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Danger: Generation Net demands value for their higher education investment |
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It was meant to be a cautionary tale for college and university executives, but I found the information very encouraging. According to one researcher, prospective college students are becoming less likely to buy what we've traditionally been selling. They are demanding innovation, convenience and more relevance to their future careers. Good for them.
This week I've been in Boston for the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) conference. In a session presented by Martin VanDerWerf from the research office of the Chronicle of Higher Education about the higher education market in the year 2020, VanDerWerf predicted that there is a coming shakeout in higher education, one in which private for-profit colleges and universities will move from 9% to 20% of the market, and many traditional colleges will lose students and must either adapt to changes in what students want or fail. What are these students' demands that colleges ignore at their peril? His research suggests students increasingly value relevance to their own futures, especially their future careers. They are increasingly interested in flexible scheduling and flexible teaching methods including teaching and learning over the internet. They are less motivated to put in seat time in a traditional classroom, recognizing that learning can take place anywhere they can connect to information resources or have the technology to do academic work. Finally, they are less impressed by the overall status of the college and more focused on the quality of the particular degree programs that interest them. Therefore, they are less willing to pay a financial premium for status or the ivy covered campuses full of antiquated buildings that give the appearance of tradition. If you've read my book, or spent some time on this website, you must know why I'm so pleased by this warning. Students aren't buying what we want to sell them, and instead are thinking about how our education can help them achieve the lives they want to live after completing their education. That is exactly how I've defined winning the college game: Living a more satisfying and successful life after college than you would have lived if you had not gone to college. |
