Kennedy & Company Education Strategies

Higher Ed’s Financial Cliff: Cutting Costs ≠ Sustainability Colleges in crisis often reach for the same playbook... - Cut faculty - Slash budgets - Change tuition But as Benjamin Kennedy points out, that approach ACCELERATES the decline. A few insights from Ben: 1. Faculty, Staff & Students Are the Brand Universities aren’t just degree factories—they’re ecosystems. Faculty morale directly impacts student experience. When cost-cutting erodes trust, faculty disengage, students notice, and your reputation takes a hit. The result? Lower yield, worse retention, and the dreaded “death spiral.” 2: Tuition Discounting is a Ticking Time Bomb Once a school starts discounting tuition at 70%+, it’s REAL hard to recover without a clear plan. The solution isn’t just recruitment... It’s pricing integrity, targeted program investments, and AI-driven enrollment strategies that predict & prevent churn. 3: Boards, Presidents & VPs Must Align on a Single Financial Plan Conflicting priorities between trustees, provosts, and admissions leaders lead to unsustainable models. If leadership isn’t unified on how to balance cost-cutting with strategic investment, faculty and students will feel the fallout. The takeaway? Sustainable institutions don’t just cut—they adapt. Smart colleges are integrating academic innovation, workforce-aligned programs, and predictive data to stabilize their finances before they hit crisis mode. What’s working (or not working) at your institution??

#Enrollmentmangement friends, check out my insights on #undergraduate #financialaid leveraging, just released today (link in the comments). It shares my experience having implemented leveraging as an #financialaidadminstrator at a few institutions and our philosophy at Kennedy & Company Education Strategies, as we help schools do it better. This is just the first of four blogs on the topic coming in the next few months. Is aid leveraging working for you?

Just wrapped up an incredible time at the Salesforce #EdSummit25 this week! It was inspiring to connect with colleagues, clients, and friends—both new and familiar—who are passionate about shaping the future of education through technology. Excited to bring these ideas forward and continue collaborating with this amazing community. If we had a chance to chat, let’s keep the conversation going! And if we missed each other, let’s connect. Until next time! #HigherEd #SalesforceEducation #AIinEducation

And the Salesforce #EduSummit25 is under way! We had several friends and clients join us to get the conference started, and the fun has continued with product roadmap sessions throughout the morning. Like many others, I made the decision to maintain restrictions on my travel post pandemic. I do still get out for an occasional onsite with a client, and of course for conferences. I always leave those trips feeling more joy and fulfillment from my work. The positive energy and excitement everyone can’t be replicated in the same way virtually. #highered #professionaldevelopment

Higher Ed is playing checkers, but the market is playing chess. Are you thinking 3 moves ahead—or 3 years behind? Higher ed’s business model is tricky at best... And too many places don't have the solution to fix it. I sat down with Benjamin Kennedy—CEO of Kennedy & Company—to talk about the biggest financial risks colleges are facing and the moves that can actually turn things around. A few takeaways... 1: Boards vs. Enrollment Leaders If your trustees are pushing lower discount rates but your VP for Enrollment says it's impossible, you have a misalignment crisis. 2: Revenue Math Matters "There’s no revenue at 100% discounting.” Yet some schools are pushing 75% with no clear exit strategy... 3> Brand & Reputation ≠ Marketing If students think your school is struggling, they won’t enroll. The wrong cost-cutting moves make that perception permanent. And can facilitate a death spiral... 4: AI & Data Science Are No Longer Optional Schools that leverage real-time student data (attendance, engagement, CRM insights) will win at retention. The schools that own their brand, optimize pricing, and align faculty, trustees, and leadership will thrive. Those that don’t? They’ll be absorbed, shut down, or stuck in a perpetual state of struggle. Curious: What’s the biggest financial blind spot you see at colleges?

"Mickey, if you had to pick one #AI tool to support your outreach, what would it be?" That's a great question a prospective client asked me this week. But I am a consultant, so my answer is predetermined.... "It depends." I have to answer most every question that way - the 84th amendment states clearly that "all consultants must flip flop and provide no concrete answers to very direct questions." ?? The truth is that it does depend. What are the key strategies I need to execute to achieve my goals? And how might AI help me in doing that? From there, I can consider which tools are best. Otherwise, I am picking AI for the sake of AI. That is no different than picking any technology for the sake of the technology. Those tools are just tools. It's like picking a shovel for the sake of a shovel, when you need to build a shed. Selecting a shovel over a hammer will make for a slow and potentially painful build.... Now if I had every other tool I needed, or could only pick one tool and the ground was on a major slope, then a shovel may be most appropriate, as leveling the ground with a hammer would be more painful than building a shed with a shovel.... Okay, maybe not the best analogy, but I hope the point is clear. If you are considering options for AI tools, here is the order: - What are the results you ultimately need to achieve? - What will I do to achieve those results? - What AI use case(s) best support that effort? - Which AI solutions can best align with our team for those use cases? #highered #admissions #studentsuccess #higheredcrm #AIinhighered #CRMprov #emchat