Talk:Notes from the Student Round Table on the State of the College

The Culture Clash Between ERP/BPR and Hampshire
I think something importantly missing from the discussion I saw in the video as well as the notes on the Student Round Table is the cultural perspective that President Hexter is really coming from.

President Hexter is speaking from the cultural perspective known as business process reengineering(BPR) and its attendant computer analogue, enterprise resource planning(ERP). Two primary sources which would help the Hampshire community become acculturated to this arena would be:

1. Reengineering the Corporation, by Champy and Hammer

2. The Agenda, by Champy

Some fundamental questions which are well worth asking, which to me seem to be unasked, are:

1. To what extent is there such a thing as 'best practices' for Hampshire College, considering that in its 'industry sector', it represents a unique approach to education? Should the financial be the master of the operational, or vice-versa?

2. Is Hampshire best applying the respect it accords indigenous and non-western cultures to the consideration of its own situation vis-a-vis other institutions? By this I mean does Hampshire truly need to assimilate into the dominant institutional culture in order to survive, or can it innovate using its own internal wisdom by confronting issues honestly and forthrightly with external information appropriately contextualized as subordinate to internal values?

3. Is Hampshire choosing the best possible accreditation for its program, if the norms and assumptions of that accreditation process are predicated on assumptions and processes which Hampshire rejects?

It would be important for Hampshire personnel to study cases of ERP and BPR failure, noting that in many cases organizations which attempted reengineering efforts failed because of a lack of attention to communication and agreement of constituents. It might also be reasonable to question whether the ideas of W. Edwards Deming, from his book "Out of the Crisis", may have been considered in Hampshire's attempts to measure and analyze itself. Judging from the video I saw which was cited, it seems to me also that Hampshire is on the path to using measurement in the worst spirit of No Child Left Behind, which in Chicago and many other urban areas is leaving a wasteland of failure.

Other resources:

Article on BPR at Mount Holyoke: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cem/cem99/cem9947.html

BPR and UK Higher Education Institutions: http://informationr.net/ir/4-3/paper56.html

Will Romey
Thanks for the comments--I'll definitely make a point to find the sources you mention--they sound extremely relevant to what's going on now. I think you sum up how I feel well with your question of "Should the financial be the master of the operational, or vice-versa?". I feel strongly that the idealism and progressive spirit that Hampshire is based on is being endangered by the financial aspects taking precedent of the operational.

The Relationship Between Operations, Finance, and Values
Thanks for your comment Mr. Romey. Given something you said, I think I better add a little.

President Hexter presented some very hard realities in finance which deserve careful consideration. There are some interesting bits of history, however, which might lead to some interesting alternative formulations.

Historically, it was not until Adele Simmons became president that Hampshire had a Dean of Students, much less the whole office that has grown since her presence. In some respects this was due to the house system approach which was underfunded and undersupported until its eventual dismantling in the 80s. Throughout President Hexter's talk, there was no serious consideration of how the current administrative organization of the college might itself be open to question. If the priorities are in admissions, retention, and advising, does the current administrative structure truly function well?

Finance is real and has to be addressed. The question is whether there are sacred cows such as administrative structure and cost which are not open to consideration for restructure/elimination. Real reengineering efforts demand reconsideration of all structures and processes, no exceptions whatsoever. This is part of why reengineering is risky, especially if it is entered into during a time of stress/crisis in finance. Even so, when I was at Hampshire between S83-S86 during the consideration of a budget crisis at that time much like today- the structure and operation of administration was sacrosanct, while cuts and restructuring were aimed largely at student-facing personnel and processes. It is possible that retention might be more positively affected by hiring 3 full-time clinical psychologists with administrative skills to replace the senior personnel in current student services positions in order to address the profound interpersonal/affective issues that abound at Hampshire. This is not necessarily a proposal, it is an example of a kind of thinking where a larger expense might yield a better outcome based on the alteration of processes grounded in the competency and scope of work of personnel. It may also be that some things simply need to be eliminated, and duties/functions consolidated with what remains. Everything has to be open to honest and thoughtful consideration. All of this has to be consistent with the vision of the institution and its core values. I hope some real serious work is being done on developing a shared sense of the core values underlying the Hampshire experience.

I hope this adds another dimension to reflection.