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Outsourcing and Academics:

Universities Seek New Solutions to Serve Students

By Michelle R. Davis

Private companies long ago found their way to college campuses to manage bookstores, run dining halls and clean buildings. But until recently, these businesses always held a place outside the classroom.

Now some institutions of higher education are flinging open their classroom doors and inviting private, often for-profit companies inside. As colleges and universities face budget crunches and pressure to boost enrollment, they’re hiring outside firms to do everything from create and manage entire degrees to craft aspects of curriculum.

But it’s a move that institutions shouldn’t undertake lightly. Hiring private companies to work on academics has caused controversy on several college campuses, and institutional leaders must face tough questions about the ramifications of such arrangements, experts say.

“Universities are not hotbeds of change,” said Stephen Doblin, the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lamar University, based in Beaumont, Texas. “The idea of partnering with a private company is alien to the way many academics think.”

Bringing in New Students

After Hurricane Rita hit on Sept. 23, 2005, Lamar University lost 1,800 students who fled the storm-damaged area or couldn’t continue their education. Because the school is state funded using a formula based on the number of students attending, university officials needed a way to boost enrollment, Doblin said.

Randy Best, the founder of Higher Ed Holdings (now working with institutions of higher education under the name Academic Partnerships, LLC) and a Lamar University graduate, approached school officials about a partnership in which his company would help create online degrees. Higher Ed Holdings would produce the courses based on Lamar University’s standards and curriculum, and would market and distribute the online offerings.

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