IHETS on Thursdays from 12-1:50pm; SOE 11^th Floor Conf. Rm. (1120) on 8/25, 10/13, & 12/8

Instructor: Dr. Joshua B. Powers Office Hours: Wed. & Thurs.; 2:15-4:15pm & by appt.

Required: Yeager, J.L. et al. (2001). ASHE Reader on Finance in Higher Education (2^nd Ed.). Boston, MA : Pearson Custom Publishing.

Baum, S. (1996). A Primer on Economics for Financial Aid Professionals. New York : The College Board.

Organizations are inescapably bound up with the conditions of their environment.

As a growth industry, higher education could almost count on additional resources annually, so new activities were simply added to the old. Today and in the future, with resources stable or declining, change must occur by substitution. If something new is added, something old must be eliminated.

Institutions of higher education, like many organizations, are dependent upon particular sets of critical resource flows to supports their labor and capital intensive activities. In recent years, however, in the face of reduced state support for higher education, increased competition for federal research funding, constraints on how much tuition dollars can be relied upon to fill revenue shortfall gaps, and heightened external expectations to be accountable for particular outcomes, the effective management of institutional resources has become especially important. Like never before, senior level administrators must have a strong understanding for both the macro and micro level issues associated with the management of limited resources. At the macro level, it is important to understand the policy environment in which the allocation of resources is embedded and the debates surrounding them so as to position one’s institution in appropriate ways to obtain needed resources. At the micro level, administrators must understand the acquisition and deployment processes involved in obtaining and using resources in strategically targeted areas and how decisions made can have considerable ripple effects throughout the institution.

Given this context, this course is designed to explore resource management issues as they are manifested for public and private institutions of higher education. As current or aspiring senior level administrators, you are or will be responsible for the management or oversight of important resources. This course will provide you with both the knowledge about the issues surrounding resource allocation and practical experience making actual strategic resource allocation decisions in the context of a college management simulation experience called Virtual U.

GOALS AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Goals	Specific Learning Objectives (Students will be able to…)
To provide students with an understanding of the resource flows critical to higher education in their larger economic context.	Describe the critical resources to public institutions of higher education. Describe the critical resources to private institutions of higher education. Recognize the degree of reliance of public and private institutions on particular resources and the implications/effects of threats or changes in these resource flows or allocation processes. To understand the unique economics associated with higher education.
To provide students with an understanding of the policy issues surrounding the allocation of these critical resources.	Articulate the issues and debate surrounding tuition and aid policy. Describe the issues and debate surrounding federal research policy. Articulate the issues and debate surrounding state support of higher education. Identify the ways in which the above mentioned policies drive institutional behavior.
To provide students with an understanding of resource management at the institutional level.	Articulate the various components of a college budget and fund accounting practices. Articulate what key performance indicators are and how they are used. Describe the evolution of thinking about planning in higher education, how it is commonly practiced, and the utility of applying concepts developed in business to the higher education setting. Describe the issues surrounding fundraising and endowment management in higher education.
To give students the opportunity to consider and make resource management oriented decisions via a college simulation experience.	To engage in an enrollment management simulation in order to recognize the key elements impacting enrollment related resources and in turn their effects on the greater institution. To engage in a quality improvement simulation in order to recognize the key elements impacting institutional quality. To engage in a fundraising and endowment management simulation in order to recognize the key elements impacting fundraising and endowment resources and in turn their effects on the greater institution. To engage in a Board of Trustees driven resource related simulation in order to recognize the key decision choices impacting the greater institution.

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

This course is structured as a seminar such that it is designed to be participative. Hence, students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings, periodically take leadership roles in the presentation of material, and in general, be responsible for their own and others learning. Given the pace and contracted period in which the course is covered, attendance at all class sessions is expected and figure into the class participation grade. Additionally…

1. Be aware of all due dates for assignments as no points will be given for late submissions.

2. Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines in the Code of Student Conduct and to be familiar with the policies associated with academic dishonesty.

3. I reserve the right to make adjustments to this syllabus should circumstances warrant (e.g., we don’t cover all that is listed for a particular day, etc.).

