When David Dowell, a top administrator at a public university in California, traveled to Germany recently he had a creeping sense of déjà vu. Here was a higher-education system with a rich and proud history facing a tough budget environment amid an economic storm. In other words, it felt just like home.
“The parallels between California and Germany are greater than almost anywhere else in the U.S. and Germany,” said Mr. Dowell, the vice provost and director of strategic planning at the California State University at Long Beach.
Last month Mr. Dowell joined 14 other college administrators, mostly chief financial officers, on a five-day trip to Germany to get a lesson in the lean operations of its universities. Organized by the Institute of International Education and the German-American Fulbright Commission and billed as a showcase in how to “do more with less,” the group toured a variety of higher-education institutions in Berlin and other cities.
To be sure, the German and American models of higher education are vastly different. German institutions largely don’t charge tuition, don’t raise private funds from donors, and rely almost totally on government financing. But like the United States, individual states are primarily responsible for higher education, while research is mostly paid for by federal agencies. More important, several states in both nations have significantly cut support for colleges in recent years, leading to tough questions about how institutions operate and how to maintain the high quality of education they are known for worldwide.
In the United States, there’s a growing belief that “the business model of higher education as we know it is going to sunset,” said Stefano Falconi, senior vice president for finance and administration at Simmons College, in Boston. “The same applies to our German colleagues.”
Mr. Falconi and the other administrators on the trip didn’t necessarily find easy German-inspired fixes to their budget woes. But they said they did see approaches they could learn from.
Many were impressed with the close collaboration between industry and higher education, a connection that has helped keep German unemployment low as Europe’s economy struggles. Highlights included programs that provide on-the-job training at automobile manufacturers like BMW and other companies as well as Germany’s Fachhochschulen, or universities of applied sciences, which focus on preparing students for specific professions.
“We’re not as good at making that connection to industry as in Germany,” said Mr. Dowell. He says learning about such efforts made him reflect on how “strengthening those kinds of ties probably would be good for our students and our region economically.”
Katherine (Ann) Mead, vice president for finance and administration at Western Kentucky University, had a similar reaction. “While we obviously want our graduates to find employment,” she said, Germany’s “emphasis on employability is predominant.”
Ms. Mead also came away somewhat envious of how the German government supports research. Specifically, she liked how the so-called Excellence Initiative, a multibillion-dollar program to push universities to distinguish themselves nationally and on the world stage, has fueled research across disciplines to examine global problems. The top universities “bring an interdisciplinary approach that is very admirable,” she says.
In all, the Americans did find German universities to be more efficient than their U.S. counterparts. Student services like financial aid are a moot point without tuition, and Germany’s universities don’t have dormitories, so there’s a lot less administrative bloat. In addition, Mr. Falconi said, teaching loads seemed to be almost double what they are in the United States.
But given American students’ expectations of a “high-touch” experience, in terms of both services and instruction, it’s unlikely universities here would try to replicate those aspects of German education.
Indeed, in some areas, said Rolf Hoffmann, executive director of the German-American Fulbright Commission, which paid for the trip, he hopes American ideas will rub off on German higher-education officials. Germany has struggled to find new ways to pay for higher education. Several years ago, states started requiring students to pay small fees, but that approach was largely abandoned after stiff opposition.
He would like to see German institutions be “more entrepreneurial” like their American counterparts and at least consider charging tuition for specialized programs, like business courses taught in English.
For now, he plans to continue the dialogue, perhaps bringing some German administrators to the next meeting of the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Deepening such international exchanges should be welcomed by American CFO’s, says Ms. Mead, of Western Kentucky. As she put it: “You didn’t need a translator to know that we all face similar financial challenges.”