Perhaps, only a handful people have expected the 2008 financial crises will ever happen in the US and the world. When the bankruptcy news of Lehman Brothers’ broke out the financial market communities from Shanghai to Frankfurt were stunned. The chain reactions followed by the collapse of other big banks have forced the US government to intervene in order to prevent further chaos in the global financial market. Will the same crises happen in the education industry? With the student loans default on the rise, fewer jobs are available to absorb the college graduates, less availability of taxpayers’ money to fund higher education, increasing excess supply of higher education services and the newly sequester and federal budget fights are the ingredients for a perfect storm for those colleges who operate under BAU mindset. Let us know what you guys think? Do we really need new concepts and approaches?
On April 2, 2013 it was reported by the Tennessean Newspaper that Vanderbilt University Medical Center is taking “reactive” (instead of being “proactive and preventive” by applying the new IRI paradigms) cost-saving actions. This may portray that majority of higher learning institutions may not use strategic planning efficiently in their organization. Complete article can be read below:
Partially quote:
The cuts are necessary to stave off layoffs, the medical center said.
“Rather than reduce wages or incurring mass staffing reductions, the next steps we’ve outlined are designed to further manage operational costs while keeping our workforce intact,” John Howser, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Medical Center News and Communications said in a statement.
The announcement is in response to recent federal and state action, Howser said. Last month, Congress voted to cut funding to many federal programs by 11 percent from 2012 levels. The move affects the medical center’s Medicare, Medicaid and the NIH programs, Balser said.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130402/BUSINESS/304020118/Vanderbilt-imposes-vacation-pay-freezes-because-federal-sequester-cuts
end quote.