A crack in the ivory towers? - changes in higher education

HR Magazine, August, 1999 by Mark Boardman

The American workplace is undergoing some significant changes. Technology is making it possible for employees to work from anywhere in the world. Employees are being given more power, responsibility and flexibility. All of these changes are leading to some exciting possibilities for the future.

And now those changes are trickling down to the educational system. Dianne Lynch, an education professor at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vt., recently analyzed these changes in an opinion piece on the Christian Science Monitor's web site (www.csmonitor.com).

Lynch wrote: "Traditional learning models are that the faculty member stands in front of the room and dispenses knowledge: We're in control, we get to decide, we tell the truth and the students write it down and then they feed it back to us on exams. But that's not how students learn anymore. They expect interactivity. They also expect some control over the learning process."

One might think that the American higher education system would be at the forefront of addressing these new expectations. But Lynch argues that most universities have failed to adapt; in fact, she says, the ivory towers are crumbling. And she puts much of the blame squarely on the shoulders of faculty members. In many cases, they are actively fighting changes in the nature of higher education. Just last year, nearly 900 faculty members at the University of Washington in Seattle signed petitions opposing the state's plans for a virtual university.

Lynch says teachers espouse many reasons for this stance; some talk about control issues that can be addressed only in a classroom setting. Some claim that it's too easy for students to cheat on tests and papers in a virtual arena. But Lynch says the real reason is that faculty members are uneasy over the new pressures of change. And colleges and universities are in danger of losing their positions as educational bastions to competitors, she says.

For example, Stanley Kaplan Educational Centers last year established Concord University School of Law, an Internet-only school. It charges only $4,200 per year, just a fraction of the cost of a traditional legal education. And Concord has gained credibility by adding Harvard Law Professor Arthur Miller as one of its faculty advisers. In the near future, publishing company Harcourt Brace will open Harcourt University, a web institution that will be accredited to offer bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees.

Not all universities are behind the curve. Pennsylvania State University in Philadelphia has a world campus that is attended, online, by 1,200 people. Stanford University and Duke University offer virtual engineering and MBA programs. Lynch predicts that this revolution will continue to spread. High schools may be the next institutions to reinvent themselves on the Internet.

Lynch believes all of this bodes well for employers in general and HR in particular. The new educational reality gives more freedom in terms of location and time, but it also diminishes the control of the teacher. Students will have to assume more responsibility for their attendance, work and communication skills. They will have to be even more technologically savvy. The virtual university will foster greater creativity. These are traits employers prize now; they'll demand them in the future.

The ivory towers may fall, but what takes their place promises to be exciting and enlightening.

Mark Boardman is the editor of HR Newsscan, the monthly audio news source for HR professionals produced by SHRM.