Resources developed to support strategic planning and decision-making by higher education leaders. The Series on Higher Education includes forums, DVDs, books, and other publications focused specifically on issues of critical importance to America’s colleges and universities.
Student access and strategic pricing
The increasing use of what has been termed “strategic pricing techniques” by both public and private colleges and universities brings both criticism and praise. Some link such techniques to restrictions on access to higher education by lower-income and minority youth. Others feel they are necessary for survival for many institutions, particularly those that are less selective in admissions and therefore have less market power to attract students. This paper summarizes the trends in college costs and financial aid, and describes some approaches taken by both institutions and states to understand their impact, and to respond to concerns from both the student and institutional perspective.
(Author: Donald E. Heller, The Pennsylvania State University and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
Regenerating the faculty workforce: A leadership challenge and public policy concern
Changing student characteristics require that higher education not only replace current faculty as they retire, but also regenerate the faculty workforce for the 21st century. This paper explores what such regeneration entails and how it relates to the critical role of colleges and universities in securing national success. It describes three categories of challenges concerning faculty that must be addressed to achieve effective regeneration: (a) confronting the restructuring of academic work; (b) overcoming the general misunderstanding regarding the work faculty do and the outcomes of their work; and (c) responding to pressures to increase efficiency for competitiveness while maintaining quality educational processes.
(Authors: Valerie Martin Conley, Ohio University and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
Attracting and developing the next generation of senior administrative leadership
Today’s landscape includes additional personal and professional demands on faculty compared with past expectations. At the same time, the responsibilities of an academic administrator, especially at the senior level, have demonstrably increased. Taken together, it has become more challenging to recruit faculty into critical administrative positions. This paper examines strategies for the successful recruitment and retention of senior-level administrators, and the cultural changes within higher education that are the motivation for these strategies.
(Author: Herman A. Berliner, Hofstra University and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
Generational Shockwaves: Implications for higher education
This summary report of the Institute’s 2007 Higher Education Leadership Conference highlights the impact of three generations currently populating campuses -- baby boomers, Generation X, and millennials – and what post secondary institutions need to do to meet their various needs and wants.
(Author: Donald E. Heller, The Pennsylvania State University and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
Do great minds think alike? Faculty perspectives on career and retirement
An imperative for senior administration in higher education today is managing the flow of faculty through their institutions. This need requires strategic thinking about recruiting the next generation of faculty, maintaining the academy as an attractive career option for new Ph.D.s, helping faculty prepare for retirement, and managing faculty retirements in an orderly progression. To support informed planning, the Institute conducted the Faculty Generations Survey to examine faculty perspectives in these areas. This paper presents the findings of the survey and their implications.
(Author: Paul Yakoboski, TIAA-CREF Institute)
Financing institutional operations in higher education
Campus leaders are rethinking traditional business models in light of new accountability demands, competition for students, increasing costs, and the impact of globalization. This paper reviews three recent reform initiatives: highly differentiated pricing, decentralized decision-making and budgeting, and aggressive enrollment management systems. For each reform, the arguments of proponents and skeptics are summarized and some implications of adoption are highlighted.
(Author: James C. Hearn, University of Georgia and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
Globalization of higher education
This paper focuses on the extent and ways to which the world currently presents a level playing field for institutions of higher education in the U.S. and abroad. It presents some steps that can help U.S. higher education adjust to and gain from the growing internationalization of higher education, with consideration of curriculum development and specialized services for international students.
(Author: Charles E. Phelps, University of Rochester and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
Resources developed to help individuals and their advisors make better financial and strategic decisions for themselves and/or their institutions. The Series on Financial Security includes forums and publications focused specifically on issues related to financial planning for retirement and other goals, employer-provided retirement plans and other benefits, and other issues that affect budgets and balance sheets.
A “framing” explanation of why people don’t annuitize
Numerous studies have attempted to resolve the puzzle of why so few individuals purchase life annuities despite the large individual welfare gains predicted by economic models. The authors hypothesize that “framing” matters for annuitization decisions: in a consumption frame (focusing on the end result of what can be spent over time) vs. an investment frame (focusing on the intermediate results of return and risk features). Their research presents support for this hypothesis, offering a fresh perspective to help explain under-annuitization.
