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There is serious skepticism among leaders, policymakers and education advocates regarding the productivity and long term viability of US higher education. This concern abounds in spite of the recovering economy.

One of the major worries now is the drying up of federal stimulus which could lead to colleges and universities facing severe financial instability. Public and private institutions evidently are still struggling economically in spite of President Obama’s impetus on boosting completion rates in colleges and enhance global competitiveness.

Recently, an expert panel was constituted to analyze aspects and find solutions regarding financial issues in higher education. A round table discussion that lasted for two hours saw seven panelists discussing various vital aspects. This discussion was held at the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities headquartered in Washington DC.

The theme of the discussion centered on financial health of our higher education. Apart from this the discussion touched upon various other issues such as federal involvement, accountability of institutions and future of institutions that serve the minorities.

According to the Office for Access and the Advancement of Public Black Universities Vice President Dr. Lorenzo Esters, entrepreneurial leadership plays a major role. This is in fact one of the major lessons we learnt from the economic meltdown, he said. He also said that institutions must work in close conjunction with foundations and non-traditional funding sources and must be competitive with grants especially now with state funding decreasing drastically.

He said that work force requirements must be taken into account by institutions. Academic programs and institutional programs must be reviewed on a constant basis by institutions to ensure that they prepare students optimally for jobs that are in high demand.

There is an urgent need for restructuring of academic program, says Delta Project on Post Secondary Costs, Productivity and Accountability executive director, Jane Wellman. She said that this should be taken seriously by institutions and there must be a lot of improvements made in efficiency and service.

Ms. Wellman said that academic restructuring is about finding ways for resource generation and ways of reinvesting to invest in sectors that make a strong difference to performance. In other words, it is not only about budget cuts.

According to Marshall Grigsby of Grigsby and Associates, higher education is indeed going through challenging times. This is especially so for institutions that do not enjoy optimum federal, private and state funding and under resourced institutions.

He said that since these institutions have dynamic and capable vision at the helm, they continue to be resilient. He also said that track record shows that thought we face this crisis currently, he is not really worried on a long term basis.

Experts feel that as compared to the previous recessions, this recession is worse. This is evident with the strong reactions from the state. They feel that it is very serious this time and it is time for campuses to wake up and tackle the issue of productivity of faculty in the best possible manner.