A Response to ACPA Statement on Rising Cost of Higher Education

The ACPA leadership team wrote a thought-provoking piece in mid-February calling to question blame that is being directed at student services for the rising cost of higher education in the United States. The statement includes a reminder about the pedagogical potential of all spaces and programs on campus and how our work outside the classroom has a significant effect on student learning. In addition, the authors outline several factors that have created growth in staffing and programming among student services, which has led to the belief that "administrative bloat" is one of the causal factors in increased cost of higher education. While I agree with the authors that external factors have led to increased staffing and therefore increased costs passed along to students, we in fact should shoulder some of the blame. Let me explain.

An analogy you likely have heard and that a former colleague of mine would often use is that the high-stakes game of college admission (particularly at tuition-driven institutions) creates a market that student services often struggle to meet. He would tell our student services offices that Admission was in the sales business and they were selling families and prospective students on the notion that our institution was similar to a luxury vehicle. Like a luxury vehicle, our institution was top-of-the line, set the standard for the industry and had all the bells and whistles. And while rising cost was an issue, what's a little bit more money when you were getting the best thing out there? The problem was - or so the analogy goes - that while the luxury vehicle was being sold out front, the work behind the scenes in the maintenance shop was really only suited to handle used cars that could get by without much attention or with inferior service. So while costs are high up front, the level of service being provided could never live up to the needs of the customer who had high expectations for a superior experience.  Keeping up with the front of the house does not necessarily mean more administrators, nor can it necessarily mean a bigger budget or more programs. So how do we keep up and insure that our services are up to par for the entitlement that ever-increasing tuition costs are creating while at the same time removing the blame that is being placed on us?

The leadership team's article says that the compounding factors that have caused administrative bloat are partially to blame for rising costs. So it's not the additional staff, per se, but rather the issues that have led to increased staffing that are to blame. I would agree with that sentiment, but I don't think it frees us from responsibility. What we have right now is a problem of adaptation vs innovation. When budgets get pinched and tough questions are asked of us, we tend to adapt the current services and programs we have to meet an emerging need. We enhance one aspect of what we do and scale back on another. This adjustment masks the deeper need for change and re-inventing our services.  While adapting and tweaking programs and services is healthy and necessary, it also allows for the perpetuation of our ability to cling to "what we've always done."  While we know we should always be assessing and re-thinking the services we provide, the adjustments we then make are often just temporary until we have to adjust again. Adaptation ends up being the band-aid; innovation is systemic and can create sustainable change.

Disruptive innovation has shaken American higher education to its core. New methods of delivery, new opportunities for connection between faculty and students and a shift in how we think about the value of traditional education have us talking. What started as static in the background of our conversations has now been amplified and what is invigorating to those of us who see the potential is also scaring those of us who adhere to traditional views of higher education. So how can we incorporate the disruption and stir things up in our own areas of the field? How do we re-think the services we offer? We should look at structure, at the scope of our reach, at maximizing our willingness to share perspectives on knowledge and by leveraging our influence through social media and new technologies. 

To get back to the analogy of the luxury vehicle, innovation will allow us to demonstrate our ability to create sustainable systemic change and provide service to our students that matches the high expectations they have upon agreeing to join us for their college experience. An increasingly higher price tag should equate to increasingly better service. Higher education cannot and should not be immune to the open market.  So are we partially to blame for rising college costs? Absolutely. But it is hard for justify that thought; when I look around my own institution, I feel we are under-staffed and over-worked as we try to serve our students. It is clear that there are many systems and processes in American higher education that are on shaky ground - and some that are broken. In times of budget cuts and blame, agency matters. We have the ability to take ownership of our capacity for change and innovation and to create change that will strengthen the understanding that our students and parents (and our critics) have about our vital support of the academic mission of our institutions. The seismic shift in higher education is happening and so far many of us have tried to maintain our balance and stay alert - but it is time that we take our place alongside the innovators.

This year's ACPA conference is about re-invention and the timing could not be better. Let's use the opportunity to talk about innovation and change and prepare ourselves for what lies ahead - these are challenging but exciting times to serve college students.

You can find me on Twitter @pottscharlie or email him at cpotts@gustavus.edu

The Fear of Failure

I spent a few days at the end of January at the ACUHO-I Chief Housing Officer Institute in Atlanta. It was an awesome experience for which I am grateful. Tremendous connections with colleagues from institutions around the country and intensive sessions around topics of all sorts related to college housing.

I was excited to take advantage of the opportunity but apprehensive about what to expect. I often feel I'm still pretty new to this job (this is the middle of my third year) and sometimes I feel naive about my role among colleagues. I've spent my entire career at small, private institutions in Minnesota - a vastly different experience than just about everyone I meet at national conferences.

