Stevens Strategy is a full-service educational consulting firm that helps colleges, universities, and schools navigate strategic change. Since our founding in 2000 by John Stevens, we’ve worked alongside institutions facing some of their most pressing challenges, like enrollment shifts, financial pressures, governance questions, and program decisions, helping them chart a path forward with clarity and confidence through customized strategies and collaborative planning
John brings deep roots in higher education. Before starting Stevens Strategy, he spent 17 years at another higher education consulting firm. His career has included senior leadership roles across the sector: Assistant to the Chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, Vice President for Administration at the Rhode Island School of Design, Assistant to the President of Boston University, and President and Chairman of the Board of Little Red Schoolhouse, Inc. His experience in organizational leadership and university leadership positions has also extended to numerous boards, including as a trustee and interim president of New England College and on the Board of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.
John founded this firm because he saw a gap. Smaller and mid-sized institutions were, and still are, facing increasingly complex challenges around institutional vision, academic program assessment, and financial planning for education, but often lacked access to the seasoned counsel they needed. These aren’t problems you solve with quick fixes or cookie-cutter solutions. They require a deep understanding of the industry, thoughtful education strategy consulting, and a partner who truly gets the work you do each and every day.
Since its founding, the firm has grown to over 15 strategic planning consultants who bring more than 300 years of combined experience in higher education. We understand that this work isn’t just theoretical: we’ve been in your position and know how to lead through uncertainty and change. We’ve served as trustees, presidents, faculty members, vice presidents, and senior administrators. We’ve led institutions, taught students, managed budgets through finance and data analytics, and navigated governance complexities. And we’ve partnered with approximately 160 institutions nationwide, from major universities to small colleges and independent schools, providing educational consulting services tailored to each community’s needs.
Our collaborative and transparent approach to strategic planning for colleges and universities transforms ambitious ideas into achievable outcomes. Strong executive leadership and broad campus engagement can strengthen each other when implemented effectively through school governance improvement and inclusive processes.
Every institution has its unique story, culture, and context. Our goal is to understand yours and develop strategies that honor your mission while preparing for future challenges. Whether you’re developing university strategic plans, rethinking academic programs through program performance metrics and academic program analytics, building financial sustainability with university budgeting solutions, or creating policy manual development and academic compliance documentation, we provide expertise and educational consulting services that connect your long-term vision with today’s reality.
We offer professional services to the leaders of these institutions in the following areas:
Vice President
Senior Advisor and Consultant
Senior Researcher and Blog Author