6. If you need to miss a televised session, please notify us in advance, if possible. Missing a weekend session is vigorously discouraged! Nevertheless, we recognize that emergencies and unavoidable conflicts may arise. Except for medical emergencies, an absence from a weekend class should be cleared with us well in advance. In the event of an excused absence or medical emergency involving a weekend class, you will be required to complete an additional assignment negotiated with the professors. An unexcused absence from a weekend class will require an additional assignment and result in the loss of a whole letter grade.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

As would be expected in a graduate course, students are to actively engage in class discussion. Class participation is based on the quality and quantity of your participation.

Individual Virtual U Assignments - 3 @ 25 points each (15% total); Due 9/6, 9/27, & 11/1 respectively

As mentioned in the course description and objectives, part of this course is designed for you to experience making real resource management decisions at the senior level via a software program that realistically simulates a college or university. Virtual U is a one of a kind software tool similar in design to SimCity that places you in the role of President of an institution. Powered by a sophisticated algorithm developed from real institutional data, Virtual U represents the first tool of its kind for simulating college and university management in a realistic environment in all of its messy complexity. As part of your work with Virtual U, you will engage in three individual assignments designed to orient you to the tool and hone your skills at decision making for the purpose of doing the team projects described below. A brief description of each of the individual assignments and team projects is as follows:

For this exercise (to be submitted and counted for BOTH our class and 686), you will be given a saved custom game and expected to find particular pieces of information within it related to the institution’s overall health. In addition to answering the questions provided, you will write a two page single-spaced executive summary of your assessment of the overall health of the institution (i.e., what are its most important strengths and weaknesses). Evaluation on this assignment will be based upon correctly answering the questions and the clarity and thoroughness of your executive summary.

Imagine that you are the Vice-President for Enrollment Management and the President has said that you must do something to improve the financial position of your private college. Specifically, he wants you over the next five years to substantially increase student enrollments without sacrificing educational quality or institutional prestige while also increasing the diversity of the student body. Hence, using the saved custom game I send you, develop a five-year plan to do this and use only the tools at your disposal within the Admissions and Financial Aid Office to try and achieve this (although your plan might include lobbying the President for some selective investment in particular areas that you can assume she agreed to). Prepare a short report (3 pages single spaced) that outlines your plan, what you did on an annual basis, how successful you were, and what you learned in the context of cause and effect relationships with other key performance areas of the institution. Include the final game in your submission. Evaluation on this assignment will be based upon the clarity and thoroughness of your write-up. This assignment is for our class only.

Imagine that you are the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement & Alumni Affairs and the President has said that you must do something to increase alumni giving and grow the endowment. Specifically, he wants you over the next five years to substantially increase the percentage of alumni giving and strengthen the endowment while being aware of the detrimental effects of year to year fluctuations and the overall financial health of your institution. Hence, using the saved custom game I send you, develop a five-year plan to do this and use only the tools at your disposal within the Development and Alumni Affairs and Old Main (Investments) Offices to try and achieve this (although your plan might include lobbying the President for some selective investment in particular areas that you can assume she agreed to). Prepare a short report (3 pages single spaced) that outlines your plan, what you did on an annual basis, how successful you were, and what you learned in the context of cause and effect relationships with other key performance areas of the institution. Include the final game in your submission. Evaluation on this assignment will be based upon the clarity and thoroughness of your write-up. This assignment is for our class only.

Virtual U Team Projects 2 @ 100 points and 150 points respectively (50% total); Due 10/12 & 12/7 respectively

In addition to the three individual projects described above, you will engage with a teammate (or two in the case of one group) on a team project. These projects are as follows:

Team Project 1: Faculty Morale and Educational Quality: Can They be Improved Simultaneously?; Due 10/12

For this project (to be submitted and counted for BOTH this class and 686), each team will be given a saved custom game but a different institutional context (i.e., one will be a liberal arts college, one a public research university, and the third a comprehensive university). Your task will be to simultaneously try to improve faculty morale and educational quality over a period of seven years while at the same time respond to the issues raised by the Board. In other words, you need to consider the implications of your decisions in a systems context and how you can achieve the ends you desire without being fired or running the institution into the ground (if possible!). Teams will prepare a 6-7 page single-spaced report to your hypothetical Board of Trustees that outlines your strategic goals, highlights some of the important decisions you made and why, and what you might have done differently if you had the opportunity to do so. In addition, include your final saved game and an appendix that bullet points all of the annual decisions that you made.

