Running head: CASE STUDY: U5
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University of the 5th Age: A Case Study
Cynthia P. Lyons
University of Maryland University College
DEPM604
U5: On the brink
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University of the 5th Age: A Case Study
The University of the 5th Age (U5) is on the brink of losing its lucrative distance
education (DE) programs. Up until today U5 enjoyed a partnership with a west coast provider
that produces and markets U5’s master’s degree for experienced teachers (MT). This same
partner also markets the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) program. U5’s
responsibilities in the partnership include course content, faculty, and student support services.
The partnership allows U5 to take advantage of outside resources in exchange for a revenue
share. Unfortunately, the partner is cancelling its contract with U5, creating a major dilemma for
U5. Since U5 relied on an outside vendor, U5’s infrastructure is not ready to take over the
responsibilities of the vendor. This paper identifies the issues of this case and proposes a
solution. However, the focus for this paper is to provide direction to U5 in changing its structure
so that the institution is in a better position to manage these types of major operational threats in
the future.
Issues
This section of the case study examines the issues at U5 that the institution must address
in order to continue its distance education programs. The first issue is complacency. According
to Kotter (1996) successful organizations have a tendency to settle into a state of well-being,
enjoying success. They fail to maintain momentum and lack a sense of urgency. This
complacent environment leads to major problems as competitors begin to enter the market or
business processes do not keep up with changing technologies and other business practices
(Kotter, 1996). In U5’s case, U5 enjoyed fifteen years of considerable revenue generated from
its MT program. U5 is relatively small, yet the MT program realized $500,000 annual net profit
for U5. What has MT been doing for the past fifteen years with this program? The Internet is
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quickly becoming the primary method for distance education. Indeed, U5 does deliver its CAGS
program online. Even the MT program utilizes email for communication. However, the
institution failed to explore the possibility of converting this program to online delivery. This
lack of urgency is a major weakness in U5’s current state. However, U5 can avoid repeating this
dilemma if they develop a clear vision for the institution.
The next issue is U5’s lack of a clear vision. U5’s distance education programs were
never fully adopted at the institutional level. These programs were developed in the Education
department without full institutional support. However, the new president’s support for DE is
critical if U5 is going to continue with its DE programs. Kotter (1996) explains that executive
management must develop a clear mission and vision for the institution that serves as the basis
for a strategic plan. U5 lacks this upper level direction for its DE programs which means that
individual departments are working in isolation. Without management support, these individual
departments seek outside resources to meet their needs. However, U5 management has the
leverage to allocate institutional resources in support of the institution’s mission and vision.
Even U5’s response to the current crisis is at the college level and not at the institutional level.
The executive management, deans, and other stakeholders must work together to establish a
vision for U5. In addition to institutional issues, there are other issues more specific to U5’s
business practices.
U5 has some apparent weaknesses in its operations that are risks to the institution’s
success. First, U5 does not have faculty and staff skilled in DE teaching and learning practices.
Whether or not U5 outsources its DE providers, the institution should still possess qualified
faculty and staff who are familiar with the unique requirements of DE programs. Furthermore,
U5’s task force for formulating the strategic plan does not include information technology
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personnel or other administrative staff. There needs to be a representative of administration and
finance on the task force to communicate the needs and possibilities for resource allocation
(Kotter, 1996). All of the issues discussed in this section indicate a need for U5 to develop a
strategic plan to revitalize its DE programs and to transform them into sustainable operations.
Intervention
Despite the many challenges identified thus far, U5 does have some fundamental
strengths that will help to successfully transform the DE programs. First, U5’s new president
supports DE and the administration realizes the need for the task force. This administrative
support is critical for establishing the vision and for gaining institutional buy-in (Reimers-Hild &
King, 2009). In addition, U5 uses a different vendor to deliver online courses for its CAGS
program, which means U5 may be able to use this resource as part of the transformation.
Finally, MT’s significant success substantiates the time and effort needed to develop a solution
for keeping the program. The first step for U5 is to utilize an appropriate leadership style.
