For years, colleges and universities embraced the idea that more is better in their pursuit of trying to be all things to all people.
Recent fiscal pressures–driven largely by changes in demographics and attitudes about the “value” of higher education–have pushed many schools to move in the opposite direction and reduce the number and size of their offerings.
Rather than trying to be all things to all people, we’re now told the object is to offer programs that appeal to the interests of today’s students and their career aspirations.
This mandate inevitably results in cries that the institution is turning its back on its roots and abandoning its core values.
But institutional identity is, or should be, about more than just the programs a school offers.
As institutions undertake the difficult work of figuring out a way forward, time and energy need to be spent looking backward as well. Our futures need to connect to our pasts.
When institutions unveil this work and their renewed stories, they should feel familiar to all those who are affiliated with them, regardless of when, why, or how.
Contact us to find out more about the ways Sea Glass Higher Education can assist in this crucial work.