In class on October 12th or 13th, you will present your report to the class and walk them through what you did and what you learned. In order to enhance the educational impact of the presentations, teams are to engage the class in a discussion of what they would do given their institutional parameters and may even allow them to do a short simulation experiment. Utilize your annually saved games and PowerPoints etc. as necessary to make your points about your decision choices and their effects. Teams will have approximately 40 minutes to present.

Evaluation on this assignment will be based upon your successful accomplishment of all assignment expectations, the clarity and thoroughness of your write-up, the quality of your presentation including how well you engage the class, and content related matter relevant to this course (that might involve citing some literature). As it relates to this last item, Dr. Burrows and I will be looking for different elements relevant to the content of our respective classes and hence, it is possible you will receive a different grade for the same assignment.

In order to integrate a healthy competition among teams (but not penalize those that are not the highest performer), the team that raises faculty morale and educational quality the most over the seven- year period and has the highest score, will receive 5 extra-credit points in each class. The decision on a “winner” will be based upon a joint judgment between Dr. Burrows and myself.

For this project (to be submitted and counted for BOTH this class and 686), each team will be given a different saved scenario game but the same institutional context. Your task will be to run a 10-year simulation in which you attempt to achieve the goals of your scenario while at the same time adequately responding to the concerns of your Board of Trustees. Teams will prepare a 7-9 page single-spaced report to your hypothetical Board of Trustees that outlines your strategic goals, highlights some of the important decisions you made and why, and what you might have done differently if you had the opportunity to do so. In addition, include your final saved game and an appendix that bullet points all of the annual decisions that you made.

In class on December 7^th or 8^th, you will present your report to the class and walk them through what you did and what you learned. In order to enhance the educational impact of the presentations, teams are to engage the class in a discussion of what they would do given their institutional parameters and may even allow them to do a short simulation experiment. Utilize your annually saved games, PowerPoints, etc. as necessary to make your points about your decision choices and their effects. Teams will have approximately 45 minutes to present.

Evaluation on this assignment will be based upon your successful accomplishment of all assignment expectations, the clarity and thoroughness of your write-up, the quality of your presentation including how well you engage the class, and content related matter relevant to this course (that might involve citing some literature). Similar to Team Project 1, Dr. Burrows and I will be looking for different elements relevant to the content of our respective classes and hence, it is possible you will receive a different grade for the same assignment.

Once again, the team that improves the most in performance relevant to their scenario and has the highest score will receive 5 extra-credit points in each class. The decision on a “winner” will be based upon a joint judgment between Dr. Burrows and myself.

Students will write a 12-15 page double-spaced research paper (not including references) on a topic of interest related to finance/resource management in higher education. You have considerable latitude on topic choice but need to pre-approve it with me by October 1 via a one page description of your topic and a minimum of 5 sources. Your choice of topic could center on a more in-depth analysis of issues covered in the class or could be a topic that we did not cover. Your paper should include:

A clear introduction in which you hook your reader, present what your paper is about, and lay out its organization
A body with a logical and clear organizational structure that engages the topic and relevant issues including recommendations and/or implications for practicing administrators.
A conclusion in which you summarize what was said in the paper.

Papers will be evaluated using the following criteria with the expectation that you will cite a minimum of 15 sources:

At the risk of directing you too much (I want you to feel free to pick a topic that truly interests you), here are some broad topical ideas:

GRADING

There are a total of 500 points available for this course with the following grading breaks:

GOALS AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Papers will be evaluated using the following criteria with the expectation that you will cite a minimum of 15 sources:

GRADING

Research Paper Due