How can colleges stay relevant in the twenty-first century?

Residential colleges are the foundation on which US higher education is based. These institutions possess storied traditions fondly cherished by students, alumni, and faculty. There is no denying, however, that all colleges today struggle with changing consumer preferences, high sticker prices, and aging infrastructure. Technological and pedagogical alternatives—not to mention growing political pressure—present complex challenges. What can colleges and smaller universities do to stay relevant in today’s educational and economic climate?

In their concise guide, How to Run a College, Brian C. Mitchell and W. Joseph King analyze how colleges operate. Widely experienced as trustees, administrators, and faculty, they understand that colleges must update their practices, monetize their assets, and focus on core educational strategies in order to build strong institutions.

Mitchell and King offer a frank yet optimistic vision for how colleges can change without losing their fundamental strengths. To survive and become sustainable, they must be centers of dynamic learning, as well as economic engines able to power regional, state, and national economies. Rejecting the notion that American colleges are holdovers from a bygone time, How to Run a College shows instead that they are centers of experimentation and innovation that heavily influence higher education not only in the United States but also worldwide.

Brian C. Mitchell is a principal in Academic Innovators. He is the past president of Bucknell University and Washington & Jefferson College. W. Joseph King is the president of Lyon College. He is the former executive director of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education and Rice University’s Connexions.