to other models that work.  There are many models to choose from—not one size fits all.  The models vary by degree of technological enhancement and scope of services, such as Amazon, Zappos, and Wal-Mart. So rather than reinvent the wheel, institutions must figure out what size wheel fits their individual vehicles.

The new organization will need a form that accommodates at least a basic set of parameters.  First is return on investment, both financially for investors, and in terms of jobs for students, employers and communities.  Second, institutions will need to balance the status quo with innovations.  Third, there will need to be a reinvestment strategy to ensure organizational sustainability. Fourth, the new model needs to be data driven so that institutions can remain aligned with the needs of students and society at large. Finally, there will need to be an acknowledgement that there is no quick fix.  The change will take time.

Important in all this is that higher education must recognize that, regardless of mission or mode of delivery, all institutions are in the larger enterprise business of education.  To ignore this truism in counterproductive on all fronts.