This past week the New York Times had an interesting article about computer passwords: “A Strong Password Isn’t the Strongest Security.” The basic thesis of the article is that forcing users to develop and regularly change elaborate passwords doesn’t necessarily lead to a more secure environment. The part that caught my attention involved Cormac Herley, a principal researcher at Microsoft who specializes in security.

Herley’s team reviewed numerous Web sites and found “that the sites that allowed relatively weak passwords were busy commercial destinations, including PayPal, Amazon.com and Fidelity Investments. The sites that insisted on very complex passwords were mostly government and university sites.

What accounts for the difference? They suggest that when the voices that advocate for usability are absent or weak, security measures become needlessly restrictive.”

Stated more broadly, the voice of the customer was lost.

Universities face an enormous challenge, and it’s not just about onerous computer passwords. The costs of higher education have outstripped inflation for years. The benefits of a university degree are under scrutiny in the press as never before. Unprecedented building booms have updated the capital infrastructure at universities around the country, but have also increased the cost structure.

Education is certainly a cost-intensive process. But technological advances, new options for creative partnering with outside entities, and a willingness to scrutinize time-worn practices offer potential paths to greater efficiency. These and other cost-saving measures have eliminated nearly $159 million in recurring general fund expenditures at U-M over the last seven years.

But several questions still remain. Can universities continue to deliver more value for less money to their students, research partners, communities and supporters? Will the voices of these customers be heard?

Or will we continue to rely on traditional approaches while avoiding a deeper understanding of the outcomes we owe our constituents?

Daryl Weinert is the Executive Director of the University of Michigan’s Business Engagement Center. He can be reached at weinert@umich.edu.