U5’s leadership is not experienced in DE matters, except in the Education department,
which has been successful in its DE initiatives. This scenario implies low level maturity and a
need for situational leadership methodology (Hersey, Blanchard, & Natemyer, 1979). In
addition, the entrepreneurial approach exhibited by the Education department in its DE programs
indicates a transformational type of leadership may exist within that department (Reimers-Hild &
King, 2009). According to Tipple (2010) situational and transformational leadership styles can
be used simultaneously and be successful in DE. Specifically, U5’s task force may apply
situational leadership concepts to train and develop faculty and staff in DE practices. U5 may
even seek to hire DE experts to guide the institution towards its goals. A transformational
leadership style may come from the president since she supports DE. She has the power to guide
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the institution in a new direction, but needs to articulate the vision to all stakeholders (Tipple,
2010). U5 needs some structural reorganization and a plan for reshaping its DE programs. This
will allow U5 to become more mature and innovative and less dependent on external forces to
meet its needs (Nworie, 2012).
Solution
As stated earlier, this paper focuses on the structural changes needed at U5. The solution
described in this section follows Kotter’s (1996) steps for implementing change. Therefore, the
first step to resolving U5’s dilemma is to revise the task force to include administrative and
financial personnel. These departments need to participate in the institutional change to provide
support for academic initiatives. Unfortunately, the task force does not have much time to
resolve MT’s problems. However, the task force can begin work on a long range visionary
change that will establish momentum towards a sustainable DE division at U5. In order to meet
the immediate needs of the MT program, U5 can apply to the vendor that services the CAGS
program. Using this vendor to deliver the MT program will require U5 to redesign its MT
program to an online format. Again, the task force does not have much time, but using the
CAGS vendor for guidance and services is a short-term solution to keep the MT program viable.
The author of this paper does not recommend simply switching vendors as the final solution,
since this does not produce a long-term solution to U5’s complacent business practices.
The next step is to develop and communicate U5’s vision to all stakeholders. The new
task force that now includes administrative and financial personnel is in place not only to find a
temporary vendor for MT, but also to steer U5 to a new level of empowerment. The vision
should clearly state institutional goals and objectives and then communicated to all stakeholders.
Furthermore, the task force must develop a strategic plan outlining steps and milestones (Kotter,
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1996). U5’s task force may decide to keep DE at a departmental level, but this decision needs to
be articulated and agreed upon at the institutional level. Losing annual revenue of $500,000
impacts the entire institution, not just the Education department. Effectively communicating the
vision and the change methodology to the stakeholders helps to gain buy-in and support at all
levels (Kotter, 1996).
Another issue for resolution is the MT program itself. The author of this paper
recommends switching the program delivery from video tapes and printed study materials to
online delivery. According to Soderstrom, From, Lovqvist, and Tornquist (2012), online
learning is rapidly becoming the preferred method for distance learning. Institutions realize that
DE programs currently offered using other formats are becoming outdated as more students
favor online learning. This change requires expertise that U5 may not possess; but, with
appropriate support the institution can allocate resources to acquire and develop online education
skills. Indeed, Soderstrom et al. (2012) advocate for strong institutional leadership as well as
departmental leadership to address all stakeholders’ concerns. The outcome for this approach to
dedicated online learning is long-term sustainability (Soderstrom et al., 2012).
Making the switch to online learning requires skilled professional faculty and staff. As
stated earlier, U5 lacks sufficient DE resources to support online learning. Indeed, this may be
the reason U5 outsources its DE services. However, given the success of the MT program, U5
can build on that success and implement in-house ICT, faculty development, and student support
services. In the long run, this positions U5 to manage and maintain its programs without relying
on outside vendors. Furthermore, there are some institutions using outsourced online learning
that realize they can offer the same instruction cheaper in house (Parry, 2010). The debate over
outsourcing online learning versus in-house development is beyond the scope of this paper.
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However, U5’s task force may determine to keep outsourcing online education, which is an
acceptable solution. The key focus here is that the solution be aligned with U5’s vision.
Conclusion
This paper identifies changes needed at U5 to overcome structural weaknesses. The
solution is not a quick fix by simply switching vendors; but rather an organizational change.
Using Kotter’s (1996) methods for aligning the institution to a broad range vision allows for an
environment that responds to the dynamics of business practices in the 21st century. Issues at U5
identified in this paper correspond to Kotter’s (1996) fundamental theory that complacency is a
primary factor leading to organizational demise. By revising its approach to doing business to a
more visionary model will transform thinking and decision-making towards institutional
development and sustainability. Building institutional support and developing faculty and staff
to meet the changing needs of today’s learners will strengthen U5’s ability to manage risks and
vulnerabilities.
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References
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