Carthage College president shares 3 challenges for small institutions — and how to approach them - Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive

When it comes to the greatest challenges facing smaller institutions, Carthage College President John Swallow told Education Dive yesterday these include "the demographic challenges of updating traditional undergraduate programs," a cultural "willingness to choose new programs, given a school's mission," and figuring out how to make school financially accessible for a range of socioeconomically diverse students. Swallow explained that, given dwindling resources and funding for higher education in general, the role of the president, especially at a smaller institution, is to ask "what is the institution capable of" and take on a strategy of "evaluating new ideas of expansion rigorously" before implementing them. In terms of addressing industry shifts, Swallow said most want to be "bold and innovative," but he doesn't think "the steps necessary have to be a large disruption." While it's true that to address the challenges he mentioned, the school will have to "invest in new programs" and find "nontraditional revenue streams," he believes the best approach to stay afloat is balancing the maintenance of institutional mission with cautious innovation. https://www.educationdive.com/news/carthage-college-president-shares-3-challenges-for-small-institutions-and/530274/