The Future of Higher Education Infographic
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We Need More Truth Telling in Higher Education
A lot is being written about the future of higher education, but truth-telling about the current state of colleges and universities is still in short supply. So a book-length gathering of papers caught my attention — for the breathless way it skewered current practices. Here are some outtakes: Rather than embracing innovations that have swept over the rest of the economy, boosting productivity, lowering prices, and improving quality, most colleges and universities have chosen to batten down the hatches, raise…
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Video Forecasts the End of Higher Education
“It is the best of times — it is the worst of times. In 2020, people have access to a breadth and depth of knowledge unimaginable in an earlier age. However, (colleges) as you know them have ceased to exist. Academia’s fortunes have waned. Twentieth century universities are an afterthought, a lonely remnant of a not-too-distant past.” So begins a video titled “Epic 2020” that has been getting some attention on the Web. I disagree pretty strongly with some of…
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Disruption is Inevitable: Five Ways to Prepare
Let’s say you are are a college president watching everything you know in the world of higher education changing. And you are convinced that disruptive innovation is about to overtake your institution. What are the five things you should be focusing on right now to make sure your institution is a survivor. 1. Communicate. This is not the time to retreat to your bunker. Share your thinking with trustees, your colleagues in the administration, faculty leaders, parents, donors and students….
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The Future of Social Media in Higher Education – Part 1
This post is the first post in a three part series on the future of social media in higher education. These posts will be released over the next few weeks. I spend a lot of time thinking about where social media is headed and also, what potential it has to continue to revolutionize the way we learn, communicate, and experience life. In fact I have been thinking about this for a long time and now it is part of my…
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The Higher Education Marketing Crisis
At colleges and universities across the country, marketing departments are failing to differentiate their institutions in an increasingly complex and competitive higher education market. There has never been a more critical time in higher education to stand out – the economic pressures are more stark and the race to get the best students, faculty, and resources has become more and more competitive. Branding continues to be a very hot topic in higher education, as many institutions struggle to find the…
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A Good Fit: Rethinking College Admissions
I have a friend who used to be the brand manager for Kingsford charcoal. One day, he was asking his team: “Who is our competition?” His team piped up: Royal Oak? Store brands? No, my friend replied. Our competition isn’t another charcoal. It’s the gas grill. Cooking out is a lifestyle choice, with all of kinds of positive feelings associated with it — time with friends, fun, fresh air. And our potential customers are switching to gas, and getting all…
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Economic Scarcity and Higher Education
It used to be that if you wanted to buy a record, you had to go to a record store. If you wanted the news, you had to buy a newspaper or watch TV. If you wanted to mail a package, you had to go to the post office. Those businesses were dominant because they were the only source of a good that you wanted. The products were valuable because they were essential and scarce. They came basically in one…
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Why the Future is So Hard to Predict
…but this is also what makes it so much fun.Five years ago, most of us hadn’t heard of what are now some of the dominant communication platforms of our time: “In 2006, YouTube and Twitter had just been born, and Facebook was a toddler,” said Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at the Annenberg School of the University of Southern California. This is from a new report, “The Digital Future Project 2011,” released by Cole’s center. Five years…
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Notes from an Uncomfortable Chair
Higher education needs to come up with some new ways to talk about change and success. OK, call me grouchy, but I’ve been ruminating about two recent higher-education conferences I attended. Both had good speakers and good information, but both also showed why higher education is stuck in a deepening rut. Let me start with the most recent one, a conference on The Future of Higher Education, held at The New School earlier this month. The event featured an impressive list of speakers, including…
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