THE QUESTION
Bold new future for higher ed?
This commencement season finds universities facing steep cutbacks in state funding and endowment income even as rising tuitions continue to hold back progress in overall college graduation rates. How would you assess the leadership of college presidents in embracing new technology and innovative teaching techniques aimed at reducing costs, improving quality and reengineering higher education? What leadership steps would you recommend for them?
Posted by Steve Pearlstein and Raju Narisetti on May 25, 2010 5:54 AM
FROM THE PANEL
We need citizens, not just workers
New technology and innovative teaching techniques should help universities connect with their original objective - creating citizens for a democratic society.
Posted by Ed O'Malley, on May 26, 2010 2:20 PM
National inflection points
The biggest challenges for leaders is freshly imagining the content for future curricula and research that will sustain a healthy economy, social justice and a relatively high sense of collective well-being.
Posted by Warren Bennis, on May 26, 2010 11:48 AM
Rethinking a business model
Universities that for years have delivered traditional programs in traditional academic settings secured and funded by large endowments, government funding and rapidly growing tuition price-tags are going to have to rethink the way they do business.
Posted by Angel Cabrera, on May 25, 2010 4:46 PM
Keeping UC Berkeley's promise
The prestige of schools like UC Berkeley comes, in part, from the simple promise that any talented student, from any socioeconomic background, can attend. Keeping that promise must be at the center of any budget decisions made by the University of California system.
Posted by Coro Fellows, on May 25, 2010 3:00 PM
Best education bargains
The best bargains in education today can be found in smaller liberal arts colleges, community colleges and some state programs that have concentrated on what really matters: excellent teaching that inspires students to learn.
Posted by Kathryn Kolbert, on May 25, 2010 12:45 PM
Cutting wisely
By cutting equally across the board, you might be trimming some fat, but you're also likely harming programs that are doing well and are deserving of more support, not less.
Posted by Yash Gupta, on May 25, 2010 12:12 PM
No-frills education
Our production of college graduates relative to our population has not increased in more than 10 years, while our economy has grown more sophisticated. It's time for more experimentation.
Posted by Marie Wilson, on May 25, 2010 7:20 AM
Rough-and-tumble world of innovation
Convincing faculty to 'embrace' new technology and to reengineer higher education is a hard sell for most university presidents.
Posted by Bob Schoultz, on May 25, 2010 7:03 AM
A meal for the brave
It's hard to think of any other leader who has to push out so far in to the future and convince so many diverse constituents to follow.
Posted by Donald Kettl, on May 25, 2010 6:58 AM
An adjunct problem
Although the salaries of university presidents continue to increase at an alarming pace, the plight of low-paid adjuncts, who now constitute over 70% of higher education teaching staff, remains unaddressed.
Posted by Pablo Eisenberg, on May 25, 2010 6:52 AM
A faculty of radical anarchists
To lead change, university presidents must partner with an executive team that can engage all stakeholders in the change process.
Posted by Michael Maccoby, on May 25, 2010 6:46 AM
More than slick slogans
Those who acknowledge the deep values of education, which date are exemplified by our most respected and long-lived institutions, are likely to be far more successful than those who embrace the slick slogan and the quick fix.
Posted by Howard Gardner, on May 25, 2010 6:39 AM
An Oklahoma example
The future of higher education is not really about the institution of education at all. It is about preparing the next generation to think, learn, and discover for themselves
Posted by John Baldoni, on May 25, 2010 6:33 AM
Don't fight the fossils
It is ironic that universities -- incubators of big ideas -- can be themselves so seemingly impervious to change.
Posted by George Reed, on May 25, 2010 6:24 AM
Tradition-driven institutions
University leaders should see that some of their most cherished traditions need to be adapted for greater efficiency, accountability, and responsiveness.
Posted by George Daly, on May 25, 2010 6:16 AM
Save & Share:
Over-n-Out: Its not really much of a problem. College presidents who solve the problem earn their pay. Those who have not done so are just looting the...
IIntgrty: Can the Deans and the boards set the high standards we need? Can we insist that students reach higher, not that standards be placed lower? W...
greg1967: This is another political issue... If colleges could stand on their on merits and not need to rely so heavily on politics things would impro...
