Outsourcing Instruction: Issues for Public Colleges and Universities. Policy Matters: A Higher Education Policy Brief

Outsourcing--defined as an "institution's decision to contract with an external organization to provide a traditional function or service" (IHEP, 2005)--is nothing new to higher education. For decades, institutions have been "contracting out" or "privatizing" a variety of operational functions, hoping to reduce costs, improve service quality, acquire specialized expertise and increase customer satisfaction. However, never before has outsourcing functioned at the core of the academic enterprise--the teaching of students in credit-bearing courses and degree-granting programs. Facing intense financial pressures and in a changed, highly competitive environment, institutional decision-makers are making different calculations than in the past, and some have begun to view the outsourcing of instruction more as an opportunity than as a threat. This paper explores academic outsourcing as it exists today. It presents examples of different types of public-private partnerships, summarizes arguments for and against outsourcing, and delineates factors administrators should take into account when considering this option. (Contains 6 resources.)