From Efficiency to Survival
Higher Education Decision-Making Is Being Rewritten
For years, higher education operated on a relatively stable model. Growth was expected. Budgets expanded. Procurement was largely about optimizing cost, quality, and delivery. That model, however, is long gone.
In our most recent Canon Higher Education Advisory Board discussion, the group shared the idea that decision-making in higher ed is no longer about efficiency. It’s about survival, strategy, and positioning for a very different future.
The Shift from Optimization to Survival
The most striking shift that they discussed was philosophical. In other words, institutions have focused on growing their enrollment, building more facilities, and creating more programs. But, it sounds like that playbook is no longer reliable.
Advisory board member and Associate VP Facilities Planning & Operations at Miami University of Ohio Cody Powell said, “We have shifted more toward survival. You cannot cut your way out of a change that higher ed is facing today.” The variety of pressures that are forcing the shift include demographic declines, funding uncertainty, and rising expectations from all stakeholders. Growth is just not assumed any longer. It must be engineered.
Procurement Becomes Strategic Risk Management
Procurement is one area that this shift or transformation is clearly visible. What was once a transactional function has evolved into a kind of strategic gatekeeper that touches everything from cybersecurity to institutional risk.
Glenn Richey, Harbert Eminent Scholar & Chair Supply Chain Mgt. at Auburn University states, “It’s kind of moved to more strategic risk management.” Decisions are no longer just about price. They are about what partners can deliver consistently, systems that minimize risk, and aligning everyone with a long-term strategy.
In many ways, procurement has become one of the most important—and scrutinized—functions on campus.
“We have shifted more toward survival. You cannot cut your way out of a change that higher ed is facing today.”
– Cody Powell, Associate VP Facilities Planning & Operations, Miami University of Ohio
Financial Pressure Is Changing the Rules
Colleges and universities are being forced to think more like businesses. The bottom line is becoming more pronounced as margins matter and funding is uncertain. As a result, many leaders are explicitly adopting corporate frameworks.
Every decision is both a financial decision and a strategic one now. According to Humberto Speziani, Associate Vice President at the University of Miami, “We are very profit-oriented and our goal is always to keep increasing our margin.”
Even at public institutions, the pressure is mounting. State funding models are shifting, and political dynamics are adding new layers of uncertainty. “There’s a push to eliminate taxes… our funding will be cut further,” Powell noted.
Partnerships Are the New Growth Strategy
If survival is becoming a short-term focus, then partnerships might be the long-term play. The board discussed the need for institutions to align with vendors that are thinking about the future.
Partnerships with businesses dedicated to the next generation of education will open new revenue streams, expand reach, and reshape the student experience. As Powell shared, “We’re partnering with industry in a major way and that is where we’re seeing growth.”
This marks a fundamental shift. Universities are no longer operating as isolated campuses. They are becoming major components in a broader ecosystem. That is a major mind shift, but one that will lead to enrichment.
Centralization vs. Autonomy: A Growing Tension
Another major dynamic the board mentioned was the move towards centralization. System-wide contracts, enterprise strategies, and unified financial models are becoming more common. But they don’t come without friction. Carmen Gonzalez, Assistant Vice President Purchasing & Contract Services at the University at Buffalo highlighted the challenge. “We are always trying to bring things down from the top. But we constantly run into local initiatives.”
Centralization is geared to drive efficiency and scale. However, local deals allow for flexibility and responsiveness. The tension is real and navigating that balance is becoming one of the defining leadership challenges in higher education.
Oh yeah, AI
Overlaying all of this is the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. AI is reshaping operations, academics, and decision-making itself. As Jim Dwyer, Assistant Vice President Auxiliary Business Services at Washington University in St. Louis shared, “AI is the North Star and needs to be incorporated into everything we do.” But AI also introduces new risks around data, security, and governance, which further elevates the role of procurement and IT in institutional strategy.
And Yet, Mission Still Matters
Amid all the change, one thing that hasn’t changed is purpose. While the language may differ across institutions, the underlying theme of student success is consistently the core mission.
Gilberto Carles Barraza, Senior Director of Procurement Services at the University of Notre Dame captured it well, “It’s not just making the best deal. It’s what’s the best for our students.”
Even as institutions adopt more corporate behaviors, the best ones are grounding their decisions in mission, values, and long-term impact.
A New Operating Model Is Emerging
What’s emerging is not a temporary adjustment—it’s a new operating model for higher education. It includes strategy over scale, risk management over cost optimization, partnerships over independence, and always mission-driven execution.
The institutions that succeed won’t be the ones that simply adapt. They’ll be the ones that redefine how they operate. Because in today’s environment, standing still isn’t an option.
