In the race for global competitive advantage, the very nature of the university is being reconsidered and possibly redefined; public/private, autonomous/ accountable? Questions that get at the heart of what we are and what we do. Jon Baldwin considers all of this in the context of university leadership, management and administration, in this slides from the AUA Conference 2015.

1. Global Sectoral Change: Disruptive or
Business as Usual?
Jon Baldwin
Managing Director, Market Development
Tribal Group

2. Leadership is distributed.
Listening, watching and learning
are key
Message 1

3. THE 5th – 11th March 2015
“Think of a vice-chancellorship as a symphony in four
movements” – Eastwood
“The people dimension to the role of vice-chancellor will
inevitably bring you the most fulfilment and also the
most grief” – Farwell
“The job of VC is – “probably the best job in the world…”
– Curran.

4. THE 5th – 11th March 2015
“Remember the following: A house is what you
have a mortgage for. A car is something you’ve
bought yourself for the past 30 years. A driver is
someone you see in the rear-view mirror. A
parking space is to be hustled for every morning.
A lavatory is a public convenience. Trains have
seats in standard class. Money is what you use to
pay for lunch.”

5. THE 5th – 11th March 2015
“ And don’t think you can run a university on your
own. The intellect and muscle of 3,000 is 3,000
fold the intellect and muscle of one. But only if
they’re pulling in the same direction. Pay
particular attention to the car park staff, the
cleaners, the cooks and those on reception desks;
they can destroy your university’s reputation even
more quickly than you can “

6. THE 5th – 11th March 2015
“You will have been a disappointment.
This outcome comes with a cast-iron
guarantee”.

7. “ – Academics grow in confidence the further away they are
from their true field of expertise.
Don’t go to a school or department for anything that is in its title.
First thing a committee member says is the exact opposite of
what they mean.
Courtesy is a one-way street.
On email, nobody has the last word.
Somebody always does it better elsewhere.
Feedback counts only if I agree with it.
The temptation to say I told you so is irresistible.
There is never enough money – but there used to be.”
Watson, D, 2009.

8. Yes, leadership is complex but….
Message 2

9. Defined: Medieval Latin, Universitas – Community or group of scheloers
Dichotomies
- Conservative / Radical
- Competitive / Collegial
- Autonomous / Accountable
- Private / Public
- Entrepreneurial / Caring
- Traditional / Innovative
- Collegiums / Corporations
Values and the University, Professor Sir David Watson, IoE London, 2006
Governance:
- The constitutional forms and processes through which universities govern their affairs (Shattock)
- Stewardship, safeguarding, reassurance (Watson)
- The essence of good governance in the modern age is that it delivers strategic decisions quickly
and effectively within a maximum degree of participation by the university community
(Shattock, 2006)

10. Higher Education
Market Challenges

11. After a four-decade rise in global demand, Universities worldwide are
grappling with powerful forces colliding at once:
Reduced government support
Rising public scepticism about the
value of a degree
Increased institutional
competition
Emergence of disruptive
technology
Increasing Student
Expectations

12. As technology evolves and the financial climate shifts, the world of Higher
Education is changing quickly and dramatically.
Universities are deploying new strategies to Attract Students, Cut Costs and
Increase Revenue in the hope of developing a sustainable business model for
the future

13. Students Expectations are Changing
Students today want just-in-time learning to gain employment or a higher
paying job. Degrees are not necessarily as important as learning outcomes
and life experiences
These 21st century learners have choices. Empowered by technology’s
broad reach, they act more like a consumer than a student, comparing
products and selecting the best fit for their individualized needs. What’s
more, today’s learners are learners for life. Gone is the norm of a once in a
lifetime education

14. Students are demanding online courses and institutions are offering them for the
following reasons:

15. Most students now come to university having already embraced mobile technologies,
social media, and online service delivery, and many students are also highly consumer
oriented, able to navigate the choices open to them in the higher education sector and
less forgiving of offerings that fail to meet expectations.
Impact - Increasing Student Expectations
Impact on Business
Challenge Description Customer Impact
1. Student
Engagement
Students want to be engaged in the online
environment through collaboration, connection,
and communication with their peers and the
University
1. Consistent online experience – connected
and seamless systems
2. Surveys to benchmark and measure student
experience
3. Expand channels (social media, chat, SMS,
Alerts etc.)
4. Improved Online Support Services
2. Flexibility Students expect flexibility in accessing the
resources and services they need to support their
learning, regardless of time or location
1. 24 x 7 access to resources – online deliver
(i.e. electronic assignments etc.)
2. Anytime, Anywhere and any device
3. User Friendliness Students want the University’s online
environment to be simplified, user-friendly, and
consistent
1. One common university process
2. Online where possible – all in one location
3. Highly customer focused services
4. Courses – easy to plan and navigate (within
rules and resolutions)

