John Donnellan, New Jersey City University – ARC Model for Higher Education

How does higher education evolve after COVID-19?

John Donnellan, associate professor in the management department at the New Jersey City University, looks into possibilities.

Dr. John Donnellan is Associate Professor and Chair of the Management Department at the NJCU School of Business. He is a two-time Fulbright Fellow scholar conducting research on cooperative education between Finland and the U.S. He recently presented a paper on pedagogy research at Oxford University Green Templeton College.  Dr. Donnellan is a former Wall Street Executive from JPMorgan and teaches in China, Finland and France each year.

ARC Model for Higher Education

Research on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic crisis continues to unfold but one thing is certain: the very fabric of higher education has changed forever.

In this new paradigm, faculty and senior administrators should leverage both their own and their institution’s agility, resilience, and creativity (ARC) to remain relevant and achieve sustainability.

The ARC model consists of four research based core values critical to implement as a first-step forward during this crisis.

The first core value of ARC requires faculty and administrators to engage in what researchers call “deep, sustained, and prolonged” reflection. Such reflection would then contribute to the second core value researchers have identified as the ability to leverage nuanced practices instead of best practices.

Nuanced practices are necessary as the third core value because any strategy undertaken by the faculty to focus on their research and institution needs to focus on its mission.

Finally, researchers continue to emphasize since “few strategies have a real impact on the trajectory of the college or university,” institutions should focus on implementing tactics critical to the institutions short-term success, also known as strategic imperatives. 

Although the impact of COVID-19 has yet to fully materialize, the latest research suggests higher education institutions need to rethink antiquated management strategies, redesign the role of faculty, and launch a more agile financial model.