Chaotic Conundrum

Today, the lingering uncertainty among colleges and universities about their future is feeding a chaotic conundrum for so many in higher education leadership. For many, today’s situation is not that chaotic, but the reality of not necessarily knowing what the right answer is or not coming up with correct solutions is facilitating a calamity for so many on college campuses. No question, higher education is experiencing many difficult problems today that require informed insights that lead to intelligent solutions.

Higher education leaders and members of the campus community must engage in a concise assessment. This will facilitate correct assumptions and a collective agreement. And most importantly, it will lead to collaborative action initiatives to resolve existing problems and enhance new perceptions about the inherent value of each institution. Enhancing enrollment, retaining students, and improving graduation rates are definitely viable solutions, but increasing fundraising in a significant manner will not only provide new, viable solutions, but also correct some lingering shortcomings that currently exist on many campuses.

Two small colleges in the Midwest recently announced some significant financial gifts: McPherson University in Kansas and Hastings College in Nebraska. The gifts were definitely transformative and left a lasting impact that definitely helped diffuse any lingering conundrums that may have faced them — and that definitely face so many other colleges and universities today.

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Without a doubt, today colleges and universities are living in an “enigma” as they face multiple difficult problems that are often too hard to figure out. The solution, though, is not just sitting back and wondering what should be done and who should do it but engaging in active collaboration to facilitate viable solutions that can lead to legitimate problem solving. People do support what they help create. And actions speak louder than words. Now is definitely the time to impact the chaotic conundrum that is lingering among so many campus communities and engage in getting done what needs to be done.