Dive Brief:
- An initial analysis has been released that could lead to a possible restructuring of a University of Iowa campus that is largely assumed to be the system's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Some believe that the result will be that the school could even be broken up, according to The Gazette. The percentage of tenured faculty at the school is 45% now, compared to 63% in 1996.
- The report notes that it is vital for campuses to have a "common concern," and that the needs of individual units are often not being met on larger campuses. This could be a problematic sign for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which enrolls about 51% of the students in the state system. The report charged that the status quo was "unacceptable," suggesting options include consolidation and collaboration.
- The next phase of the analysis will involved a larger committee along with town hall meetings with the public. The college's dean has announced he will step down in July 2018, and Interim Provost Sue Carry has said a full-fledged search for a replacement will not begin until the analysis of how the system may be restructured is completed.
Dive Insight:
Many college presidents stress the importance of gaining faculty buy-in for potentially dramatic changes to a college's policies or practices; if there are issues later in the process, for example, faculty may be more invested in its success if they have been granted a voice in the process from the start. It is also important for college administrations to be able to illustrate the potential benefits of a potential shift in policy for faculty to increase the possibility of buy-in among a school's staff, according to Carroll Community College President James Ball in an interview with Education Dive. If massive policy changes seem forthcoming, school leaders should try to make sure the opportunities it could create for faculty are clear so that there is some good news to accompany the inevitable anxiety generated as a result of the potential changes.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski echoed the need for greater communication in an interview earlier this year; with presidents likely to face more difficult administrative decisions in the years to come, particularly in the light of declining enrollment in certain regions and less tuition revenue, he noted the importance of building relationships with actors on and off-campus. This included alumni, legislators and corporate partners, but he also stressed the need to show that you are supportive of the teachers on campus, calling it a "balance" that must be appropriately struck.
"Becoming successful will take years as you experiment,” he said. “That’s why you keep talking to people and have them embrace the problem with you.”