Disrupting Higher Education: New York Times Special Section!

disrupt higher education

Dear Commons Community,

Last Sunday, the New York Times had a special Education Life Section which featured several articles promoting the disruption of higher education.  I read the brief articles pertaining to the disruptions and thought that they were mildly provocative and considered posting about them on my blog  but then thought otherwise.  However, I received a number of emails from colleagues over the past two days asking if I had seen the articles and have now decided that maybe a brief response/posting would be in order.

First, the “new” higher education models in this special section which referred to competency-based education, degrees that are virtually free, and the Minerva School experiment (a blended low-cost degree for students who cannot afford the top-tier Ivy League colleges) are interesting experiments but not really earth shaking.  These colleges will attract some students but for the foreseeable future, the vast majority of college students will be educated at traditional colleges albeit with a lot more online technology.

Second, the article by Clayton Christensen and Michael Horn, starts with the deficit premise that American higher education has a problem and needs to change despite the fact that several international rankings of higher education have place American colleges and universities at the top of their lists.  Christensen and Horn promote online learning technology as the vehicle for disruption.  There is no question that online learning is and will continue to change higher education but fortunately it has been an evolutionary change not a disruption.  Online learning has been evolving for several decades to the point where presently one-third of all college students (6  million plus) are now enroll in fully online courses.  Several million more are enrolled in blended courses.  The MOOC phenomenon of the past few years has added still several million more students, although the vast majority of these student are not taking their courses for credit.  There is nothing desirable about disruption. Nor is it necessary. It is a catchy descriptor promoted by some usually the technology industries and their agents who are basically profit-driven.  I suggest that if disruption is something desirable to the for-profit sector, leave it there and let American higher education continue on its evolutionary path.

Tony

 

Bill de Blasio is Elected Mayor of New York City!

de Blasio Election

Dear Commons Community,

To no one’s surprise, Bill de Blasio was elected mayor of New York City by a wide margin yesterday signaling the end of twenty years of Republican rule.  The outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg has had significant accomplishments during his tenure but it was time for a change.  The polls going into yesterday predicted de Blasio winning over Joe Lhota by a 40 percent margin and as of late last night, those polls proved correct.  With 97% of the precincts reporting, de Blasio held a commanding lead of 74% to 24% — the largest margin of victory by a nonincumbent in any mayor’s race in city history.

We wish Mayor-Elect de Blasio well and look forward to a new “progressive era” in New York City.

Tony