Time for Institutions to Evolve
It's getting more difficult to be just a run-of-the-mill university in North America today, as noted in Higher Ed: Next Bloated Industry to Go?:
The challenge, of course, is that the needs and composition of students, industry, and state are constantly changing. Federal, State, and Local funding will all be decreasing in the years ahead. So doing the same thing (like GM or Ford) won’t get the weaker colleges and universities through what is ahead.
There are many low-cost options that any university or college, public or private, can adopt now and make itself more appealing. First of all, free blog hosting and free e-mail addresses for life should be a standard offer. They're both excellent ways to stay in touch with graduates and foster a sense of community, especially when it comes to future fund raising. The costs of data transmission and hosting are constantly going down, so these will not be a drain on finances.
Other options include joint offerings (at no additional cost to the student) for courses and programs at other institutions. I see that some MBA programs are offering this, such as the McGill-HEC bilingual MBA. Programs such as these do not put a lot more burden on the university and in return broaden the market.
We saw great expansion in universities and colleges after the Second World War and more so once the boomers reached college age. Prior to that time, university was for the elites. This fragmented industry is now consolidating, under economic and demographic pressures, and students will be demanding more for their money. Using social media and connecting via the Web are two ways to remain nimble in this evolve-or-die situation.