INFORMATION FOR PRESIDENTS, VICE-CHANCELLORS, CHIEF INNOVATION
OFFICERS, ENROLLMENT MANAGERS, DEANS OF ADMISSION, REGISTRARS,
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL PROVIDERS AND EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANTS
MARGUERITE J. DENNIS
BULLETIN # 26 SEPTEMBER 28 – OCTOBER 2, 2020
REMINDER
If you wish to read the three articles published by University World News on the
Reimagined University, you may access by logging onto:
https://www.university worldnews.com
Amid economic meltdown, we must reimagine the university – 12 September,
2020
What needs to change in the reimagined university? – 19 September 2020
Opportunities and barriers to the reimagined university – 27 September 2020
If there is any leader in the country who thinks higher education is going to go
back to where it was a year ago, they are lying to themselves.
Terri E. Givens, chief executive officer, Center for Higher Education Leadership
In the September 25 th issue of Forbes magazine, Brandon Busteed ‘s article, Wake
Up Higher Education. The Degree Is On the Decline, caught my eye. And attention.
The author makes the case for predicting that higher education enrollment in the
United States will decline over the next 10 years. The author bases his prediction
on estimates from the National Student Clearinghouse which reported fall
enrollment down 2.5% over last year.
In 2011, 19,610,826 students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities. In 2020,
the number was 17,458,300. The author estimates that the number will dip below
17 million in the spring semester, making it a net loss of more than 2 million
students over the last decade.
“Traditional” college student numbers are estimated to decline by 15% between
2025 and 2030.
A Strada Education Network survey of adult learners revealed that 59% believe
higher education is worth the cost. In 2019, the figure was 77%.
Respondents who believe a college education will help them get a good job
declined from 89% to 64%.
Author’s Note: All of the predicted declines can be offset by creating new
educational cohorts as outlined in The Reimagined University articles.
CHINA UPDATE
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in 2018-19, 370,000 Chinese
students studied in the U.S. and contributed nearly $15 billion to the economy.
In a study by the Chinese Institute of College Admission Counseling, 36% of
Chinese high school students reported they had changed their plans about
studying in the U.S. 85% cited health risks and almost 50% cited uncertainty about
visa policies as the reasons for their change of plans.
The UK has replaced the U.S. for the first time as the primary overseas destination
for Chinese students. Preliminary enrollment reports from the UK indicate a 9%
increase in the number of total international students for the fall semester.
Author’s Note: In the Reimagined University, international deans and recruiters
have abandoned the single international student supply-chain and replaced it
with multiple supply chains.
U.S. ENROLLMENT
According to a ICEF Monitor Survey, nearly 58,000 international students were
accepted to American colleges and universities for the fall 2020 semester. Nearly
4,500 deferred enrollment.
Author’s Note: In the Reimagined University, all students deferring enrollment
for a semester, or a year, would be assigned a GAP year, credit-bearing project.
Special thanks to my colleague from Australia, Louise Hargreave, for connecting
this dot in a recent post.
ZOOM 2.0
Class EDU, a startup company, announced last week that it had raised $16 million
in seed money to develop Class for Zoom, a Zoom add-on that would add new
features to the “zoom experience,” including having the ability to take class
attendance and post interactive quizzes during class.
COVID-19 CASUALTIES
Up to 20 million girls may never be able to return to school after the pandemic
ceases to be a problem, according to Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai. The global
education funding gap has increased to US $200 billion. Schools and learning
centers worldwide have closed because of the pandemic and the majority of
students in low and lower-middle income countries have been the most affected
by the closures.
More than 50 doctoral programs in the humanities and social sciences will not
admit new students for the fall semester. Two of the schools, Princeton University
and the University of Pennsylvania, want to allocate funds to support current
students only.
CONCLUSION
No forecast is better than a random guess, because too much can change in the
intervening years.
Ruchir Sharma, Foreign Affairs
The news in today’s bulletin is not all that positive. The tentacles of COVID-19 are
long and deep. Some of you will read this week’s bulletin and doubt the future of
higher education institutions. And some of you will begin to reimagine what your
institution will “look like” in the future.