Conference Presentation, Panel
Can the Traditional University Thrive in the Internet Age?
Milken InstituteJeffrey Silber, Bill Achtmeyer, William Bennett, Gregory Cappelli, Ronald Daniels, Nikhil Sinha, Jeff Silber, Bill Bennett, Ron Daniels, Bhagwan Chaudhary, James Starr, Gary Weisserman, Ray Jacobson, Devian
- The online or hybrid enrollment sector is projected to grow 24 percent since 2003, with all new growth attributed to digital formats.
- The higher education sector is expected to undergo a dramatic shift in delivery models over the next 10 to 15 years, necessitating creative adaptation for institutions to survive.
- Fewer institutions resembling traditional universities are predicted to exist in the future, with small schools having fewer than 1,000 students or low endowments facing extinction within 10 years due to internet competition.
- Prestigious institutions, including the Ivy League, John Hopkins, and Big Ten schools, are expected to survive and thrive based on their endowments and brand value, acting as the "roaches at the end of the world."
- Certification may increasingly originate from non-university entities such as art museums, newspapers, or corporations like IBM, driven by businesses defining talent needs and acting as accrediting bodies.
- The 10 to 15-year timeframe anticipates a significant loss of jobs, requiring an educational shift toward delivering knowledge and skill development on a massive scale.
- In the next 5 to 10 years, technology is expected to create more engaging learning experiences, utilizing adaptive learning and data to personalize both content and teaching.
- Degree programs are predicted to become more flexible as four-year fixed undergraduate or two-year master's programs move online, with time and space extended to reach every country.
- The traditional campus experience will change dramatically with technology playing a significant role, while the student demographic is expected to shift to include students five to seven years older than current traditional environments.
- Micro-credentials are considered a permanent addition to the sector, with extension programs expected to offer stackable credits toward degree programs, though they may not yet overthrow the undergraduate degree.
- Price disruption is anticipated to first appear in master's and professional degree programs before extending into the undergraduate world.
- Soft skills are identified by employers as the critical hiring issue for the future, driving demand for new educational delivery methods.
- The early college model for K-12 students is forecast to see significant growth over the next couple of decades, with personalized learning becoming a major trend mirroring K-12 developments.
- The cost structure of the education system is expected to evolve to become more engaging over the next 10 years, as the current system is not expected to collapse overnight but must adapt to avoid non-existence.
- Tertiary education will see greater differentiation and heterogeneity, with at least a subset of research-intensive universities retaining survival value despite technological disruption.