16. Impact on Business
Challenge Impact Description Customer Impact
4. Personalisation Students want to be known by the University as an
individual, either through personalised interactions
with staff or through the ability to personalise the
online environment.
1. Provide ability to personalise digital
workspace - resources and services which
they believe they will use frequently
2. Assumes they capture student data and
relevant information, and use these to inform
and support services and interactions
3. Need to suggest pathway options to each
student based on the courses they have
completed and their academic performance.
These options should be specific to each
student and their chosen award
5. Supportive
Environment
In order facilitate a connected learning community,
students and staff need a supportive environment
that provides suitable and reliable tools and
equipment, and access to training.
1. 24 x 7 support for students
2. Online knowledge base and interactive
support for service requests
3. Case management (appeals / hardship etc.)
4. Establish SLA’s and make staff responsible
5. Establish planning tools (open day planning
etc.)

17. Costs have changed dramatically over the years, but the system hasn’t.
Governments are spending less money on education (in a per capita sense)
than ever before, but are directing institutions to do more, do it better and
do it more efficiently.
Reduced Government Support

19. Impact – Reduced Government Support
Impact on Business
Challenge Description Customer Impact
1. Reduce Operating
Costs
 Identify administrative inefficiences and look
for ways to automate and streamline processes
 Reduce IT infrastructure costs
1. Look to rationalise and improve institution
wide business processes
2. Review IT expenditure and rationalise where
possible
2. Maintain Quality
of Teaching
 Freeze hiring and increase student / staff ratio
or decrease face-to-face instruction time
1. Optimise existing resources
2. Improve teaching delivery models via new
blended offerings (i.e. Online)
3. Review non profitable courses and units
3. Compete for High
Value Students
 Increase revenue generating activities (i.e.
recrutement - international surdents, part-time
students, further education, non degree
education, etc.
1. Increase brand recognition
2. Scholarships
3. Develop pathways / New courses
4. Marketing (including Social Media)
5. Improve Support Services
6. New partnerships
7. Review processes
4. Increase Tuition
Fees
 Raise tuition fee levels 1. Increased visibility and demonstrate value
5. Seek / increase
alternante
funding
opportunities
 Compete more for research funding
 Increase Alumni funding / endowments
1. Alumni development and management
2. Review Research Management

20. Increased institutional competition
Governments are increasingly moving towards market-based models for the
delivery of education services, for a variety of reasons. In part, increased
competition and contestability between public and private providers have
the potential to deliver improvements in efficiency, innovation and choice.
Under the government's "competitive neutrality" policy, public institutions
will cease to enjoy advantages over private sector groups simply because
they are government-run or owned.
Deregulation has increased private provision, with Online learning as a key
focus. Private providers at forefront of technology innovations.

21. Impact – Competition
Impact on Business
Challenge Description Customer Impact
1. Profitability Vs
Social
Responsibility
 Private for-profit education can cater for non-
traditional markets in a cheaper, accessible
format - The commercial model calls for bigger
volumes and shorter courses
1. Understand segments
2. Review and develop targeted programs and
services
3. Established cost effective deliver methods
2. Technology  Private providers are often at the forefront of
technology and offer better support for student
interaction
1. Develop diverse online offerings right for a
different person, or same person at a
different time (MOOCs, Flipped Classrooms
etc.)
2. Investment in new support mechanisms and
infrastructure to support new delivery
models
3. Differentiation  Private providers have traditionally excelled in
marketing their courses by offering flexible
short courses
1. Refine recruitment strategy
2. Highlight brand
4. Tuition Fees  Tuition fees for private providers have
traditionally been more expensive due to
government support for public education. This
model is now changing as government promote
competitive neutrality by offering private place
funding.
1. Review courses and fees and deliver better
visibility in terms of value for money (i.e.
living costs, success etc.).

22. Impact – Disruptive Technologies
Impact on Business
Challenge Description Customer Impact
1. New learning
paradigms
 Students will study what they want to study,
not what academics wish to teach. They also
expect content delivered anywhere, anytime.
1. Technology tailored to student needs and
segmentation
2. 24 x 7 access to support and recourses -
online
2. Institutional and
User Adoption
 Traditional universities can be slow in adopting
new technologies and often need to observe a
negative
 User adoption of new technologies can be slow
in traditional universities. For example lecturers
must come to grips with blended modes of
teaching and adopt new technologies to do so.
1. Slow to adopt and hence fear of being left
behind
2. Cost of risk vs reward
3. Competition from
private providers
and new
institutions
 Traditional universities will find it increasingly
difficult to compete with new institutions that
are able to invest in content without the labour
and capital intensive overheads that grind
universities down
1. Understanding course costs
2. Need to Review offerings and tailor to
compete

24. You can choose. You can lead or follow.
Eyes open.
Message 3

25. Make good decisions
(well, make decisions).
Message 4

26. Laugh!
Message 5