The Future of Colleges

[EM_PS]

Thought this might be interesting for debate; article by Arthur Levine from Columbia University appeared in 'The Michigan Professional Engineer' publication - He speculates on 9 inevitable changes likely to happen in the coming years to our nation's colleges & universities -

1. Higher-education providers will become even more numerous & more diverse - expect new brand names & a new hierarchy of quality in higher-ed institutions i.e. Microsoft University or the British Open University.

2. Three basic types of colleges & universities are emerging:

a. Brick universities - traditional residential institutions

b. Click universities - online, commercial virtual universities

c. Brick & Click - combo of the 1st two.

3. Higher Ed is becoming more individualized; students, not instituitions, will set the educational agenda

4. The focus of higher ed is shifting from teaching to learning - shift from studying for a defined # of hours, earning X # of credits to earn Y degree, towards focusing on outcomes that students achieve.

5. The traditional functions of higher education could become unbundled - referring to unbundling of teaching, research, and service i.e., teaching is only function seen to be "profitable"

6. Faculty members will become increasingly independent of colleges & universities -

7. Degrees will wither in importance - with the change in emphasis from institutional process to educational outcomes, degrees will become far less meaningful. Rather a transcript of student's competencies including knowledge & skills will be desirable.

8. Every person will have an educational passport - as traditional degrees lose importance, the nation will need to establish a central bureau that records each person's educational achievements - said passport or portfolio will record a student's lifetime educational history.

9. Dollars will follow the students more than the educators - public & private financial supporters will increasingly invest in the educational consumer since emphasis will be on outcomes.

Thoughts, concerns, or praise? I can certainly see the NCEES boys hating this. . . .

 

[benbo]

Maybe over time, and I mean a long time, some of these things will come to pass. But if you look at places like University of Phoenix, it has been aorund for 30 years and I think most people still regard it as a joke, while "Brick and Mortar" universities are becoming more popular and selective. I don't see Harvard or Caltech folding anytime soon, although they may expand their "click" programs for the main purpose of added income.

 

[Freon]

I have to disagree with the article, at least as it would apply to science and engineering fields. Having worked both sides of the education fence; research is where the money is. And to do meaningful research, Professors need slave-wage skilled labor, called grad students. Where do grad students come from? They are cherry-picked out of the masses of undergraduates. So in order to "feed the beast", and keep all those professors collecting research money, we have to have a steady stream of freshmen checking into the dorms each August.

Besides, what would insitutions of higher learning do with all those football stadiums?

Freon

 

[snickerd3]

Besides, what would insitutions of higher learning do with all those football stadiums?
Freon

Rent them to the NFL of course. While the Soldiers field was getting its facelift the Bears played their homegames down at University of Illinois Campus in Champaign-Urbana.

 

[TXengrChickPE]

I have to disagree with the article, at least as it would apply to science and engineering fields. Having worked both sides of the education fence; research is where the money is. And to do meaningful research, Professors need slave-wage skilled labor, called grad students. Where do grad students come from? They are cherry-picked out of the masses of undergraduates. So in order to "feed the beast", and keep all those professors collecting research money, we have to have a steady stream of freshmen checking into the dorms each August.

I agree. Some of the things MAY come to pass for Liberal Arts degrees... but I think science and engineering will always be research driven.

 

[EM_PS]

I can see items 1-3 happening or occurring presently in the case of 2. Also maybe 4 - 6 down the road. . . .though concerning item 5, research, like college football, only brings in hard dollars for a small # of institutions, so this may have a more probable liklihood of occuring. unfortunately, intitutions that engage only in teaching (if seen as most profitable) may become intellectually impoverished w/ out the contributions of research & service.

 

[squishles10]

Rent them to the NFL of course. While the Soldiers field was getting its facelift the Bears played their homegames down at University of Illinois Campus in Champaign-Urbana.

Lol- good point. The "Tennessee Oilers" played at Vandy my freshman year. I got so tired of idiots running around campus asking where the stadium is. "It's under the huge towering stadium lights. I can see why they didn't let YOU in here..."