OE2C stands for Operational Excellence for the Second Century. We are engaging in this process because a number of external factors are having an impact on higher education institutions throughout the nation, including SMU. The institutions that will thrive are the ones that take proactive steps now to improve efficiencies and direct funds more fully to academic purposes. Some of these factors include a decline in college-age population and greater competition for the level of students we seek, decreasing federal research support and greater competition for grants, limits on what we can charge for tuition, growth in federal regulations and a decline in interest income.
