Higher Education Has Changed.

Universities that are led by visionaries will know that higher education has fundamentally changed with Covid-19 and substantially all education at all levels delivered over the Internet. The only question is, how many universities are led by visionaries? I suggest that the answer is very few. I suspect that most are led by reactionaries who will refuse to change unless change is forced upon them. People are beginning to realize that the cost of a college education is artificially high because tuition and fees support many things that are not related to obtaining an education. Online classes do not require all of the things that support a college experience. Are parents, who foot the bill, concerned about the college experience or the education and the subsequent job/career that will result from the college degree?

Those universities that adapt and change will survive and flourish. Students will be encouraged to go to them by parents that are concerned about their child’s education and about getting in debt to get the degree. The other universities will either change or disappear.

What changes may we see? I expect to see the end of general education requirements, also known as gen-ed. These requirements started in the early part of the 19^th century to give the student a well-rounded education. With the tremendous changes to the secondary education system in the USA in the second half of the 20^th century, gen-ed requirements repeat the classes are taught in every high school. Eliminating the gen-ed requirements will reduce the time to get a bachelor's degree by a year.

We can expect to see universities flattening their current hierarchical organizations. Industry went through this flattening of the organization decades ago. It is past time for higher education to follow suit. At the same time, we should expect to see a reduction in duplicated service across the university. For example, every college has its own human resources department, facilities management department, and accounting department. When all of the colleges are on a single campus, the duplication results in unnecessary costs. At the same time, there are a number of departments whose existence is not justified. At many universities, mine included, we have an honors college. Why? I work closely with many employers, and none of them place any value on an honors degree. Every college has a graduate school with personnel that are responsible for its administration. Then the university has a graduate school. Again, duplication and waste. At my university, we have a university college. It has its own staff, including advisors. I have no idea why it exists?

It is time for the university to reduce costs and waste. It is time to stop building monuments, grand buildings, and taking debt. It is time to get back to the true mission of educating students.