Mr. McFarland,

This page was built for Antioch. It is a short outside read on the University’s operating environment, prepared by CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus from the public record before any conversation with your office.

Antioch’s FY2025 results underscore the importance of sustainable operating choices: expenses outpaced revenue after the University had reported a surplus the prior year, while the strategic plan calls for sustainable budget models and greater centralization of administrative functions.

Three things caught our attention.

1. Financial pressure makes the controllable side of the model more important. When revenue and expense move in different directions, the question is not simply what can be cut. It is whether recurring operating commitments are delivering the right balance of cost, capacity, performance, and flexibility for the institution Antioch is building.
2. A distributed institution creates real opportunities — and real operating complexity. Five campuses, four states, and an online division naturally produce variation in processes, staffing, and support. Antioch’s strategic plan already recognizes the opportunity to centralize administrative functions. The financial question is where consolidation would create genuine capacity or savings, and where it would simply move work from one part of the institution to another.
3. The platform is visible. The full cost and service model around it is less so. The public record identifies Ellucian Colleague as the student information system and shows other major platforms in use. What cannot be determined externally is the complete service-and-support model: what is included, what Antioch staff absorb around the edges, and how the total model performs against current needs.

Why Antioch. Why now.

1. FY2027 planning is an opportunity to examine recurring commitments. A baseline established while assumptions are still being formed is more useful than one created after a budget and operating model are already set.
2. The strategic plan explicitly calls for sustainable budget models. That makes cost, capacity, and administrative design part of the strategy conversation rather than a separate IT conversation.
3. Leadership changes create a chance to document what has been inherited. An independent view can give finance and technology leaders a common starting point for future decisions.

This is a useful moment to step back because the evaluation is most valuable while important choices are still open — before the next operating model becomes the default.

What you can expect from a Different Perspective evaluation

CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus will provide a complimentary Different Perspective evaluation that will result in a concise, executive-level assessment designed to help you better understand the current IT environment, identify opportunities for improvement, and determine if your current IT managed services model is built for where your institution is headed.

Deliverables include:

• Key observations, findings, and recommendations emerging from the assessment.
• SWOT analysis identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks within the current IT environment.
• Quick wins and areas for growth highlighting opportunities for near-term improvement as well as areas requiring longer-term attention.
• High-level strategies and forward-looking options, including a 12–18-month recommendation roadmap to help guide sequencing and next steps.
• Core systems analysis covering the institution’s ERP, SIS, CRM, and related platforms.
• Initial maturity assessment of operational practices, governance, AI maturity, and cybersecurity posture.
• Prioritized themes for improvement or change identifying the areas that warrant the greatest attention, investment, or further exploration.

Before you carry today’s model forward, get a different perspective.

No proposal. No obligation. No requirement to change providers. No commitment of any kind.

Just an independent perspective on what the current model delivers, what the institution needs next, and whether those two things are still aligned.

Why CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus?

Because managed services should evolve with the institution. CampusWorks + Dynamic Campus bring together deep IT and functional expertise to deliver one of higher education’s most comprehensive managed services models. Our integrated approach is designed for today’s financial, operational, workforce, and technology realities — helping institutions extend capacity, reduce risk, strengthen resilience, and improve the way work gets done across the enterprise.

More importantly, we help institutions look beyond the status quo. With expertise that extends well beyond technology alone, we provide the perspective, flexibility, and support needed to choose an operating model aligned with where the institution is headed next.