The annual exhibit of campus efficiency posters will be on display again this year during the NACUBO 2017 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis.
The posters, which tell a story through a mixture of graphics, illustrations, photos, and data, give colleges and universities the opportunity to display details about campus efficiency and sustainability projects on their campuses. Posters will highlight energy efficiency, utility-related savings, resilience and risk-mitigation, zero waste efforts, student sustainability, CO2 reduction, and many other topics.
Posters will be on display from Sunday, July 30, until the end of the conference on Tuesday, August 1. To see posters from previous years, visit www.nacubo.org and click on “Sustainability.”
Business officers are responsible for myriad campus issues as they relate to facilities, safety and security, diversity and inclusion, and a number of other concerns. Last month, NACUBO held several webcasts each different in nature, but equally important to the business office.
Two webcasts addressed the topics of campus protests, and funding and launching online programs.
Preparing for protests. Campuses have long been arenas for free speech and protests concerning social issues. As such, institutions must ensure that any discourse minimizes disruption and acts of violence, while enabling support for the academic mission. During the recent webcast, Preparing for Campus Protests and Civil Disobedience, speakers—which included a current and a former campus chief of police—discussed how the different departments on campus need to collaborate to protect the higher education mission, prevent vandalism, and maintain academic schedules.
Participants learned about which campus leaders and staff should be involved prior to, during, and after a protest to optimize safety; and ways to evaluate the potential financial implications for labor and equipment.
Promoting online learning. As higher education continues to face a challenging financial landscape, institutions of all sizes have been relying on online program management providers to quickly expand online course offerings through bundled revenue-share arrangements. However, these arrangements tend to be lengthy and costly.
The webcast Innovative Ways to Fund and Launch Online Degree Programs highlights how Schreiner University, Kerrville, Texas, and the University of Pittsburgh, are exploring alternatives to the standard online program management systems by working with iDesign to develop customized, unbundled fee-for-service programs at their respective institutions.
Panelists discussed the key differences between the incumbent bundled revenue-share model and the unbundled fee-for-service approaches to online program management. They described how the underlying incentive structure and execution strategy allow universities to take a faculty-centric approach to developing online and blended programs.
Participants gained a better understanding of the financial commitments and returns on investment associated with fee-for-service program development.
These webcasts will be available on demand for one year from the original air dates. To learn more about other webcast offerings, visit the “Distance Learning” page at www.nacubo.org.
NACUBO’s new strategic plan (approved by the board in March) incorporates three strategic competencies—knowledge creation and sharing, collaboration, and advocacy. The competencies establish a blueprint for the organization that will guide the development of tools, education, and expertise for member institutions as they support and advance the mission of higher education on their respective campuses.
A collective effort by the NACUBO board, its executive management team and staff, and E4 consulting informed the strategic plan which will help guide members through the issues of today, and allow them to address the challenges of tomorrow and beyond.
A new vision, mission, and value proposition create the foundation and articulate NACUBO’s goals in the current higher education environment.
The central elements of the strategic plan include:
Vision. Higher education is valued as an outstanding investment.
Mission. To advance the economic vitality, business practices, and support of higher education institutions in pursuit of their missions.
Value proposition. NACUBO convenes those influencing and advancing higher education, is a catalyst of unmatched knowledge, and is a leading advocate for colleges and universities.
These elements are supported by specific actions.
The five strategic priorities that follow are overarching initiatives that were developed to ensure that NACUBO is effectively and proactively working to uphold its vision and meet the needs of member institutions, with various success indicators to help measure performance.
These priorities include:
(1) Engage higher education institutions in undertaking necessary transformations to strategically position themselves in the dynamic higher education environment.
(2) Increase proactive advocacy.
(3) Drive effective solutions in higher education.
(4) Strengthen the strategic leadership role of the CBO.
(5) Lead higher education’s integration of analytics to achieve institutional strategic goals.
Staff teams led by members of the executive management team are at work now to develop goals and success measures for each of the priorities.
For more information on the strategic plan, and the success indicators associated with the five strategic priorities, visit the NACUBO website at www.nacubo.org and click on “About NACUBO.”
