I got this book to see what it had to say about University education. The book is split roughly into 1/3rd about higher education and 2/3rds about economic and social changes occurring because of technology and other causes. If you have an interest in how work, society and higher education may change and are changing, the book is well worth reading. My review will be limited to the book's focus on higher education. I think that many of his observations on higher education are correct, but I also think that the institutional structure of higher education and portions, but not most, of higher education may be more resilient than expected.
First, let's look at where I think Mr. Smith has valid observations. There are generally considered to be about 4400 or so institutions of higher ed in the U.S. today. For the moment, I shall ignore Harvard, Stanford, MIT and the elite institutions. I have read in some higher ed publications that roughly 2/3rds of all funding for the 4400 institutions comes from the federal government. Much of this federal funding comes in the form of student loans. Unlike most debt, student loans are largely non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. This federal funding, including student loans, has the effect of making institutions of higher ed very responsive to Dear Colleague letters issuing regulatory guidelines from the United States Department of Education and other federal agencies. Repayment of student loans is a vital part of the financial support system for higher education. To argue, as many academics will, that it is not the job of higher ed to ensure that their graduates have job skills misses the point that their graduates need to be employable so they can repay their student loans and thereby keep the financial system supporting higher ed viable. Mr. Smith's argument that student employability after graduation should be a goal of higher education is well-founded.
To reduce the cost of higher ed while providing education enhancing student employability, Mr. Smith looks to technology and structure for a greatly reduced cost. Historically, the "sage on a stage" has been the model for higher education and education generally. Spending any time reading The Chronicle of Higher Education or Insider Higher Education will show that many academics cannot envision any valid educational model other than the sage on the stage. Coursera, Udacity, Udemy and EdX all provide free or low-cost online education in the realms occupied by higher education. MIT and other elite universities have recently started offering MicroMasters in a number of areas at low cost and with certificates. These MicroMasters are structured to take about 1/4 of the time that a full masters would and, if successly passed, could apply to a full masters if desired. Georgia Tech now offers a number of engineering degrees online and at a reduced cost. Nanodegrees are offered by some of the online providers, but it is presently unclear to me whether these are enhancing employability in the marketplace.In the area of training software coders, Udacity has achieved some prominence and it is my understanding that some high tech companies are supporting and accepting software training through Udacity.
The University of Indiana recently purchased Kaplan to provide online education resources. I understand that the faculty at the University of Indiana expressed collective outrage at this acquisition. An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal from the Clayton Christensen Institute supported the acquisition of Kaplan and noted that this had the capacity to upend the typical academic instructional model.
So, Mr. Smith has a point when he argues for technology as an antidote to higher education costs.
As noted above, I believe that this antidote is already having an effect. Walk down any street or go into any coffee house and look at the people staring at their smartphones. To tell these people that the only way they can be educated is to sit for 50 minutes in one specific classroom on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week during an academic semester will seem very 20th century (maybe 18th or 19th century) to them. Ultimately, the Millenials as they become professors replacing the Boomer professors will also find the sage on the stage model unsatisfying (particularly as the new professors stare at their smartphones and tablets as well). I believe that the authors' technology argument is bearing fruit and will bear fruit.
He also argues that higher education functions as a cartel, which inflates prices. To this argument, I note that with federal funding being so readily available and human nature being what it is, doing whatever is necessary or expedient to get funding is to be expected. The federal government also imposes many mandates on higher ed which has the effect of increasing higher education's cost. Is the current financing system for most of higher ed sustainable? The author argues no. Any meaningful, and perhaps not so meaningful, reduction in federal funding will have a major impact on higher ed.
What do I think that the author misses? The elite institutions, and many near elite, are probably much more resilient than you might imagine. The University of Bologna formed in the 12th century as a law school to provide Canon lawyers for the Catholic Church is sometimes cited as the first European university. The University of Paris formed in the 13th century is generally considered to be the first European university. These institutions grew out of the Catholic monastic movement of the middle ages. So, these institutions have survived and prospered for almost a thousand years through many political, economic, social and climatic changes. Prior to the enactment of the GI Bill after World War 2, these institutions existed to educate the children of the political, social and economic elites and to train professions such as doctors and lawyers. Even if the federal government withdrew much of its support, these functions would continue to exist. So, under all circumstances, I foresee the continued existence of some higher ed. Harvard and Yale will always be needed to educate the elites.
Mr. Smith also integrates his vision of higher education into his views of the changing economy. I think that Mr. Smith is right that much of higher ed will retain support from the political establishment and society only if it shows that it understands the need to produce economically valuable workers and actually produces these workers. I highly recommend the book.
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