Dive Brief:
- Richard Vedder, director of The Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) outlines seven economic challenges for the higher ed industry in an article for Forbes.
- Among these concerns are: the huge increase in the cost of universities turning away potential customers, the surge in federal student aid inflating tuition and regulations allowing federal intrusion on campus matters, and the rise in cheaper alternative credential options detracting from the lower end of the higher education market.
- Vedder also addresses the value of the degree and college generally, writing that other big challenges will include: the nature of college changing from a diverse, safe space to a hotbed of political disagreement, lower capacity for industry resources due to slow economic growth and an aging population, the diminished value of the college degree in the workforce overall, and finally the high cost of intercollegiate athletics.
Dive Insight:
Vedder's analysis of the seven top challenges to face the industry feeds into one core point — the nature of college and its constituents have changed. And for the most part, it's still vastly changing, as new technologies, mergers, and other forms of disruptive innovation start to take over higher education overall. As more diverse, older, and politically involved students start to comprise the majority of the enrollee pool, the traditional four year model, where all students attend class and live on campus harmoniously is not going to persist. So while it's useful for administrators to stay on top of a list of concerns, it's more crucial that leaders in the industry recognize that the whole business model is different from what it was — and that probably, it's going to change some more.