While our industry now looks forward an evolving and unpredictable future, it’s my belief that if public higher education is going to thrive in the coming years, the adoption of some of the core principles of the technology industry are key.
Surprised? Higher education and technology are more closely related than you may at first think. Specifically, there are three primary practices of technology-based organizations that would positively impact traditional higher education.
1. Shorter Lifecycles and Continual Innovation
Global competition and technological advancements have dramatically increased the speed of change in the market and concurrently changed consumer behavior. The education that students need to be relevant in the workplace is therefore also changing at a faster rate. This should drive institutions to shorter curriculum lifecycles and faster adoption of new technologies, yet I still hear about five-year revision cycles for academic programs. As most industries are on technology lifecycles of 12 to 18 months, this puts student learning on a much slower and less dynamic pace. To prepare current and future students for the speed of change in the workplace, it’s important for higher education to itself meet that expectation.
2. More Partnerships and Collaborations
Dwindling state support, huge federal aid loan liabilities and an increasing skepticism of the value of higher education all suggest that funds will continue to be difficult to obtain. However, with the growing demands for lifelong learning with shorter lifecycles, a direct conflict over resources rises. To bridge the gap, the concept of partnerships and collaborations with other institutions could be quite valuable. Of course, this is something technology companies have been doing for a long time; from co-branding to open-sourcing, collaboration leads to higher rates of adoption and more opportunities for success. There are tremendous opportunities for institutions to work and partner with one another to meet educational needs. Strategies that seek to create horizontal and vertical alliances could conserve valuable resources, while promoting efficiency for administrative functions, operations and educational programs.
3. Focus on Market Demand-Driven Services and Programs
With education a key component in helping adults secure and keep jobs, higher education content, delivery and experience must prepare students for the actual expectations of the modern workplace. However, in my continual survey of degree programs in the marketplace, I see redundancy in traditional programs with little focus on content areas society is currently trying to address. Growth areas such as cyber terrorism, biohazards, food and water management, global governance and risk management continue to be largely ignored by higher education, despite the demand. Technology is often first to forge ahead when new areas of opportunity are identified (for example, the prevalence of cloud-based platforms and services, of late), so why is higher education continually slow to respond?
Conclusion
Public education that allows learners to enhance their workplace abilities, opens their minds to new possibilities and provides skills and information to improve their lives is of great value to society. And yet, academic leaders have seen resource and enrollment challenges they seem to have difficulty addressing with the necessary speed and decisiveness needed for success. Fortunately, key principles found in technology-reliant businesses may help to illuminate the path forward.
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