Why?
Over the past decades, higher education has been criticized as out of touch, too expensive, increasingly irrelevant and a dinosaur industry.
Colleges and universities across the nation strive to remain vital and meaningful entities that contribute to the public good. As more colleges and universities close every year, those remaining continue to evolve and fight for a stable future.
As we start 2020, we’d like to examine what future colleges and universities are fighting for.
There are so many stakeholders invested in higher education – students, parents, the public K-12 system, business and industry, non-profit neighbors, just to name a few. Each stakeholder wants something slightly different, but can we be all things to all people? Whose needs take priority?
What is the role an institution of higher education could or should play in its local, regional and national ecosystem? In other words, why should college exist at all?
We don’t mean to be flip or overly simplistic.