Our Model
Our Model
How We Work Together
The Community Solution Education System is built on a simple but powerful idea: institutions thrive when they share strengths, align around a common purpose, and work as a community.
Our integrated model allows each university to maintain its unique identity while benefiting from the collective expertise, infrastructure, and collaborative leadership of the System. This approach — what we call radical cooperation — creates the conditions for long-term sustainability, innovation, and student success.
Our model is not just an organizational structure. It is the mechanism that turns collaboration into impact.
Culture
A community defined by Radical Cooperation
A culture of radical cooperation runs through every aspect of our work. Community is not just the outcome of collaboration; it is the solution to our needs. We listen generously, share challenges transparently, and leverage one another’s strengths to solve problems. This culture has led to:
- New academic programs and delivery models
- Shared approaches to student retention and success
- Innovative international and experiential learning opportunities
- System-wide adoption of emerging technologies and teaching tools
- A deeper bench of leaders able to step in, support, and grow across institutions
Infrastructure
Shared Expertise. Collective Strength.
Small and medium-sized colleges often face operational challenges alone. Our model solves this by centralizing essential expertise and infrastructure, allowing each institution to access a level of talent, technology, and strategic capacity that would be difficult to build independently.
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Information and Learning Technology
Robust IT systems, cybersecurity oversight, and learning technologies that create secure, seamless, student-centered environments.
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Finance & Investment Management
Centralized financial expertise that increases returns, reduces costs, and strengthens institutional stability.
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Human Resources & Talent Development
Shared policies and practices, leadership academies, and mobility pathways to grow and retain exceptional talent across the System.
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Global Engagement
International programming, partnerships, and student support that expand global learning opportunities and strengthen cross-cultural engagement across the System.
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Student Finance
Centralized student financial services that support learners in navigating costs and ensure institutional compliance with federal and state regulations.
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Governance
Systemwide alignment structures that coordinate strategy, support shared decision-making, and reinforce institutional capacity to meet mission-driven goals.
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Enrollment Services
Collaborative recruitment and admissions support—including operational services, training, and engagement strategies—to foster sustainable enrollment across institutions.
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Academic Innovation
Cross-System collaboration to enhance teaching, develop new programs, and integrate emerging technologies—including AI—into learning.
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Legal & Risk Management
Centralized legal expertise to support responsible, mission-aligned growth.
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Marketing & Communications
Strategic brand alignment, market insights, and coordinated outreach that elevate each institution’s presence and impact.
Governance
Distinct Institutions. Aligned Leadership. Collective Impact.
Our governance model ensures that each institution retains its own identity and mission while benefiting from the System’s strategic alignment and shared leadership philosophy. Instead of operating as siloed entities, our presidents, trustees, and System leaders work as a coordinated leadership community—one that learns together, plans together, and responds to challenges together.
How Governance Works in Our System:
- Each institution’s Board of Trustees retains operational authority and strategic oversight.
- A shared System board aligns mission, long-term planning, and sustainability across institutions.
- The Chancellor’s Council, made up of presidents and System-level leaders, collaborates as a unified leadership team.
Why This Model Matters
Higher education is facing rising costs, shifting demographics, and increasing operational complexity. Our model gives colleges and universities the collective strength to navigate this evolving landscape with confidence.
Through radical cooperation, institutions can:
- Improve student outcomes by scaling successful practices across the System
- Strengthen financial and operational resilience
- Accelerate innovation in academics, technology, and student support
- Reduce redundancy and focus resources where they matter most—on students
By working together, our institutions thrive as a community rather than struggle in isolation.