A new vision for higher education is required for its survival and success. In this article, I explore the challenges facing higher education, its historical evolution, the existential threat it faces, and potential solutions.
The Challenges
Higher education faces several simultaneous challenges:
- Generative AI, such as ChatGPT 4.0, has redefined the relationship between knowledge workers and computers, acting as proficient assistants in various fields.
- Enrollment at public four-year and two-year colleges declined in 2022, with demographic trends not promising improvement.
- Employers increasingly require a college degree for fewer jobs.
Despite creating a twenty-course humanities curriculum with ChatGPT as the instructor, tutor, and grader, I believe technology cannot replace the residential college experience that has helped millions transition into adulthood.
The question is: how must higher education evolve to survive?
University Evolution
Historically, higher education institutions have adapted to societal and intellectual changes. Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1440 revolutionized knowledge production and dissemination, fueling the establishment of universities.
Over time, universities have evolved through the rise of the Enlightenment, the birth of the research university model, higher education expansion, and new fields of study. In recent decades, computers and the internet have significantly impacted students, professors, and online learning.
The time for a new step in that evolution is here.
The Existential Threat
Generative AI is a transformative force that cannot be ignored. Video technology has advanced to the point of blurring reality, and universities could deliver video lectures – scripted and assisted by AI – without hiring a professor. Moreover, start-ups that I have worked with can create multiple-choice and short-answer tests on demand based on learning objectives.
This is not a distant future; the technology exists now.
The beginnings of a new vision for higher education
While top-tier institutions with substantial resources may survive, regional public and smaller private institutions face grave danger. To adapt, they must invest in the following:
- Extra-curriculars
- Mental health
- Student advisors
- Study abroad programs
- Community integration
- Cultural events
- Service opportunities
The focus should shift to the experiences and learning that occur outside the classroom. It is frequently said that most of what students learn happens outside the classroom. This is where the future lies: explicitly guiding the development of the whole person and not just focusing on the intellectual component.
Technology can make course delivery radically more affordable, with professors integrated at key points. AI video-based tutors can provide round-the-clock support, with human tutors and advisors as supplementary resources.
The traditional two-year or four-year experience must evolve. Models like Northeastern University’s co-op structure offer alternatives, but more is needed. Perhaps “enrollment” could mean living on various campuses, working, and taking remote courses over ten years, with human-led courses in the final years. In all cases, the higher education’s value proposition must be much more attractive, with much lower costs and much greater, more explicit, and more personalized benefits.
Higher education must adapt to challenges and opportunities by prioritizing student welfare. Otherwise, new organizations and cultural norms will emerge, leaving ivy-covered walls behind.
