Our Expertise
AASCU Consulting supports and advises college and university leaders to elevate their leadership team capabilities, advance their strategic goals, and address their most pressing challenges and opportunities. AASCU Consulting tailors our services to meet your institution’s unique needs and address what matters most to you.
Strategy and Transformation
STRATEGIC PLANNING & Execution
- Develop a strategic plan that communicates a compelling vision and provides strategic guiderails to focus your actions and reach the full potential of the institution.
- Turn strategy into results by executing on your plan, fostering real-time strategic decision making, and implement a process that consistently assesses new initiatives, risks, and alternatives against the institution’s priorities.
- Identify milestones, targets and metrics to assess progress, regularly calibrate the strategic plan, and focus the campus community on closing specific gaps in the strategic areas.
- Establish a transparent and inclusive budget and resource allocation process linked to your strategic plan.
Financial & Operational Effectiveness
- Address revenue shortfalls by developing and implementing strategies to reduce expenditures/increase revenues, and evaluating academic and non-academic program areas.
- Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of financial and administrative processes and organizational structures.
- Establish a transparent and inclusive budget process linked to your institution’s strategic priorities.
- Evaluate your facility and space needs, then guide the development of a comprehensive campus plan.
- Evaluate risks and opportunities of public private partnerships to meet capital needs, provide alternative revenues, or meet other programmatic needs.
- Evaluate Athletics program needs, fiscal sustainability, and cost efficiency.
Organizational Assessment, Alignment & Transformation
- Examine your structures and processes to identify opportunities for a more agile, aligned, student centered organization.
- Evaluate and develop talent management and development strategies.
- Navigate changes and challenges through effective change management, communication, and organizational transformation
Process Redesign
Leadership Effectiveness
LEADERSHIP COACHING and THOUGHT PARTNERSHIP
Even the most experienced leaders can benefit from professional development and coaching to enhance communication skills, improve performance, and boost confidence. We offer a seasoned individual from outside the institution with whom the president can have timely, useful, and confidential conversations outside of the regular governance structure. We provide:
- Meeting with the executive to (1) review the expectations and priorities; (2) to discuss the executive’s own perceptions of the job; and (3) to establish a plan for regular communication via email, Zoom, or phone.
- “Fit” between the client and the coach is key. Both parties should feel they are entering into a trust relationship that will be characterized by candor and confidentiality.
- In the course of their work together, the executive and coach will review any relevant materials pertaining to the state of the institution, assess the composition and “climate” of the executive’s team, and meet with colleagues, as needed.
COACHING FOR EMERGING LEADERS
Are you facing challenges in filling cabinet, dean, and other crucial leadership and management roles? Have you identified promising leaders who you’d like to invest in and retain?
Our specialized coaching program is designed to help aspiring leaders develop the skills, confidence, and strategic thinking needed to excel in leadership roles.
LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT AND 360s
We provide:
- Consultation for newly appointed and experienced presidents and senior executives
- Performance reviews for presidents and senior executives based on 360-degree assessments and subsequent developmental strategies (and can be aligned with the institution/board policy for the evaluation of presidents)
- AASCU Consulting 360 Assessment For Higher Education Leaders
LEADERSHIP ONBOARDING and Transition
We support a seamless transition that maintains a positive campus climate and identifies opportunities for continued growth and success. We offer consultation and facilitation services for university boards, systems, presidents and their teams to keep your institution moving forward. Our Six Phase Model for selecting, developing, evaluating, and retaining effective executive leadership includes:
- “Transition” consultation to ensure a successful start for newly appointed presidents and chancellors
- Professional development consultation and facilitation for presidents, chancellors, and their teams
- Performance reviews and 360 assessment for presidents, chancellors, and senior executives
- “Transition-out” consultation to ensure continuous effective institutional leadership as departing executives prepare their exit
TEAM DEVELOPMENT AND RETREAT FACILITATION
Presidents, provosts, and vice presidents look to AASCU Consulting to facilitate their leadership team retreats. A retreat tailored specifically for your senior leadership team or cabinet can serve as a catalyst for annual goal setting, effective communication, status checking your strategic plan, interdivisional collaboration, and leadership growth.
AASCU Consulting can also assess team dynamics, strengths, and areas for improvement in advance of a retreat. Through facilitated discussions, your team will gain valuable insights into team dynamics, communication styles, decision-making processes, and leadership effectiveness.
We provide:
- Leadership team retreat facilitation
- Assessment of team dynamics
- One-on-one coaching for team members
- Facilitation of annual goal setting and alignment of individual leadership portfolios with the priorities of the institution
- Advisory to teams on strategic decision making, team dynamics, rules of engagement, and cross divisional collaboration.
Change Leadership
We help senior leaders facilitate change processes. We focus on how skills and mindsets can be developed and leveraged in support of change.
Custom Manager and Supervisor Leadership Training
Department Chair Leadership Institute Onsite
The Department Chair Leadership Institute Onsite, delivered for up to 50 chairs at your institution, dives into the pivotal role of department chairs. The 1.5 day program provides content to empower department chairs to become stronger leaders who can better support students and engage faculty and staff in achieving their goals, while simultaneously becoming strong contributing members of their department, college, and university. The program provides opportunities for your institution’s department chairs to connect with and learn from each other in a safe and supportive environment. The curriculum, including principles of leadership, the art and science of giving and receiving effective feedback, successful communication and advocacy, conflict resolution, coaching and mentoring, and personal wellness and self-care, is delivered through facilitated conversations and case studies. The Department Chair Leadership Institute Onsite has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from provosts, deans, and department chairs.
Board Development
- Orientation and development, including performance assessments and self-assessments
- Enhancing relationships between boards and presidents