Hope and Realism about Higher Education's Future
Higher education leaders need to convey optimism about the future while providing reliable data and meaningful support to facilitate hopefulness among faculty.
The Market's Untested Assumption
With a veritable chorus of voices declaring higher education to be on the ropes as an industry - including my own (recently here, here, and certainly here) - there lurks an untested assumption that generally falls into the 'new must be better' perspective. As to the issue of debt, it is difficult to envision longevity for the current model of higher education. Even items such as textbooks have exceeded students' and families' budgets. Axios recently reported students forgoing meals to pay for books.
However, the question of employee readiness may yet show potential for colleges and universities to grow, because many degree programs are designed to deliver an array of skills greatly valued by employers, according to two recent studies (by EMSI and by AACU), and displayed in the following diagrams (the images belong to each organization respectively).
https://www.economicmodeling.com/2018/08/21/top-10-skills-top-10-us-companies/
https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2018EmployerResearchReport.pdf
Fear of Death is not a Sufficient Motivator to Change
The ticket for higher education may well be adapting to the new industry paradigm, which includes: competency-based education, digital credentials, and industry partnerships. The ticket cost, however, may be too steep for many institutions, which is reflected in the pace of schools and programs closing. The circumstance is reminiscent of Alan Deutchman's warning, "Change or Die" (Fast Company, 2005). Ironically, Deutchman challenged leaders to display the opposite perspective to that in the title of the article, from a message of fear to a message of hope, because fear is not an effective motivator for successful adaptation to change. Using the heart disease management system developed by Dr. Dean Ornish as the example, Deutchman explains:
So instead of trying to motivate them with the “fear of dying,” Ornish reframes the issue. He inspires a new vision of the “joy of living” — convincing them they can feel better, not just live longer. That means enjoying the things that make daily life pleasurable, like making love or even taking long walks without the pain caused by their disease. “Joy is a more powerful motivator than fear,” he says.
Not unlike Ornish's patients, making such change can be intellectually stimulating to many faculty members, who can sometimes be intractable. More so than other industries, higher education is populated by employees who place great value in facts, theories, and data. Deutchman recommends framing change through an emotional lens, which also will apply to faculty members, but the lens of empiricism should not be set aside for higher education. Leaders need to provide data and also support faculty members in appreciable ways. Presenting the new paradigm as a creative opportunity for investigation, funding experimentation, and rewarding faculty investment of time are strategies for engendering hope, and adapting successfully to this fundamental change in higher education.