Taking the pulse of college presidents.

Or should I say “Taking the temperature of”? “Reading the mind of”? I am sort of metaphor-poor this morning.

Anyway, Inside Higher Ed just released “Presidential Perspectives,” a big survey of nearly 1,000 college leaders. No surprise that the presidents are concerned about money issues above all. Drilling down, it might be useful—if you cover higher ed—to see if the cost-cutting strategies of your universities are common elsewhere. A third of presidents said they’re launching or expanding online learning programs to save money, and 30 percent (and half of community college leaders) said they are relying more on part-time faculty. Relatively few are cutting varsity sports to save money (shocker!) or allying with corporate partners.

In the woulda-coulda department, presidents say that absent political ramifications, they would outsource more services—not sure which—and mandate the retirement of older faculty. (Not totally parallel to the K-12 teacher seniority issue, but not completely unrelated either.)

Take a look. You might get some valuable context about your own institutions’ priorities.