Slowly but surely, a number of interrelated forces are shaping higher education into an industry that will look radically different in the next 5-7 years. Foremost are the rapidly changing demographics. Today’s students are older, more worldly, and extremely demanding. They have a complex set of values and interact with “education” as if it were a consumer good, in contrast to the relatively homogenous and accepting students of the past.
The faculty are changing, too, graying rapidly and being replaced by non-tenured, tech-savvy and, in a lot of cases, part-time faculty. There has been a significant change in pedagogy, as well. The faculty now are acting more as coaches who help the students navigate the information in a collaborative manner, rather than being the source of all information, delivered through a one-way lecture.
Meanwhile, there is an ever growing focus on accountability, educational and economic, from a wide variety of constituents, ranging from a plethora of government bodies to the parents writing checks that rival their mortgages. There has also been an explosion of education and information technology in the classroom, in the lab, and in the backpacks and hands of faculty and students, the use of which is routine and frequent for the Digital Generation.
Given all of this, what will the future look like, and what do colleges and universities need to do to remain relevant and compete effectively? How should they organize themselves and begin preparing now? Higher education institutions must be able to execute with speed and agility to sustain leadership in 2012.
