The Future
America’s colleges and universities have long been a model for others worldwide, as well as a driver of economic innovation here at home. But how will our these institutions overcome the potentially existential threats of rising costs, MOOCs, and reduced funding—what does their future hold?
The Soul of the University
By Nicholas Lemann, Professor of Journalism and Dean Emeritus, Columbia Journalism School
For many people who have spent their lives working in higher education, mass higher education and research universities make for a perfect fit: together they express both the public service and the intellectual ambitions of educators. But they aren’t the same idea.
Higher Education in a Global, Digital Information Economy
By Arthur Levine, President, Woodrow Wilson Foundation and former President and Professor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
In the years ahead, consumers and stakeholders will demand that all higher education institutions be updated to meet contemporary needs. This can occur either by repairing the existing institutions or by creating new institutions to replace them.
A 21st Century Education: What Do Students Need Know?
By Richard Ekman, President of the Council of Independent Colleges
What should an educated person of the 21st century know and what does that means for the ways in which U.S. research universities ought to strengthen their teaching effectiveness?
The Real Crisis in Higher Education
By John L. Hennessy, President, Stanford University
Much has been written about the rising costs of higher education and increasing student debt levels, but hidden amid the conversation is another crisis with even more profound implications—the completion rate for today’s college students.
Better, More Affordable Colleges Start Online
By L. Rafael Reif, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
While students worry that they cannot afford a college education, U.S. colleges and universities know they cannot really afford to educate them either. At technology-intensive research universities, it costs three times as much to educate an undergraduate as they receive in net tuition.
Research Universities: American Exceptionalism?
By Henry Rosovsky, Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Harvard University
Domestically, American higher education is the subject of almost unprecedented criticism. “Too expensive and inefficient and not a good investment” is a common conclusion. But in international discussions and evaluations of higher education, American universities are frequently called “the envy of the world.” What explains this paradox?
