Compass Higher Education Consulting (CHEC) Launches

CINCINNATI, OH--(Marketwire - Aug 15, 2012) - Compass Group Inc, a business consultancy established in 1979, has launched a new division, Compass Higher Education Consulting (CHEC), specializing in business performance improvement for non-profit colleges, universities, and academic medical centers.

THE FUTURE OF U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION AT RISK?
U.S. higher education institutions face unprecedented peril from a perfect storm of economic and demographic challenges.

DEBT, DEMOGRAPHICS
Declining enrollments drastically reduced state and federal government funding, and excessive growth of support and administration costs have left many universities in a cash-strapped financial conundrum.

ACCESS, AFFORDABILITY
Student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion, which is more than U.S. credit card debt. Tuition can't be raised to cover the shortfall of tighter budgets because the current economic maelstrom has left parents and students with a reduced capacity to pay. Also, serious questions are being raised about the ROI (cost to value) of a college degree.

REIMAGINE, RE-ENGINEER, REINVENT
To address these issues, CHEC has assembled dozens of PhDs, published authors, internationally known university thought leaders, attorneys specializing in equal opportunity and risk, world-class research theorists, business intelligence and analytics specialists, chiefs of clinical services in academic medical centers, and other research leaders with one goal -- to help clients re-imagine, re-engineer, and re-invent the business of higher education.

MARGINS & MISSIONS ... NOT MOON SHOTS
"The time to act is now if we want to save the future of the U.S. higher education system," said CHEC Managing Director Peter Fenner. "To do that, we need to help universities find and free up new revenue streams and resources, reduce support and administrative costs, and streamline operations with a performance measurement and improvement strategy to simplify operational and organizational complexity. In addition, we need to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset focused on better serving students and fulfilling the core institutional mission.

"We're talking margins and mission ... not moon shots."

OFF TO A QUICK START
Initial higher education clients are delighted. Improved processes have been reported at professional meetings. "We saved $1.5 million for a client in the first three weeks of an engagement. That word spreads quickly," Dr. Fenner concluded.

About Compass Higher Education Consulting (CHEC)