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

A good strategic plan should inform future growth, establish measurable goals and objectives and drive strategic investment. It provides a framework for decision making, evaluating risks and alternatives, and guiding daily work. Far too often, strategic plans are either so broad, making it hard to drive any transformative change, or are developed and put on the shelf with no clear path for execution. AASCU Consulting has helped institutions close the gaps. We can help you to:

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

The financial landscape for universities continues to provide pressures for identifying new revenue streams or cost efficiencies, and can change overnight as a result of legislative mandates and state budget appropriations. We can help you to:

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

Higher education institutions must position their organizations to embrace agility and become more resilient. We can help you to:

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.

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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

Leadership for Managers and Supervisors

Delivered Onsite at Your Institution

Designed to equip your managers and supervisors with the tools, techniques, and mindset needed to lead with confidence, resilience, and effectiveness. The two-day program delivered at your institution engages participants in interactive discussions focused on essential leadership competencies such as self-awareness and self-management, overcoming team dysfunction, mitigating bias, conflict resolution, giving feedback, handling difficult conversations, coaching, and performance management. We also offer a train-the-trainer to sustain this program at your institution for new managers and supervisors.

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

Your institution’s board members offer valuable perspectives to navigate the challenges facing higher education. To help boards, as well as university systems, foundations, councils, or commissions, operate most effectively, our services include:

Orientation and development, including performance assessments and self-assessments
Enhancing relationships between boards and presidents