THE SIGNAL
You know what the institution needs to do. Getting it to move is the harder problem
Today’s colleges and universities face multiple challenges simultaneously, and those challenges rarely have easy answers.
They also rarely exist in isolation. Financial pressures affect people and programs. Leadership decisions intersect with governance, culture, and institutional priorities. Changes in one part of the institution can create consequences somewhere else.
Leaders today are operating without the cushion that once allowed institutions to absorb a bad decision, recover from a failed initiative, or simply wait out a difficult moment.
All these challenges co-exist, reinforce each other, and demand a response that is equally systemic.
HOW WE HELP
Higher education leaders need the space and perspective to step back, see how these challenges connect, and determine what will move the institution forward.
Higher education is changing rapidly. Students, families, and employees expect more, costs are rising, budgets are under pressure, and the role of higher education continues to evolve. These challenges rarely exist in isolation, and navigating them within a complex institution is not easy.
Springboard works alongside leaders to do exactly that. We listen first, bring an outside perspective, ask thoughtful questions, and help institutions work through difficult issues with the whole organization in mind. From strategy and organizational change to leadership, governance, student affairs, and intercollegiate athletics, we help leaders navigate difficult conversations, develop clear strategies, build alignment around critical decisions, and move from good thinking to meaningful action.
FOCUS AREAS
Where we focus.
Leading
Build a plan your campus can act on and test it against the futures your institution may actually face.
Leading
Move beyond across-the-board cuts to decisions that stabilizes the budget and still move the institution forward.
Leading
Align your board’s structure and work with the direction the institution is heading.
Building
Your effectiveness depends on strengthening your leaders and how they work together.
Building
Pair your leaders with a confidential partner who listens first, has faced the same decisions, and helps them lead more thoughtfully.
Building
Resolve the friction between people and groups that keep good work from moving.
Planning
Decide which programs to grow, merge, or sunset and new ones to develop using data, getting buy in from key stakeholders and the accreditation path worked out.
Planning
Turn scattered global activity into a strategy that fits your mission, your market, and your capacity.
Planning
Bring real planning to key units - athletics, human resources, or student affairs, and connect those plans to the institution’s.
ON A CAMPUS
Institutional impact
Across the institution
We help institutional leaders address challenges that cut across the university, from setting and executing strategy to navigating change, aligning resources, strengthening governance, preparing for accreditation, and developing leadership. We look at the institution as a whole, helping leaders see how decisions in one area affect priorities, people, and resources across the university.
Inside a division or unit
Institutional strategy ultimately has to take hold within the divisions and units where the work gets done. We partner with leaders in areas such as student affairs, athletics, academic affairs, international education, enrollment management, and human resources to connect institutional priorities with the realities of their work and determine what needs to happen at the unit level to move those priorities forward.
Imagine the impact when you…
01
Focus leadership on the most important challenges while keeping the institution’s future in view
02
Equip leaders and teams to take on greater responsibility and lead more effectively
03
Align the university community around shared priorities and a clear path forward
04
Build stronger partnerships across divisions, departments, and functions
05
Make better decisions and turn those decisions into action
HOW WE WORK
Where others may arrive with conclusions already drawn, we arrive with questions.
We listen first because what matters most is understanding what makes your institution different: its history, culture, leadership dynamics, relationship with its community, and appetite for change.
Before recommending a direction, we take the time to understand where the institution stands, including its readiness for change, the capacity of its leaders to work together, and the cultural and structural factors that could accelerate or impede progress. That gives leaders a clearer picture of what is possible, what may get in the way, and what it will take to move forward.
We listen first.
Every institution is different. We start by understanding yours (its people, culture, priorities, pressures, and aspirations) before determining what is needed.
We think systemically.
Strategy, governance, culture, people, and finances are interconnected. We help leaders see those connections and consider the institution as a whole, even when the work begins within one part of it.
We stay focused on implementation.
A strategy only creates value when it moves into action. We help leaders translate decisions into clear priorities, ownership, and next steps so the work continues and results last beyond the engagement.
BY ROLE
What keeps you up at night depends on where you sit.
The challenges facing an institution look different depending on your role. Understanding those perspectives and how they connect is often essential to moving the institution forward.
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Ensuring the institution is resilient and positioned for long-term viability
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Making sure the strategic plan drives meaningful progress rather than sitting on a shelf
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Understanding the cost and risk of acting too late
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Knowing whether the leadership team has the capacity to execute
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Demonstrating institutional value to stakeholders and meeting growing expectations for accountability
Dr. Robbyn Wacker
MANAGING PARTNER, HIGHER EDUCATION PRACTICE
Dr. Wacker brings more than three decades of executive leadership experience in higher education, including two university presidencies and service as provost and chief academic officer. She has spent her career assembling and developing leadership teams, moving strategy from plan to execution, guiding institutions through change, working effectively with boards and governance bodies, and building innovative programs that open new markets and strengthen financial position.
As leader of Springboard’s Higher Education Practice, she brings that experience to the table as a thought partner to leaders navigating many of the same complex decisions she has faced throughout her career.
THE TEAM
Led by people who have been accountable for these decisions.
Springboard’s higher education consultants are experienced leaders who have served as presidents, provosts, and senior executives. They have made difficult budget decisions, navigated board and governance dynamics, managed political pressures, built and led executive teams, and guided institutions through significant change.
They bring the perspective of leaders who understand the complexity of these decisions because they have been responsible for making them themselves.
WHO WE’VE WORKED WITH
A sampling of our university-affiliated work.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
George Mason University · Georgia Tech · Montana State University · Northern Arizona University · NAU Ecological Restoration Institute · St. Cloud State University · University of Northern Colorado · William and Mary
INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) · America East Conference · Big Sky Conference · Mid-American Conference (MAC) · Patriot League · CCA22 (formerly FCS/DI Conference Commissioners Group) · College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) · Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly known as NACWAA) · University of Central Missouri · Horizon League · Ohio Valley Conference
ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERS
National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) · National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) · Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) · Indiana University Health · Duke Health Clinical Laboratories
"The two words that come to mind are ‘facilitation expert.’ [Springboard is] able to get people to engage in a way that is difficult to do internally. They are able to get things out of people that they wouldn’t necessarily say in front of an internal group or facilitator. As a result, we can make better decisions and communicate and get buy in from the team."
Joanne Keane
Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at Northern Arizona University
SUCCESS STORIES
