This critique of modern academia is also a proposal for making campuses more effective -- that is, better at meeting the clients′ or customers′ needs. The author addresses the problems that many academic institutions have today in clinging to the practices and organization of the past. By outlining the many problems in organization that colleges and universities face today, the author hopes to reveal workable solutions.

As we enter the 21st century, colleges and universities are in great flux. Fiscal shortfalls, a suspicious public, a more consumer-driven market, and a host of other concerns demand that postsecondary institutions restructure themselves. Building the Responsive Campus offers a critique of modern academia, as well as a proposal for making campuses more effective -- that is, better at meeting clients and customers′ needs. Author William G. Tierney addresses the problems that many academic institutions have today in clinging to the practices and organization of the past. He argues that institutions of higher learning are in demand of dramatic organizational changes. The chapters look at key critical issues -- faculty roles and rewards, presidential leadership, strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation-utilizing the latest ideas to bring about structural reform and high performance. The timely volume takes a data-driven approach, using research derived from ethnographies, case studies, and interviews carried out over the past 15 years. By outlining many of the organizational problems that colleges and universities face today, Tierney reveals workable solutions.