(Authors: Jeffrey R. Brown, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow; Jeffrey R. Kling, The Brookings Institution and NBER; Sendil Mullainathan, Harvard University and NBER; Marian V. Wrobel, Harvard University)
Defined contribution pension plans in the public sector: Best practices
The authors examine best practices for the design of public sector defined contribution plans that are intended to be the primary source of retirement benefits for participants. “Best practices” are established from the perspective of providing retirement income for life that is sufficient to replace a targeted level of an individual’s pre-retirement wages.
(Authors: Roderick B. Crane and Michael Heller, TIAA-CREF; and Paul Yakoboski, TIAA-CREF Institute)
The 5% Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit: A closer look at this new financial product
Today’s retirees want products that insure they will not outlive income, have some inflation protection, and at the same time let them maintain some flexibility and control. The Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) product seems to offer everything that retirees are looking for. The author’s take a deep dive into the data to explore whether what you see is really what you get.
(Authors: Benny Goodman and Seth Tanenbaum, TIAA-CREF)
Adjusting retirement goals and saving behavior: The role of financial education
There is considerable evidence that many Americans do not possess the essential knowledge needed to develop realistic retirement goals along with the saving and investment strategies necessary to attain their retirement goals. Can employer-sponsored financial education programs help? This paper examines whether and how financial education programs offered by TIAA-CREF on college campuses influence individuals to modify their retirement goals and alter their retirement planning.
(Authors: Madeleine d’Ambrosio, TIAA-CREF Institute, and Robert L. Clark, North Carolina State University)
Using the “Senior Sandwich Generation” concept in retirement planning
This paper emphasizes the concept of “family aging” and the changing age structure of the family. In 1900, for example, only 7% of 60-year-old “children” had a surviving parent; by 1990 this increased to almost half. At the same time, millions of middle-aged Boomers have adolescent and young-adult children for whom they are financially responsible. The author offers a tool that can be used to support financial planning discussions with consideration of the special needs of the “senior sandwich generation.”
(Author: Neal E. Cutler, Center on Aging, Motion Picture & Television Fund and TIAA-CREF Institute Fellow)
The TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award recognizes exceptional programs designed to enhance undergraduate teaching and learning. Named in honor of Father Hesburgh, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame and former member of the TIAA and CREF Boards of Overseers, this award seeks to strengthen the teaching tradition at America’s undergraduate colleges and universities by highlighting that an energized faculty is key to educational excellence.
The 2008 winning institution is Baruch College of the City University of New York in recognition of its Bernard L. Schwartz Communication Institute.
Montclair State University was selected to receive a Certificate of Excellence for its Service-Learning Fellows Program.
Named in honor of the Nobel Laureate and former CREF trustee, this award is given each year in recognition of outstanding published research that the public and private sectors can use to maintain and improve Americans’ financial well being.
The 2007 award was presented for the article “Are Americans Saving Optimally for Retirement?” published in the Journal of Political Economy, August 2006, to:
John Karl Scholz, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Ananth Seshadri, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Surachai Khitatrakun, Urban Institute
The TIAA-CREF Institute Research Grant Program supports cutting-edge research projects relevant to the business of higher education and lifelong financial security. The deadline for proposals for funding in the Spring 2008 grants cycle is May 20. For information about the application process, click here.
Advancing Higher Education
Focuses on issues of strategic importance to the ongoing vitality of America’s universities and colleges.
Trends and Issues
Provides information that supports the study and understanding of challenges confronting higher education and lifelong financial security.
Research Dialogue
Presents research and in-depth information on a single subject related to an Institute field of study.
Policy Brief
Examines public policy issues of interest to legislators, regulators, plan sponsors, and plan participants.
Resources from the 2007 TIAA-CREF Institute Higher Education Leadership Conference: Generational Shockwaves – Implications for Higher Education
Each year, the TIAA-CREF Institute convenes a national Higher Education Leadership Conference to facilitate an exchange of ideas and experiences concerning challenges and opportunities of critical importance to higher education. Through books, DVDs, and summary reports, we share the ideas and insights exchanged during each annual conference with a broader national audience.
To access a summary written by Donald E. Heller and slides used by speakers click Policy Brief .
To request a DVD featuring presentations from the conference, send a message with your mailing address to aollen@tiaa-cref.org.
