The Future Of Higher Education Essay Samples

Undeniably, there has been constant change in the way higher education is carried out. The change has led to questions on the future of higher education to be raised. In 1993, the scientist made the internet widely available to the higher learning institutions; thus changing the ways in which higher education was carried out. As a matter of facts the introduction of the internet changed everything in higher learning institutions, as well as in the lives of the professors and students. However, it is only far little changes that have occurred in the field of education both in the USA and internationally. There are no significant changes in the school institutions, especially higher education institutions to prepare people for the demands, restriction, problem, possibilities and responsibilities for living in the world outside the school. This work will address the key issues of the future of higher education and how it they institutions will be redesigned to provide higher education of the future.
According to (Schuller, 34) the world is changing very fast with new technology evolving each and every day. These tremendous changes tend to have impact to every aspect of human life from medicine, entertainment, social life, economic well being and political culture. Today, the world is calling for changes in the education sector to accommodate these changes as well as prepare those who pass through them to the outside world.
The first innovation strategy of the federal government of the United States was the formation of the Commission on the Future of High Education, also known as the Spelling Commission in 19th September 2005. The significant motivation behind the formation of the Spelling C omission was the panic that America higher education system was weakening and failing to set up the American labor force for the competitiveness and rigors in the globalized marketplace. The commission is made of nineteen members and is charged with recommending a national strategy of improving and reforming the post –high school education.
The commission has a mandate of recommending how the colleges will prepare student for the 21st century labor force. The spelling commission focus on the four key areas: affordability, access, and the standards of quality in instruction as well as accountability of high education institutes to their constituencies. According to the Spelling Commission the high education in United States has for long been a greatest success story but of recent foreign education system was passing the USA especially now when education was very important in collective prosperity (Schuller, 42). Actually, the commission continues to emphasize the relationship between education, industry and the overall government.
Taking to account the access of the higher education in the United States it is excessively limited by the multifaceted interaction of insufficient preparation, persistent monetary barriers and lack of information about the university opportunities. The commission has been blaming lack of communication between the high school and the high institutions as the major problem. Statistics have shown that 44 per cent of the high education faculty members have reported that students enrolling in colleges are not well prepared for college –level writing in contrary to the 90 percent of teachers of high school who believe that these students are well prepared. It is only 17 percent of seniors who are well thought-out to dexterous in mathematics and 36 percent proficient in reading.
The Spelling Commission in its strategy to safeguard the future of high education responds to this matter in several ways. It has proposed connecting the expectations of professors in the college for the incoming freshman criterion necessary for students to graduate from high school by enhancing increased communication between the two groups. In addition to, the commission encourages early assessment initiatives that determine if the students are on track for college. Another proposed proposal is the use of open source as well as open content at the college level to increase the access to many people.
The affordability of this new proposed future higher education is a dilemma, especially to low income families, and students of minority groups due to the new innovation expensive strategies. The government through its commission emphasizes the student to apply for financial aid. The university should be held accountable of how they spent the government funds as great losses have been incurred by the government discouraging more support.They are many innovation strategies has been advocated to ensure that there is a future of high education. The American university have not adequately prioritized innovation and creativity as a significant learning outcome. There is a need for the policy makers and educators to build more capacity to complete and innovate by investing in a critical skill set and basic research. However, there are a few proposed innovative strategies that have been undertaken to ensure that the American education for higher learning has a future.
Learning analytics, predictive algorithms and data dashboards are currently rapidly spreading across universities and public colleges. These tools are offering an innovative way ways in which the student success is predicted, drive improvement of learning outcomes, pedagogy as well as student support services. The use of new Civitas learning, a new leading advocate of actionable analytics provide alert to student to toxic course combination. It is also responsible to provide early warning of the risk behaviour to faculty and the student themselves. Another new innovation strategy is the micro credentialing. In the fall of 2006 just 59 percent of first-time, full –time student who began a bachelor’s degree at the institution graduated within six years. It a fact over 40 percent did not graduate from these universities. The universities are increasingly experimenting alternate credential with job market value; Badges, specialization and certificates. However, it soon to tell whether the employers will take notice, but without doubt it seems reasonable to expect that some will eventually turn to them in hiring (CBell et al., 45).Most colleges today in the USA have adopted the competency- based education. The calls for an out-come driven education propelled toward achieving 100 percent know-how which is giving grip to capability based approaches that are actually awarding credit based on the mastery rather than credit hours. This innovation strategy has a benefit since student can receive credit for skills and the knowledge acquired alternative forms of education or skills and acquaintance acquired through life experiences.
Personalised adaptive learning is also an innovation strategy that is being applied by some of the Universities and public college. In the past personalisation was seen as the hallmark of fashionable marketing and retailing but today it has ventured in the higher education. Personalization has been integrated into the computer based program learning. This is similar to that offered by open learning initiatives and other companies like Knewton. The Knewton is a company is renowned as the world’s leading adaptive learning technology provider. This system too has incorporated the fact that not all students do learn best by following the same path and at the same pace thus influencing instructional design. This programme is beginning to recommend students modified trajectories through course matter.Most colleges have are embracing the new innovation of flipped classroom. This will introduces less direct instruction and maximizing the significant of face to face time. This fliped classroom will help the student understand the course material in greater depth. Implementing such a strategy allows faculty to dedicate class time to active learning, their most significant resource, problem solving and one on one student interaction. At worst, implementing this strategy simply offers institution a way to reduce the expenditure as it would reduce the need to construct new classrooms and the time spent interacting with the student.
According to (CBell et al., 34) an articulation agreement is a new strategy laid upon to ensure the future of higher education. Without considering the source of mandate, be it legislature or the high education boards of governance or prodded by students and parents, university are under increased pressure to flatten the changeover for community college transfer student. This will be done by aligning courses, gladly accepting credits and adopting ordinary numbering systems. As many students go ahead to enrolling for various credits to save money, the colleges should ensure that the courses are truly equivalent with the cost of learning.
This innovation among strategies and other not discussed here once implemented would result to various models in education that would integrate technology and high education improving the future of high education (Lawson et al., 78). This would serve great improvement in education systems as most people would be more attracted to colleges as distance learning is emphasised. The long travel to colleges would never be more as people will learn from their home. The degree would be credited from other alternative education and experience not necessary mastery. New technologies in communication are promising a brighter future of higher education in USA and internationally.
However, lack of accountability by most higher education institutions threatens the future of higher education. The government of the USA has suffered great loss through poor management of funds by universities and colleges as well as the great drop out by student who are sponsored by the government. The successes of many people who have not enrolled in the higher education also serve as a threat to people embracing higher education as most people now believe college is not for everyone. Lack of employment among most of the college graduates below 25 years serves to discourage the enrolment to higher education. More so, the cost of learning due to the new innovation strategy is too high for ordinary forks to achieve thus discouraging the future of high education (Lawson et al., 46).
In conclusion, it is evident that there has been a lot of change in higher education. The change become more tremendous with the introduction of internet in higher earning institutions. Nevertheless,the future of higher education is promising, but there are more challenges that should be tackled to ensure greater success.

Works cited

CBell, Les, Mike Neary, and Howard Stevenson. The Future of Higher Education: Policy, Pedagogy and the Student Experience. London: Continuum, 2009. Internet resource.
Lawson, Dan, and Max Page. The Future of Higher Education. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print.
Schuller, Tom. The Future of Higher Education. Buckingham [England: Society for Research into Higher Education, 2001. Print.
The Future of Higher Education. London: Stationery Office, 2003. Print.