The role of "development" in a research administration office.

Introduction

This paper will essentially examine the demands for U.S. institutions of higher education to develop externally sponsored programs as an answer to the increasing challenges placed before them and the methods these institutions are using to do so. An institution of higher education will be defined in this paper as an organization that provides associates, bachelors, masters, and/or doctorate prepared degrees to qualified individuals.

State and private institutions of higher learning will be examined. Although there are some philosophical and funding differences between state and private institutions of higher education, they are still faced with many similar problems in creating innovative services and programs for society. Both state and private institutions also solicit and receive funding from common sources, including: (a) federal and state agencies, (b) private and corporate foundations, and (c) industries. Since both state and private institutions of higher education are facing these similar challenges, both will be examined and included in the definition of an "institution of higher education".

As society has become more complex in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, there have been increasing demands for institutions of higher education to offer new services, and become more adaptable to the world's changing needs. With the evolution towards globalization, higher education institutions are challenged to transform their way of doing business while at the same time facing many roadblocks.

The United States (U.S.) has changed rapidly since the end of World War II, from 1945 to 2005. Institutions of higher education have played a highly significant role in not only preparing the U.S. population for the technological changes taking place, but also bringing many innovative technologies and policy changes to U.S. society in those 60 years. Consequently, state and federal legislators, who have been pivotal in funding many of the innovative research and service programs to institutions of higher education during that time demand that the education sector continue to develop and create opportunities for the ever-changing U.S. and international society--be it innovative curriculums, community service, or new technologies. The challenge of doing so is only compounded by the limitations of resources--the most limiting being lack of funding.

The downturn in the U.S. economy has effected all institutions of higher education institutions. State institution's budgets are most directly affected through reductions in their government appropriated dollars. However, all institutions of higher education have had to respond to the limitation on dollars available from external funding sources, and the burden of increasing external funding is often placed on the sponsored programs offices. To do so, though, requires an expansion of the role of such an office. If we expand our view of Sponsored Programs Offices as facilitators to also include development, we see great possibilities in providing the needed resources to assist institutions of higher education in meeting some of the challenges they face today.

Traditionally, the role of development is defined as assisting institutions of higher education in developing strategies and creating relationships specifically tied to fundraising activities with the target audience being individuals or corporations providing gifts to such institutions. As we discuss development here, our definition differs from the traditional definition of development, above, to include state or federal government or corporate entities providing funds through contracts or grants.

The duties and tasks of Sponsored Programs Offices are varied. Every research office is organized differently according to each organization's structure and mission. However, the goal of all Sponsored Programs Offices should be to facilitate the procurement of funding for sponsored programs, and the administration of the programs brought to fruition. Sponsored Programs Offices are the institution's rules enforcer and liaison with funding agencies and organizations for institutions of higher education. They play a pivotal role in interpreting and following federal and state guidelines for funding programs, and assuring compliance with institutional, state, and federal regulations, as applicable. Sponsored Programs Office personnel are also strategically positioned to advocate for faculty and institutional specializations while also identifying funding opportunities.

Society looks to institutions of higher education to resolve the academic and research needs of the world. Today's challenges in meeting those needs include providing access to an ever-changing population and expanding upon and imparting the knowledge and technology required for a global economy. To answer these challenges while facing budget cuts further complicates the issue. Many institutions are focusing on increasing external funding, either through gifts, and/or grants and contracts. The sponsored programs office cannot increase the number and dollar of grants and contracts simply by requesting our faculty and staff increase their submissions. Instead, we must familiarize ourselves with the strengths and weaknesses of our institutions; develop collaborations and programs focused on those strengths, and strategies for procuring funding to support such programs. As we will see, through use of Illinois State University as a case study, a wide variety of activities may be introduced to achieve these objectives. A planning tool will also be offered to assist in determining the level and degree to which various institutions of higher education might be able to accommodate these activities.

Challenges for Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century

The downturn in the U.S. economy in 2000 had immediate and far reaching repercussions for higher education funding. For example, higher education competes for state resources with programs such as Medicaid, elementary and secondary education, transportation and the department of corrections, to name a few. Because institutions of higher education have the capacity to raise funds through tuition, legislators often feel that education organizations have more flexibility to survive than traditional state agencies that are solely reliant on general appropriated funding. For this reason, in many states, higher education was targeted with a disproportionate share of the budget cuts.

As an example, funding for public institutions in the State of Illinois has been declining since 2002. Hebel (2004) reports that funding for Illinois public institutions declined 1.7% in 2004 and states in the Great Lakes area continue to lag behind the rest of the nation in rebounding from the economic recession in the early 2000s. Additionally, even states whose economies have begun rebounding have not returned to pre-2000 funding levels for institutions of higher education.

While these funding cuts have certainly made it difficult to manage the daily operations of an institution of higher education, the greater challenge is in providing the new programs and services our society and governments require with these limited resources.

The primary challenge to higher education institutions today is in providing access and personalized service to a larger, further diversified, population of students. In 2009, it is projected that 3.2 million students will graduate from high school, the largest class in the country's history. The largest class to graduate previously was in 1977. In 1977, 51% of the graduates went on to pursue a postsecondary education, in 2005, 68% of high school graduates enroll in college (Selingo, 2005).

This large enrollment of high school graduates is compounded by nontraditional and adult students returning to university or community college campuses, taking college courses at off-site locations, enrolling in classes offered through their employer, or enrolling on-line to receive an additional degree or more training. By the end of 2005, 1.2 million college students will be enrolled in college fully online, up from 438,000 in 2002. By 2007, that number is expected to jump to 1.7 million (Selingo, 2005).

Tuition costs at institutions of higher education continue to rise, principally because of decreasing support from state governments. This is causing an increasing amount of college costs borne by students and families. Access and affordability of higher education is being threatened. High academic achievers among low-income students have limited opportunities to attend college. They are no more likely to attend college than the lowest performing wealthy students. It is becoming that universities are attracting principally higher and middle income students and less lower-income students.

A recent survey developed by Chicago Public Schools illuminates the problem of low income, minority students going to college (Cholo, 2005). About a third of Chicago Public Schools high school graduates who planned to attend college did not enroll in the fall semester. There were 18,144 students that graduated from Chicago Public Schools in 2004. The percentage of 8,741 Black students that attended college was 46%, Latino students numbered 6,198 with 38% attending, White students numbered 2,206 with 60.2% attending, and 999 Asian students graduated with 76% attending college.