The conference set-up was fantastic. Detailed, thorough presentations by talented, dynamic chief housing officers and a lot of structured small group time to digest and reflect. The institute faculty were tremendous and provided support, guidance and advice throughout the four days. My small group faculty member was Dan Pedersen, the director at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Funny to travel 1,000 miles to connect with someone at an institution that's less than two hours from your home campus. Dan was calm, reassuring and ready to share knowledge with our small group and I owe him a debt of gratitude for making the conference environment so welcoming.

I realized quickly that I felt I was in over my head at the institute. As I took a seat next to folks from the University of South Carolina, Colgate, the University of Florida, etc, I realized that I was not sure how to talk about my experience at Gustavus. Though tremendously proud of my institution, I found myself referring to it and to my experience here as if it was inferior. "Oh just this small private school in Minnesota," or "You've probably never heard of us...," etc.

I'm often motivated by my fear of failure. I think on some level many of us - whether we are honest with ourselves about it or not - are worried that the world will discover that we're frauds. The world will find out that we are just faking our way through, under-qualified and not up to the challenge. I know it's unhealthy to have fear be a motivator - particularly when talking about work. The fear of failure coupled with some grade-A introversion makes it difficult to thrive at events like the CHO Institute. What could I possibly have to share that these people don't know? What if I open my mouth and I don't say the right thing? What if they find out I'm a fraud? After all, my only qualification for attendance was that I paid the registration fee.

I quickly became overwhelmed by what I don't know. 

But then I started to realize I had an authentic story to tell about my own experience. Sure, I don't manage my budget the way a Big Ten public institution would. No, I don't have a staff of 30 to run our operation. No, I haven't been responsible for a major construction project. But I do have experience. I have a unique perspective on issues and I have the ability to both absorb and transmit knowledge that is useful.

Student housing has an incredibly supportive network of professionals. Dan told our small group a couple of times that it's not necessarily about what you don't know, but more about how you take in the knowledge that's shared by the competent professionals that surround you. Each of the faculty members was an "expert" in a specific area, but each readily admitted they didn't know everything about everything - that they are, to some degree, still figuring it all out, too.

My feelings at this institute made me think more deeply about that fear of failure and how it drives much of what I do as a professional. I read an interesting piece in Forbes last spring. It was column called "5 Ways to Conquer Your Fear of Failure," and I actually called it up again while in Atlanta for the conference. 

The article summarizes that a lack of failure means a lack of risk-taking. And as someone who's pretty risk averse (I live in Minnesota and won't walk out onto a frozen lake in the winter. Just too risky. And yes, I realize it's two feet of ice), this is a big challenge for me to accept.

The article encourages us to:

1. Embrace our mistakes - I makes lots of these. Owning them and learning from them is always the hard part, but it will help me understand why it's okay to fail.

2. Stop trying so hard - Pushing hard and only making minimal progress can certainly feel like failure. Usually the solution is right in front of us if we find out how to see it.

3. Ask for help - I hate asking for help. But not asking for help is what almost assuredly leads to my failures. Suck it up and ask for help. As the wise Mr. Pedersen said at the CHO Institute, everyone has their own expertise to lend and it serves you well to ask others for their input.

4. Say no when you're afraid to - I often just say yes because it's the nice thing to do or because it will cause less conflict if I do. And I need to remember this when asking those whom I supervise to take on projects.

5. Say yes when you're afraid to - Attending the CHO Institute was a "yes" to something that scared me. I knew going into it how I might feel in a room full of 50 accomplished professionals, but I took the leap and am thankful that I did. Focus on the great things that could happen with your decision and just say "yes."

I learned quickly that it's okay to be overwhelmed by what I don't know. Being overwhelmed and understanding the things I don't know is what creates for me a desire to learn. My fear of failure is often unfounded, but it keeps me motivated to develop personally and professionally. And I learned that we all know more than we think we do.

The lessons learned at a conference are not always what you intended.

How do you feel about fear as a motivator? Where have you learned your greatest professional lessons? I'd love to hear your thoughts - find me on Twitter @pottscharlie

The Power of Blogging

I seem to be at a mental standstill with blog writing. I have a few ideas - none fully formed. And I don't seem to have the motivation to write at this moment.

But I'm making an attempt to encourage colleagues to write. I was inspired by #SAchat folks to try my hand at creating a blog and now we have created a blog for our Student Life Division at Gustavus. We have a few entries ready to go for the month of February and the hope is that it will grow and develop as we begin to share more with each other in written form.

Check it out at http://studentlife.blog.gustavus.edu/

If you have thoughts on how to inspire others to write and/or have great examples of divisions or departments that do this now, please let me know! You can find me on Twitter @pottscharlie

Photo credit: http://todaymade.com/blog/5-ways-to-make-your-blog-better-today/