Do universities need to go national to stay relevant?

Colleges must transform into nationally focused institutions in order to stay relevant, contends a new report from advisory firm Grant Thornton. That means having more than a single physical location, offering consistent services across states and serving students where they're located.Although the focus on access in higher ed has sharpened, universities haven't scaled their services to become financially sustainable, wrote Matt Unterman, a principal at Grant Thornton. "Given the challenges facing the higher education sector today, it's time to consider this change in business model," he added.Unterman proposed several ways colleges could go national. Some could "go it alone" while others could merge to achieve scale. Institutions may even maintain their brand identities but share a common owner, much in the same way Marriott owns and operates several hotel chains under separate brands. Higher ed is one of the few industries that hasn't moved to a national scale, contends Unterman. "Soon enough, higher education will go the way of the corner drugstore, once seen as a critical local institution," he wrote. "They, like other local establishments, have been replaced by national chains that benefit from economies of scale and consistent quality standards across all of their locations."