HIHE focuses on Higher Education Leaders

This summer HGSE's Programs in Professional Education (PPE) played host to nearly 500 higher education administrators as part of its Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE). As the summer drew to a close, Senior Lecturer James Honan, one of many HGSE faculty members who devote their time to guiding these administrators through the many challenges in their work, reflected on how the Ed School is making a difference in the professional practice of scores of higher education leaders from across the country and around the world.

Q. What makes PPE's higher education institutes a unique form of professional development?

A. Since HGSE's work with higher education administrators is about to enter its fifth decade, college and university leaders throughout the U.S. and abroad are keenly aware of the expertise the Ed School possesses in educational leadership. In all its program work, HIHE is dedicated to both strengthening individual leadership capabilities and improving institutional effectiveness and outcomes. The Ed School's work with practitioners through PPE, the Executive Education Leadership Program, and the Principals' Center provides an important opportunity for practitioners to connect with current research, assess leadership effectiveness, identify new strategies for personal and institutional success, and take time away from day-to-day work demands for professional growth and personal renewal.

Q. How do the summer institutes address issues of higher education?

A. In June, HIHE's institutes focused on the leadership challenges confronting middle managers in the Management Development Program (MDP) and experienced deans, assistant deans, and associate vice presidents in the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE). Each institute attracted about 100 administrators from a broad cross-section of U.S. colleges and universities, as well as several institutions outside the United States.

An interesting challenge associated with delivery of these institutes is the tremendous variety and complexity of the jobs and leadership challenges faced by those who attend. By attracting an eclectic, diverse, and interesting group of participants to the institutes, we create the conditions for tremendous peer-to-peer learning. For many, this opportunity is one of the most powerful and appreciated take-aways from their time at Harvard. Our goal is to establish a learning environment that enables higher education practitioners to both learn new things and think in new ways about things they feel they already know. That is, we try to challenge many of their existing assumptions about leadership and expand their repertoire of concepts, strategies, and options for action.

Q. What are some of the common issues facing higher education administrators attending the institutes?

A. One shared challenge is acknowledging, honoring, and better understanding the tremendous complexities of how colleges and universities actually work, regardless of one's job or place in the institutional hierarchy. Many problems are shared problems, whether you're a dean attending MLE, a department chair in MDP, a vice president or provost in the Institute for Educational Management, a new president in the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents, or a librarian attending The Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians.

A second common thread, certainly in recent years, is increased accountability for one's own work and the performance of the overall institution. Virtually all of the leaders who attend our programs, regardless of their respective roles, are feeling a heightened sense of accountability to both external and internal parties. These groups no longer take it on faith that higher education institutions actually produce value or provide the value that people think they do. These leaders are feeling the need to be more accountable for institutional outcomes than before.

Many institutions must also deal with leadership challenges associated with shrinking financial resources. We often lose sight of the fact that the financial circumstances facing many institutions can be quite severe, particularly in the past year or two when public appropriations for higher education have declined in many states.

Another issue is figuring out how higher education can meet the challenges of the 21st century workforce and global competition. The appropriate focus and relevance of the curriculum continue to generate heated debate on many campuses as faculty, students, alumni, employers, and other interested parties provide their often-divergent perspectives on these important questions.

Q. Can you talk more about the funding concern for college and university administrators?

A. Public institutions are feeling increased pressure as state governments raise the accountability bar and expect greater productivity with fewer resources. The individuals who attend our higher education programs share concerns about how to generate new and different sources of revenue beyond traditional state funding.

For many private institutions, this same resource challenge translates into a fundraising puzzle -- tuition-driven, private institutions need to make the fundraising pipeline bigger, and that's not an easy proposition for most. Increased attention to what is now being called "institutional advancement"-- coordinated efforts to secure the resources necessary to achieve fundamental institutional goals and purposes - has assumed a prominent spot on the strategic agendas of a wide range of independent colleges and universities.

One of the terrific features of all our summer higher education institutes is the vast array of institutional types and administrative responsibilities represented among the people who come to Harvard. Many participants tell us they learn as much, if not more, from their program peers as they do from the institute faculty. They also leave with a newfound appreciation for the range of institutions and the incredible vibrancy of the higher education sector. With any luck, we are able to instill a true appreciation for the value and importance of their roles in advancing opportunities for individuals, institutions, and nations.

Q. How do the higher education institutes address all these challenges?

A. Our faculty does a terrific job providing the insight necessary for these leaders to understand the challenges they face and to make sense of the complexities of higher education. Many leave with tangible improvement strategies, whether a new approach to planning, greater insight on their leadership strengths and weaknesses, or new ideas on ways to promote change and innovation on their campuses. All of our institutes provide a useful mix of theory and practice, create opportunities for deep reflection, foster a chance to share challenging and interesting ideas, and establish venues to learn together and forge useful and lasting professional networks. In light of the positive feedback we continue to receive from summer institute alumni, these learning outcomes are greatly valued by many in the higher education community.

Q. What opportunities exist for higher education professional development this fall?

A. For the second year in a row, we will be offering a fall higher education program on performance assessment. This is a topic of great currency and considerable interest to higher education leaders. This three-day seminar is scheduled for November 16-18. The program will explore several fundamental questions: How can colleges and universities document learning outcomes for their students? How should we think about the value that higher education institutions add to society? How can our nation's colleges and universities meet the demands of multiple constituencies - students, parents, business, government, and society - effectively?