CONTEXT FOR QUESTROM 2030

While Questrom has engaged in a variety of strategy exercises over the past 15 years, Questrom 2030 marks the first holistic strategic plan produced by the school, and the first strategic exercise that engaged all stakeholders in the development process, including defining our mission and vision. This process has helped in developing a plan for navigating the future with buy-in from across the school.

In April 2020, Boston University finalized the BU 2030 strategic plan. Upon completion, each of the schools were asked to develop plans that would advance both the school’s goals, as well as the university’s. These steps were implemented to provide focus on the challenges facing higher education. In addition to navigating a postpandemic world, several long-term questions re-emerged for institutions of higher education.

These include the future of digital and online technologies and the role of residential education. The public continues to question whether colleges and universities deliver enough value to students to warrant the increasing cost of attendance, especially as more families are unable to afford a private college education without significant aid. A change in the demographics of the college-age population, including international students, also looms.

Business schools face these same challenges, as well as others. Increased competition for MBA enrollments has put a strain on school scholarship resources. With declining external dollars available for business research, supporting faculty research pursuits has pushed business schools to find alternative funding sources, often through increasing enrollments in academic programs and executive education. Business schools are also facing pressures to expand the impact of their research. There is also a growing public narrative that business has negatively impacted society. Business schools are working to carve out their role in helping current and future business leaders understand the role business does play in society as an engine for growth and innovation.

With the context of these external forces, Questrom 2030 sets forward a path to navigate these challenges.