At some point later this decade, we might recall a week in January 2012 when the stage was set for some disruption in the higher-ed market. Last week, saw three significant announcements that have the potential to change the conversation on three key issues in higher ed: pricing, value, and learning.
The announcements and what they might mean:
Pricing
Spending on public higher ed has been squeezed in most states in recent years, but California institutions have seen the most pressure on their budgets. As a result, tuition in the three systems there – U. of California, Cal State, and the community colleges – has risen substantially (at least in percentage terms, since many outside of California still consider it a bargain given the high quality).
Enter a radical proposal by students in the U. of California system to abolish tuition and replace it with post-graduation payments equaling 5 percent of their income for 20 years. Last week, the system’s president, Mark Yudof, said he was “very impressed” with the idea, while acknowledging many of the hurdles to put such a proposal in place.
Still, with leaders like Yudof and the president of the College of William and Mary, who has suggested market conditions determine in-state rates for public colleges, we might finally break the traditional one-size-fits-all way of pricing college and finally move to differential tuition models that truly reflect costs and student behavior.
Value
Proving the value of a college degree has been a topic of conversation a lot in recent months, as some have questioned whether a college education is worth the cost. One-way institutions have tried to show value is by giving tests to their students to measure learning. One popular test is the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which measures critical thinking.
Until now, the tests were largely used by colleges, but students did not receive their scores. That’s one reason that critics of the tests have questioned their effectiveness since students have little incentive to do well.
That changed last week with the announcement by StraighterLine that it would give students access to the CLA and allow them to take their results to employers or colleges to demonstrate their proficiency in certain academic areas.
Now only will this move by StraighterLine, which offers online, self-paced introductory courses, put pressure on traditional colleges to give individual results to students, it is perhaps the first step in validating alternatives to the college diploma, such as badges or individual classes.
Learning
Whenever Apple makes an announcement of a new product it attracts lots of media attention, and last week was no different, with Apple’s unveiling of its new tools for the education market.
Just in case you missed it, you can read more about the announcement here. The bottom line is that Apple wants to dominate the market for e-textbooks. As you look at the tools from Apple, as well as it competitors, you see the potential for two things happening:
First, we’re moving in a direction where textbooks (electronic ones) will be bought in bulk by the university and a single price for them added to the tuition bill. Gone will be the days where some students buy the book new, others on the used market, and still others skip the book entirely or share it with classmates.
Second, and more significant, is that electronic tools will allow students in many ways to control the content of their books. Just like the Web and gaming have turned into a social/sharing tool with the user at the center, so too will textbooks. Students will start with the foundation provided by publishers, but will have the ability to bring in content from many more sources to personalize their learning experience.
{ 2 trackbacks }