Throughout his career with Alabama’s two-year college system, James Lowe has been a fix-it man, sent to turn around troubled institutions, including Bishop State in Mobile.
Officials from Alabama A&M University's regional accrediting agency will be on campus today to start a three-day visit as part of its ongoing inquiry of the school.
It doesn’t seem like seven months have passed since the Pittsburgh Steelers were parading around Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay with that glistening Super Bowl trophy. Part of the reason is that thanks to the news media, and in particular to 24/7 sports coverage, the National Football League never really leaves the public’s consciousness.
Just as increased competition exists in the global business environment, so too is it present in the university marketplace. Universities compete for donations, grants, and endowments as well as the best students, professors, and staff. As such, the more positive press coverage an institution gets, the greater the likelihood it will be successful in achieving its overall growth goals.
Why? Because positive press comes from the decision a university makes to address these key areas:
Reputation management is of utmost importance to colleges and universities in their constant pursuit of students and research dollars. It envelops all aspects of the institution, including the business of maintaining environmental compliance. One notice of violation from a regulatory entity can be highly publicized, result in fines, and have widespread negative impacts both within and outside the institution.
TURNAROUND: LEADING STRESSED COLLEGES AND Universities to Excellence (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009) is the new book by University Business “Future Shock” columnists James Martin and James E. Samels.
A DEFINITION OF STRATEGY that centers around the idea of “more”—we will serve more students, offer more programs, and be in more places—is highly likely to fail. Dollars are finite, so doing more will actually decrease quality because tight resources are spread even more thinly.
