Do you think most institutions of higher learning are rethinking higher education and digital disruption of the on-coming train?
Rethinking education? Not too many in our opinion. Certainly not enough. And maybe too little, too late.
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Not everything that is faced can be changed … but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
James Baldwin
Make no mistake, if you don’t discover, you won’t invent, and if you don’t invent you will be disrupted. It’s just a matter of time. However, you can’t just show up one day and decide you want to work with the world’s greatest minds. Even Google, with all its resources and acumen, has had to work really hard at it.
It’s made these investments in time, focus and resources because it understands that the search business, as great as it is, won’t deliver outsized profits forever. Today, we no longer have the luxury to manage for stability, but must prepare for disruption.
What about the average college student? Have they started to face the dilemma? Again not too many in our opinion. Most are still accepting a business model that will not break even for a long time, if ever.
An article in the Wall Street Journal reports that since 1990, the cost of attending college has increased at four times the rate of inflation. Let me let that sink in … four times the inflation rate.
Meanwhile, student loan debt is approaching $1 trillion. And half of the recent college graduates don’t have jobs or don’t use their degree in the jobs they find.
Is the on-coming train digital disruption in disguise?
According to the article, Georgia Tech, a highly respected University, is offering the first online master’s degree in computer science.
More important, the program will cost about one-fourth of the traditional on-campus degree.
Granted, colleges have been offering various online courses for years.
But this move by Georgia Tech significantly alters the playing field by offering a complete graduate program at a fraction of the usual cost.
What makes the educational digital divide so conducive to
disruptive innovation?
Broken economic model
Colleges have simply priced themselves out of reach. Large numbers of students can no longer afford college tuition.
Run like a business? Absolutely not and few ever have. Like entitlement organizations? Absolutely.
Large numbers of students can no longer afford college tuition. And the level of debt they must take on is reaching the point where the return no longer justifies the investment.
Sadly many do not recognize this problem until too late in the game.
And really what are the options? Very few if any good ones.
Higher education … education digital disruption reluctance to change
A problem with most industries facing digital disruption is the reluctance to change. Worse than that, the leaders of these institutions deny the problem.
And they don’t put their brains and hearts into the required change.
Higher education in Charlottesville … ineffective learning method
Finally, research shows that the traditional classroom model is one of the least effective learning methods for the human brain.
If the U.S. wants to retain its position as the global leader in innovation, we need to start making much better use of our students’ brainpower.
And what about the students of education disruption?
A new study of U.S. college students asked them what they think education will look like in the years to come.
What they had to say could affect your organization’s future talent and learning strategy when it comes to attracting these next-generation employees.
Yeah, we know: More and more is happening online.
The handwritten note has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, but can the same future be in store for the traditional student?
Education should not be a one size fits all model because everyone learns differently, regardless of age, occupation, and location.
A new study of 1,345 U.S. college students by Millennial Branding and Internships.com says that may indeed be the case, as respondents said that they are more willing to learn online.
They view the future of learning as more virtual and social media-driven.
Here’s a closer look at the results:
39 percent said the future of education would be more virtual, and 19 percent said that social media would be used to engage in the classroom in the future.
50 percent of students said they don’t need a traditional classroom to learn, but 78 percent do think that it’s easier to learn in a traditional classroom than online.
43 percent say that online education will provide them with courses of the same or higher quality than traditional colleges.
“Millennials understand that the future of education is online, and since they were brought up with the internet, they are prepared for that change,” said Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, in a press release.
“Education should not be a one size fits all model because everyone learns differently, regardless of age, occupation, and location.
More online courses should be offered to cater to those who learn better in a virtual classroom.”
What should be done to slow or turn the train?
Start by cutting through the denial.
We need to stop looking at academia as some sacred, untouchable institution and start looking at it as a business.
Start trying new ideas. Lots of them. Like Georgia Tech.
As a business, these institutions must start with the customer in mind. Focus on education and teach two classes a semester.
Yes two, not one or none. And set cost reduction objectives. Real ones.
Most important, we need to question everything that these institutions hold dear about who they are and what they do – starting with the value they provide.
This one will be particularly difficult.
There is tremendous inertia in the status quo and entitlement.
This helps to explain why an Amherst faculty committee recently voted against online classes because “they don’t support the school’s mission of learning through close colloquy.”
Meanwhile, a faculty council at Duke University voted against granting graduation credits for the school’s online courses.
The hardest part to see and change?
We believe that what made us successful in the past will continue to do so in the future.
So when we’ve had sustained success, it can be hard to let go of the “we’ve always done it this way” thought bubble.
Disruption can be scary to those inside and outside any industry under siege.
As a lifelong learner who often gets frustrated with the inefficiencies of our current educational system, I can’t wait to see what the new model may look like.
But I am afraid that I’ve got that much time to wait, however.
As the New York Times article states … it’s still early.
There will always be a place for real, live teachers in classrooms, perhaps more as tutors than lecturers. But online education is going to happen—and it has the potential to be the next great export market.
The smart teachers, the good ones, would be well-advised to embrace the change.
So what do you think? Please share your thoughts with this community.
Not a lot of ideas and not much time.
