Case Studies

CASE STUDY

Planning & Facilitation

National Louis University (NLU) was experiencing a crisis at many levels. Enrollments were declining. Cash reserves were limited and the University could not continue current spending patterns beyond two additional years. Key challenges included:

35% decrease in education enrollments (primary program) over the last three years
18% budget reduction in the previous year
Endowment reserves that could not sustain losses beyond two years
Fear was high and morale was low amongst employees

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INDIVIDUAL COACHING

TEAM COACHING

The Journey

Christine applied her deep understanding of organizational development, group process and change to design a customized engagement process wherein she co-led, planned and facilitated a 90-day turnaround.

Discover

An external expert was hired to review the financials to determine the severity of the situation. The financial consultant painted a bleak picture which was shared through a town hall meeting with key stakeholder groups.

Dream

The University leadership established a vision of financial solvency and the dream of rightsizing to position for future innovation and growth.

Design

Christine designed a collaborative process to guide two cross-university teams through a review and prioritization of all administrative units and academic programs. Time was of the essence. The review was designed and completed in 90 days. Continual monitoring of communication and assessing engagement was key throughout the prioritization process. Recommendations were reviewed by the faculty senate and the leadership team and ultimately the Board of Directors.

Execute to Create Destiny

The review process was designed and implemented in a very short 90 days. Recommendations were finalized and actions tackled immediately as the Fiscal Year was ending and the University needed to be repositioned for the upcoming academic year.

The Transformation

“…collaborative and inclusive but also deliberate. Dr. Quinn’s design of this program helped to create an environment that helped the university achieve results …changed the course of the institution for the better.”

Michael Graham – CIO – National Louis University

The 90-day turnaround program yielded the following results

Right-sized NLU with a balanced budget resulting in a $1.2 million positive bottom line in the following year
Renewed culture of shared governance and transparency
Reallocation of financial resources allowed for innovative initiatives driving growth and success with historically underserved populations

NLU is now a thriving community-centric institution experiencing year-over-year enrollment growth. It was also recently acquired a for-profit college.

The Client’s Perspective

Christine’s leadership through this right-sizing process represented the leadership of the highest caliber. Her work was collaborative and inclusive but it was also deliberate. Dr. Quinn’s design of this program helped to create an environment that helped the university achieve results. Her leadership helped to change the course of the institution for the better.