Are we dealing with the crisis of coronavirus in the right ways at the small college level? At a time when students are paying more for their education than at any time in American history, colleges are downsizing at an unprecedented level. By the beginning of July, well over 125 athletic programs nationally have been eliminated. Many have chosen to furlough and/or cut staff, offered early buyouts, reduce academic and support services programming and slash budgets.
I had an assistant baseball coach, Richard Meyer, who, for many years ran a family owned hog farm. He told me once that if their business model was set up to operate with 2000 hogs and they only had 1700, they needed to find a way to get the other 300 no matter what it cost to acquire them. Otherwise, they were going to lose money, even if they adjusted their business model and eventually would be out of business.
Most universities have dwindling enrollment and general funds with projected negative balances and all signs pointing to them getting worse. The choices being made currently by many small colleges are resulting in reduced programming, less staffing and decreased services. Although the quality of the product has been hurt, the price of that education has not changed. Students and their parents feel slighted.
What if instead of cutting sports, academic programming and support services they added to them? Schools have several ways to reduce costs without eliminating the necessary services and programming they are providing their students. Here are just a couple ways schools could reduce costs, improve programming and keep enrollment up during these tough times:
Offer new programs. Create academic programs where you see a future need arising and where the university has the ability to offer with already available resources. Add athletic programs where you can attract students that others might not be able to. What programs bring you a great ROI (return on investment)?
Streamline programs. By combining programs, you keep the product but reduce your overall cost. Eliminate the unnecessary programs but keep any that have a positive impact on students even if they cost you money. Make more effective use of online courses. Fill the need of the current climate by opening up more to the non-traditional student or developing programs for those seeking a career change.
Reform tenure. Tenure and retirement plans are some of the most costly budget items for a college. Offer three-year degrees like they do in other countries. Increase the teaching load of faculty. Between 1988 and 2004 teaching loads in America at universities dropped over 40%. Base college rankings on student outcomes and not the perceived reputation of a college.
Make better use of facilities. The days of a building being athletic team use only or assigned to just one department is over. Share and improve programming and cost. Eliminate the arms race in athletic and recreation facilities. Spend money on programming and stop building monster facilities.
Improve student financial aid. Reduce student debt, which causes more students to drop out of college than anything else. Decrease the cost of student textbooks. Many professors who have written books require students purchase those books for their class, often at inflated prices. Online books are available and provide greater cost savings for students.
There are many other ways colleges can “rightsize” and reduce cost without reducing quality. New fundraising opportunities are often available to colleges and they don’t realize it. And existing funds can be maximized in ways that give far more bang for the buck.
By using a little creativity and thinking out of the box, small colleges can come out of this situation stronger than ever. With improved and streamlined offerings in athletics, academics and support services, they can set themselves up as the place of choice in the future for many students.
Oh Geez Sports 