Episode 86: James Sparkman on How Public-Private Partnerships Transform Higher Ed
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How can public-private partnerships transform higher ed? What can institutions and industry partner on? Why are partnerships on the rise? What the best ways to identify, structure, and manage partnerships? What should you be on the lookout for as you partner in the future; for example as you look to partner on AI? We dive into these questions and more with James Sparkman, founder of the P3EDU Conference (www.p3edu.com) and partner at Alpha Education.
In an era of tightening budgets and rising student expectations, the traditional boundaries of the university campus are dissolving. Institutional leaders are no longer asking if they should work with the private sector, but how to do it effectively. According to James Sparkman, partner at Alpha Education and organizer of the P3 EDU conference, public-private partnerships (P3s) have evolved from simple cafeteria outsourcing to sophisticated collaborations that touch the very core of the academic mission.
Higher education is currently facing a "perfect storm." Tuition-dependent institutions are grappling with harder margins while simultaneously being asked to provide more services—from robust mental health support to cutting-edge AI integration. When private companies can bring capital, expertise, and scale to the table "cheaper, better, and faster," universities have an almost moral obligation to explore those paths to ensure their own sustainability and the success of their students.
The Evolution of the P3 Model
Historically, partnerships were relegated to the "low-hanging fruit" of campus services—think food service, security, and parking. Eventually, this shifted into major infrastructure and real estate projects, such as student housing and sports stadiums. Today, we are seeing the "next frontier": academics and student success.
Whether it is an Online Program Manager (OPM) helping a school reach adult learners or a telehealth provider bridging the gap in mental health services, these partnerships are growing in both breadth and depth. The data backs this up; recent surveys of Provosts and CFOs indicate that over 70% of leaders see these partnerships on the rise.
Why Partnerships are Becoming Essential
The mandate for what a university must provide continues to grow. Students now expect a seamless, "Amazon-like" digital experience from the moment they apply to the moment they graduate. Smaller institutions, in particular, face a "demographic cliff" with fewer high school graduates. To compete with massive scale players like Southern New Hampshire University or Arizona State, smaller schools often need a partner to provide the national recruiting reach and 24/7 support services that they cannot build alone.
Furthermore, partnerships offer a way to manage "rollercoaster" demand. Services like success coaching or technical support have peak seasons. A third-party partner can scale staffing up or down far more efficiently than a university HR department.
Building a Framework for Success
The most successful partnerships are organic and problem-focused rather than vendor-driven. Sparkman warns against the "shiny object" syndrome—where a leader meets a vendor at a conference and decides to implement a tool without a clear need. Instead, the process should follow a rigorous path:
Identify the Problem: Start with the specific challenge, such as "we need to serve the adult learner market."
Engage Stakeholders: Build a functional group that includes faculty, staff, and leadership to ensure cultural fit and institutional buy-in.
Run a Competitive Process: Even if an RFP isn't required, the act of writing down needs and comparing vendors clarifies thinking and ensures the best deal.
Maintain Active Governance: Never "set it and forget it." Universities need internal project management skills to monitor metrics and hold partners accountable.
The Catalytic Partnership
A hallmark of a great partnership is that it acts as a catalyst rather than a crutch. A prime example is Arizona State University’s long-term relationship with Pearson. The partnership provided the initial expertise and scale to launch their online campus. Over time, ASU built its own internal capacity and eventually phased out the relationship, becoming a global leader in online education. The goal for any institution should be to use private sector innovation to spark change, build internal muscle, and ultimately deliver a more affordable, relevant experience for the student.
Episode 86 Transcript
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James Sparkman: if you look at tuition-dependent institutions and public institutions, the margins on those businesses are harder. So they have less resources and are being at the same time being asked to do more. And so if there are companies, privately funded companies, that can bring capital, expertise, and processes often at scale to bear—and they can do it cheaper, better, faster—I think universities are almost obligated to explore these now.
Elliot Felix: That was James Sparkman, organizer of the P3 EDU conference and partner at Alpha Education. We had a fantastic conversation about how colleges and universities can partner with the private sector, and it felt a lot like an amazing partnerships 101 course to me.
James Sparkman: Colleges and universities have been partnering with the private sector forever, really. If you think of a traditional college campus, they've outsourced food service and security. And some of the partnerships got bigger, particularly around infrastructure—real estate, physical assets, parking garages, and student housing. What we've seen is that these kinds of partnerships have moved over to the academic side of the house.
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James Sparkman: Universities do a lot, and the mandate for what they're expected to do—the bar continues to rise. Online all of a sudden happened, and now I'm expected to serve a market I never was expecting to serve. A mental health crisis on campus occurred and COVID occurred, and now we have new challenges to deal with.
Elliot Felix: That scale piece is really interesting. Working with someone that's doing it at a bunch of different institutions so that you're not starting from scratch makes a lot of sense.
James Sparkman: It’s even just the student experience itself. From the moment I applied to the moment I graduate, the various services I expect, or the way they're expected to be delivered. The other factor is price. To be able to do this in an affordable way at scale. It's much harder to bring price down at a small scale.
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James Sparkman: I think you're going to see more low-cost degree models. What is going on at Georgia Tech started with IBM and Coursera as partners. And I think you're going to see more with AI. Is there opportunity to truly transform the cost of higher ed? I don't see how it’s going to happen without private capital and innovation.
Elliot Felix: I also think there's a lot happening around space management because campuses have realized they're overbuilt. They've been adding spaces at a pace faster than enrollment. We are seeing sensor companies and space analytics companies looking at how to better utilize what we have so we grow in place instead of adding new space.
James Sparkman: Hybrid is here to stay. Even those in fully residential environments are going to have opportunities to do things remotely. I think the workforce is the one area where you're going to see continually more evolution—making the higher education experience much more relevant to the job market.
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James Sparkman: The first place to start is not to let it be vendor-driven. That happens all the time where some company meets a president or provost, and the next thing you know, we're going to implement. It’s almost a recipe for failure. Identify the problem, get stakeholders engaged in as broad a group as possible.
James Sparkman: Writing down what your needs are, even if you're not required to do an RFP, clarifies thinking. Once you get to the details, you do need expertise, whether it's in-house or a consultant. But the bigger thing is: Are you aligned around outcomes?
Elliot Felix: It sounds like having some kind of governance process in place sets colleges up for success. You have a structure for vetting vendors, reviewing terms, and getting input. You avoid that situation where a small group makes a big decision and then faces a revolt from the faculty senate.
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James Sparkman: Arizona State’s relationship with Pearson is a great example. Arizona State wanted to get into the adult learner market and needed support. They had a long-term revenue share partnership, got to a scale, built in-house expertise, and were able to phase out of the relationship. It was a catalyst for change without being permanently dependent upon it.
Elliot Felix: I like that point about the catalytic partnership as opposed to one characterized by long-term dependence. People fear bringing in an outside entity and never building that capacity in-house.
James Sparkman: Universities need to have people on campus who understand how to manage and understand the metrics of what those partners are doing to hold them accountable. There aren't enough project management and business management skills on campus. Active engagement is better for everyone. The more connected you are, the better you are to manage the challenges.