5 Case StudyHiggins College is a private, residential four-year liberal arts school located in a small rural community in the Northeast. Over the past three years it has experienced a surge in enrollment, growing from 1,400 to 1,900 students. Unable to build student housing fast enough to meet demand, the college has purchased houses in the adjoining neighborhood as a temporary solution to its housing crisis. Unfortunately, resentment toward the college grows with each additional house it buys. Neighbors complain that student tenants are noisy and that the college lets the condition of its properties deteriorate. Some individuals who sold their homes to the school believe that they were paid less than full market value. Imagine that you are the special assistant to the president at Higgins, newly hired with special responsibility for property acquisition. You must negotiate the purchase of two additional homes to help house this fall's incoming freshman class, the largest in the college's history. Higgins' president, a forceful personality largely credited with the college's rapid growth, has made it clear that this is to be your top priority. You've also received several messages from the student housing director, who says she needs to know if you can complete the deal in three weeks so she can finish housing assignments. The two most desirable properties are located next to each other right across the street from the college's science building. Other options are located much farther away from campus in a more expensive area. Fearful of being "ripped off," the owners of the homes near the science building have hired a real estate agent to represent them in this transaction. When you call the realtor to set up a meeting, you learn that members of the neighborhood association have urged the homeowners to sell to private individuals, not to the college. You have three days to get ready for the first negotiation session.

Discussion Questions 1. What steps will you take to build a cooperative climate? 2. Describe the perspectives of all the parties, including yourself. 3. What are the interests of both sides and how can they be met? 4. What solutions could meet the needs of both parties? 5. What objective criteria could be used to determine the terms of the settlement? 6. What alternatives does each side have to reaching a settlement? How will this influence the likely outcome of the negotiation?