The Case of Bon Sens University

Abstract

This chapter presents a realistic scenario of a fictional university that finds itself in a financially unsustainable situation. This narrative is a composite of events I have witnessed at many institutions over the past 30 years as well as what colleagues have told me about their own personal struggles and successes. Administrators and faculty members will readily recognize the dynamics of organizational dysfunction in the case study. An interesting wrinkle is that, according to current thinking, Bon Sens made all of the right changes by adopting online graduate programs and opening extension campuses. Yet, it still finds itself in a downward financial spiral.