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strategic planning

Re:University Reflections (Part 2): Program Costing is No Longer an Academic Exercise

Program costing isn't new, institutions have been talking about it for decades. At Re:University the conversation changed. Program costing was seen as a tool for shared decision-making...Research presented suggested starting with fewer variables can be just as effective as building complex models.

Re:University Reflections (Part 1): Change Doesn't Always Start at the Top

Universities are being asked to perform a difficult balancing act: reframe and defend the importance of their work, become more cost-effective, align more closely with labour market and national needs, and navigate rapid change enabled by AI. None of this is easy. Much of it is uncomfortable.

Planting a Tree

I planted a tree in our back yard as part of an elementary school project. In the first year I made sure it had appropriate water, soil, and enough light. But I could barely see its early growth. Similarly, changes in higher education take time to ripple through the system.

Scenarios vs. Predictions

Relying only on predictions risks locking institutions into a false sense of security. Scenarios, on the other hand, open up conversations about resilience, trade-offs, and strategic agility.

Mergers & Acquisitions in Higher Ed

Mergers and acquisitions are increasingly seen as tools to address financial stress, enrolment challenges, and competitive pressures. But they are not without pitfalls. Yet, when handled well they can create opportunities for students and preserve legacies that might otherwise be lost.

The Wisdom of the Crowd in Enrolment Forecasting

The crowd sees signals that may not show up in your data systems—early student concerns, housing bottlenecks, employer demand shifts. Together, they create a more balanced view of the future.

Announcing HESA x Plaid: Data with Purpose

Today we are announcing a new partnership with Higher Education

Setting Enrollment Targets in Higher Education - Part 1: What Are Enrollment Targets—and How Do We Set Them?

Good targets follow the SMART principle: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-bound. But enrolment planning layers on additional complexity that SMART alone doesn’t capture.

Data Literacy & Governance for Leaders, Strategic Planners, Operations and Financial Managers

In higher education, leadership and management steer their institutions toward success. However, there are data literacy skills that can get overlooked by those in leadership, strategic planning, operations, and finance roles.

Cultivating Advising Success: A Strategic Approach to the Advising Review

Taking the time to do an advising review is key to both determining how much of a restructure is necessary, and to determine what kind of model to restructure to.