How to Assess the Future of US Higher Education
Environmental Scanning is a Skill for American Postsecondary Leaders
Oct 30, 2009
What is the outlook of the higher education sector in the United States of America? What factors have the potential of having a positive or negative impact on the future of the American higher education industry? Should higher education institutions even be concerned with what is up ahead? Or, can they simply continue their day-to-day and year-on-year activities with a business as usual mindset?
Recognizing a Troubling Trend in American Higher Education
A special commission appointed by the U.S. Department of Education concluded that U.S. higher education “needs to improve in dramatic ways; that it is time to be frank; and that [education leaders] must not be blind to the less than inspiring realities of postsecondary education in the country.” With this appraisal in mind, what can university presidents and their advisory boards do to make necessary shifts in strategy and organizational culture in order to be better prepared to meet the future needs of their institutions and students?
Mastering the Fine Art of Environmental Scanning
Hughes & Beatty from the Creative Center of Leadership are experts in strategic planning; they suggest that the first step to change strategy at any organization is to “assess where we are now” which includes environmental scanning in order to gain an understanding of what factors present opportunities or threats to the survival of the group’s enterprise. Accordingly, one important skill executives of American higher education institutions need to master to improve the future prospects of their respective institutions in environmental scanning. How can leaders of U.S. colleges and universities assess their environments?
Assessing Future Trends Through a S.T.E.E.P. Analysis
One way executives of postsecondary leaders can assess their external environments is to perform a S.T.E.E.P. analysis. The S.T.E.E.P. analytical tool is a simple framework used to guide business and organizational leaders in how to take an honest look at potential threats and opportunities for their respective insitutions. The tool helps users to scan the external environment by taking a close look at five factors from which it derives it name; including trends in the social, technological, environmental, economic, and political sectors of the local and global society. Through this analytical tool, executives and other stakeholders of respective American higher education institutions can gain a broader understanding of the factors that will have a positive or negative impact on their futures.
Sources:
Hughes, R. & Beatty, K. Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization’s Enduring Success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 2005].
A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. U.S. Department of Education. 2008.
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