Higher Education Case Study Integrated into 2011 Senior Leadership Forum

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Integrating a Higher Education Case Study into the Senior Leadership Forum Curriculum

At the conclusion of the 2010 Senior Leadership Forum, participants were polled on a number of aspects of the 2 ½ day event including the classroom experience. Based on the comments received, we are pleased to announce that the 2011 Forum will include a new case study and workshop spotlighting the U.Va. Newcomb Hall Dining Room Renovation and Bookstore Expansion project, complemented by an in-depth facility tour of the project currently underway. Analyzing this project through the unique lens of the auxiliary leader, the case study, which will be required reading prior to participation in the Forum, will provide the background information examining the complex environment surrounding project development teams during the early planning stages leading up to "shovel in the ground." It exposes issues, suggests remedies, and provides tools and techniques for managers to consider during future projects. The facility tour will be led by senior U.Va. project principals with direct and deep knowledge of the specific challenges related to the project. Since this project remains unfinished, the information shared will be fresh and current and the learnings rich and applicable for attendees. In the workshop following the tour, Forum faculty will analyze the project and the case applying decision-making, stakeholders, culture, and leadership theory to the actual events surrounding the project.

On behalf of the faculty of the McIntire School of Commerce Executive Education program and our NACAS partners, we hope to see you in July at this year’s Senior Leadership Forum. This new case study, tour, and workshop aspect will build a memorable bridge from the Forum classroom to the "real world" experiences of auxiliary leaders.

NACAS Case Study Outline:
Decision Making in Higher Education Auxiliary Construction Projects

The Context
Over the past decade, Higher Education Auxiliary Services have experienced increased financial and programmatic pressure. Decline in state financial support is forcing institutions and service units to revisit budget models and service delivery strategies. Auxiliary units operate in a changed environment as enrollments increase to meet legislative mandates creating both new opportunities and demands on housing, dining, bookstore, parking and transportation, and student services. As a consequence, careful navigation of the buy/build, self-operate/outsource, renovate/build new value propositions becomes even more critical. In this case, the University of Virginia’s recently launched Newcomb Hall Student Center Renovation and Dining Hall Expansion projects are used as a backdrop for the exploration of the issues related to major auxiliary services project decision-making.

Institutional Background
The University of Virginia is a doctoral research I-extensive university located in Charlottesville, Va. The university enrolls approximately 21,000 students, of which 14,000 are undergraduates. Eighty percent of the undergraduate student population lives either on the University Grounds or within one square mile of the university.

The Case Study
Within the broader context outlined above, the case will focus on the activities leading up to the first "shovel in the ground" on a multi-phase, multi-stakeholder project launched at U.Va. The events beginning with the earliest conceptual discussions, through assembling and managing the project planning team and significant mid-stream scope changes will be explored from the perspectives of decision-making, stakeholders, culture, and leadership. All critical organizational and management concepts will be viewed through the unique lens of auxiliary managers. Particular attention will be given to the original and final timelines/costs, managing a fluid lineup of stakeholders over an extended period of time, how institutional culture and politics influenced project management, how enrollment planning was integrated–or not–into the plans, and how multiple units within the university (e.g. Business Operations, Student Affairs) worked together to develop the project currently underway.

Issues to be Examined
This case study will highlight a number of key planning and management issues:
• Project needs assessment and feasibility analysis.
• Progressing from needs assessment and feasibility analysis to project concept and initial scope of work.
• Determining key decision drivers.
• Relevant data and cost/benefit analysis in making project plan decisions (e.g. to renovate or build new; remain operational or close during construction).
• How institutional politics, stakeholders, change and the practical realities of planning influence projects.
• Managing multiple central service providers (Office of the Architect, Facilities Management, Budget Office, etc.) and how their work impacts the project planning team.
• Managing competing project needs derived from different owner groups.

Summary
This case will examine the complex environment surrounding project development teams during the early planning stages. The unique conditions auxiliaries work under make their projects particularly difficult to manage. When examined through the lens of the U.Va. project, this case exposes issues, suggests remedies, and provides tools and techniques for managers to consider during future projects.

Learn more and register here.

Experience the camaraderie of the Senior Leadership Forum, an exclusive Executive Education program for auxiliary leaders, while learning from world class faculty at one of the top ranked college business programs in the nation.

July 20-23, 2011
Charlottesville, VA
McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia