Higher Education's Influence is a Changin

It is obvious that Apple has not been catering to Higher Education with their shift to the new iPad consumer line. And it is also clear that Microsoft must try to hold on to the markets they still control; Business and Government, hence, not a lot of concern for Higher Ed. Of course we have always known that there is no money in Higher Ed, but we always had influence. What is now apparent is that Higher Education has lost its influence. The influence born from the student computing experience that would shape their technology buying habits as they moved into the work force. Why exactly has this happened and what might the long term effect be?

There is no business, marketing or economic reason for this change. I think the change is driven the fact that students no longer consider the computer an advantage. Early on it was critical for the tech industry to gain academic influence. School was the first exposure to the wonders and power of computing. Apple chose to control K-12 which may now be an influence fueling their success. Microsoft chose to control business which required influence from Higher Education, valid reason for their current control of the MS Office, now SharePoint, dependent business world. Some tried to gain influence solely by hardware opportunity such as IBM and Sun, unfortunately their strategy had no way to maintain contact after graduation.

So is it that the student no longer considers the computer as an advantage or is it that they no longer consider the computer cool. Either way it translates to a vanishing concern by the main tech companies. The computer does not really have that much influence on learning. Trying to tie it to the optimal path to the Internet isn’t really about enhanced learning, that is about access to information which may assist learning. So what does this next period have in store for Higher Education? If Higher Ed has no influence then are we just consumers. Yes, we are just consumers of devices, however, Higher Ed does influence the flow of information. And that is why Google cares the most about us now.

Christ Centered Survival

After reading a number of recent articles and posts about the imminent demise of higher education as we know it. I felt it was important to identify why at least my institution will survive. I do agree that the forces of change brought on by the Internet, technology and the economic downturn have and will cause dramatic change to higher education as we have known it. The recent article in the Chronicle by Mark Parry: Colleges Will Be 'Torn Apart' by Internet, Law Professor Predicts is recap of an article in the Washington Post by Zephyr Teachout: A Virtual Revolution Is Brewing for Colleges. Ms Teachout mostly pitches the fact that economic realities will force higher education to change mostly in favor of a less expensive and more flexible online delivery model. And of course another recent article by Steve Lohr in the New York Times, Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom, confirms that “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”

Yes, Yes, Yes, I agree, I understand, but should I over-react and push for something like hitching our online wagon to a subsidiary of the Apollo Group? No, what I see as the key to survival for Private Higher Education is the experiential component. Of course that is the number one argument typically thrown up by academics who want to preserve this perfect collegial world. And it is a valid argument, but one that is weakening. Academic experience is important but it is the type of academic community experience that will justify the traditional college value. And I believe that is why our University's Christ Centered approach is the reason we will survive. Combining traditional collegial experience with solid academics in a community built on love for one another creates the lifelong value that redefines a college degree. And just to clarify, this experience is also be realized in our Hybrid Learning Programs.