Changing winds in higher education
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 1/27/13
There are few forces that shape our children's and nation's futures like education. Over the past decade, we've seen the seeds of change in K-12 education blossom into a field of innovative ideas for teaching children and young adults. However, higher education has seen no such awakening. Today's higher education system is still largely the same as it was after World War II when the GI Bill made college all-but-free for anyone with military service. The number of Americans attending college grew steadily for decades as the emerging Information Age increased the value of education in the job market and a college degree became the ticket to prosperity.
But, over the past few years, some heavy winds have started to blow the way of higher education. A January report by Moody's Investor Services made clear that that the status quo is stumbling and, though no one knows where these winds will take us, the time is ripe for change in American higher education.
What winds? Start with the obvious one -- demographics. Thanks to the baby boom, immigration, and improving high school graduation rates, America has seen consistent increases in the number of high school graduates over the past 50 years. That's changing. The Department of Education projects that there will be fewer high school graduates in 10 years than there are today, forcing colleges to compete for fewer students. That's one reason why the University of Colorado regents are personally making phone calls to in-state applicants -- they need more college freshman to avoid another shrinking freshman class like this year's.
The second wind is less obvious but perhaps more profound -- high school graduates have started asking more questions about the value of higher education. Education has undeniable intrinsic value to both individuals and society, but the question increasingly being asked is "Will I make more money if I go to college and how much more depending on what I study and where I go?" The root of this new scrutiny is the cost of a college degree. Tuition at American higher education institutions is 25 percent higher today than it was 5 years ago -- far more than inflation, but consistent with a 30-year trend. The road to these higher costs has been paved with good intentions, like parents (myself included) and students who seemed to view getting into a "highly ranked school" as a validation of intellectual prowess. This oversized emphasis on a metric created to sell magazines led to a costly "race for ranking" by colleges and universities.
Recently, though, a tough job market and crippling student debt have kick-started rational market behavior. Parents and students are now asking if it's really worth $37,000 a year to attend a highly-ranked school in Ohio that nobody seems to have heard of. Questions about the value of a degree are getting louder as tuitions go higher.
Recent studies aimed at helping parents and students make financially sound education decisions are eye openers. For example, studies by the Federal Reserve and Georgetown University indicated that some college majors, like anthropology and theater, do not increase average expected lifetime earnings beyond what a high school diploma would provide. Others, like engineering and economics, pay off handsomely. Simultaneously, public opinion is moving towards the view that where you get your degree matters less to your pocketbook than it may to your ego. "A low cost education in a field in high demand is well worth it" is becoming the new conventional wisdom.
The third wind of change is educational technology. Higher education is long overdue for the shift from the lecture hall to the laptop, and it's happening today. Increasingly, courses are taught on-line and the technology is improving the learning experience. Advanced educational technology can often adapt to student learning styles and provide feedback better than a professor. There will always be a place in education for the personal connection, but the efficiencies and improved education made possible by technology are a revolution in progress.
So, we have fewer students searching for more cost-effective ways to get an education that will enhance their future earnings potential. At the same time, we have emerging technologies that offer those students a good, sometimes better, education at a lower cost. However, to realize the cost savings, institutes of higher education are going to have to transform in ways that will be disruptive to their current academic communities.
These strong winds are converging into a perfect storm coming soon to a college near you.
There are few forces that shape our children's and nation's futures like education. Over the past decade, we've seen the seeds of change in K-12 education blossom into a field of innovative ideas for teaching children and young adults. However, higher education has seen no such awakening. Today's higher education system is still largely the same as it was after World War II when the GI Bill made college all-but-free for anyone with military service. The number of Americans attending college grew steadily for decades as the emerging Information Age increased the value of education in the job market and a college degree became the ticket to prosperity.
But, over the past few years, some heavy winds have started to blow the way of higher education. A January report by Moody's Investor Services made clear that that the status quo is stumbling and, though no one knows where these winds will take us, the time is ripe for change in American higher education.
What winds? Start with the obvious one -- demographics. Thanks to the baby boom, immigration, and improving high school graduation rates, America has seen consistent increases in the number of high school graduates over the past 50 years. That's changing. The Department of Education projects that there will be fewer high school graduates in 10 years than there are today, forcing colleges to compete for fewer students. That's one reason why the University of Colorado regents are personally making phone calls to in-state applicants -- they need more college freshman to avoid another shrinking freshman class like this year's.
The second wind is less obvious but perhaps more profound -- high school graduates have started asking more questions about the value of higher education. Education has undeniable intrinsic value to both individuals and society, but the question increasingly being asked is "Will I make more money if I go to college and how much more depending on what I study and where I go?" The root of this new scrutiny is the cost of a college degree. Tuition at American higher education institutions is 25 percent higher today than it was 5 years ago -- far more than inflation, but consistent with a 30-year trend. The road to these higher costs has been paved with good intentions, like parents (myself included) and students who seemed to view getting into a "highly ranked school" as a validation of intellectual prowess. This oversized emphasis on a metric created to sell magazines led to a costly "race for ranking" by colleges and universities.
Recently, though, a tough job market and crippling student debt have kick-started rational market behavior. Parents and students are now asking if it's really worth $37,000 a year to attend a highly-ranked school in Ohio that nobody seems to have heard of. Questions about the value of a degree are getting louder as tuitions go higher.
Recent studies aimed at helping parents and students make financially sound education decisions are eye openers. For example, studies by the Federal Reserve and Georgetown University indicated that some college majors, like anthropology and theater, do not increase average expected lifetime earnings beyond what a high school diploma would provide. Others, like engineering and economics, pay off handsomely. Simultaneously, public opinion is moving towards the view that where you get your degree matters less to your pocketbook than it may to your ego. "A low cost education in a field in high demand is well worth it" is becoming the new conventional wisdom.
The third wind of change is educational technology. Higher education is long overdue for the shift from the lecture hall to the laptop, and it's happening today. Increasingly, courses are taught on-line and the technology is improving the learning experience. Advanced educational technology can often adapt to student learning styles and provide feedback better than a professor. There will always be a place in education for the personal connection, but the efficiencies and improved education made possible by technology are a revolution in progress.
So, we have fewer students searching for more cost-effective ways to get an education that will enhance their future earnings potential. At the same time, we have emerging technologies that offer those students a good, sometimes better, education at a lower cost. However, to realize the cost savings, institutes of higher education are going to have to transform in ways that will be disruptive to their current academic communities.
These strong winds are converging into a perfect storm coming soon to a college near you.
