Winners and losers in the game of higher ed

Its been years, but Jon McGee’s Breakpoint: The Changing Marketplace for Higher Education, stuck with me. His book was “Assigned reading” for our leadership team and the contents still resonate.

It’s clear that institutions still need to revisit their brand, how they deliver education, and who they are realistically able to serve.

McGee notes that in the years following 2011, (the largest high school graduating class in US history), there was a decline in the high school student population — which ultimately translates to less college bound students.

Meanwhile, colleges and universities continued to engage in a high stakes arms race — investing millions in facilities, amenities, and merit aid.

It was hard to stop. How could we? If your institution stopped investing in what we thought the customer would “always” demand, you’d be left in the dust.

Colleges and universities have supply (and overhead) and lower demand. This means, customers (both prospective and current students) are overwhelmed with choice and determined to seek perceived value.

McGee asserts that students have moved along the continuum where institutions will be viewed by students as transactional rather than transformational. When an organization’s relationship with their customers becomes transactional, price and value are at the forefront.