The End of College As We Know It

Digital technology may revolutionize higher education, reducing the extreme cost barriers and improve teaching across the board. But, can we overcome our initial resistance to this change?

University is expensive, and sometimes downright unaffordable. In the U.S., students face a collective USD$1.7 trillion in student loan debt. Three million Australians owe a collective AUD$74 billion in student loans. Even New Zealand faces a collective NZD$16 billion debt, with 70% of all students taking loans. But, given the demand for higher education degrees, it’s equally unaffordable for students to not attend.

This conundrum isn’t new, but the endlessly increasing tuition may finally be hitting a wall with the advent of digital technologies. I recently interviewed, Michael D. Smith, a Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and author of The Abundant University. Smith dives into why our current system of higher education is unsustainable and how emerging digital technologies are disrupting the system. Smith argues that these technologies are paramount to delivering better education, and that universities would be wise to recognize this as an opportunity for growth and re-evaluation of their mission.

Cost crisis in higher education

The cost of higher education has quadrupled compared to inflation over the last 50 years in the United States. Smith argues that this trend is unsustainable, with most Americans unable to afford college. The continual increase in costs, driven by the need to maintain physical infrastructures and compete with technological advancements, is not viable long-term.

Moreover, the current system largely reinforces existing class divisions. Those born into the top 1% are 77 times more likely to attend elite universities, compared to those born in the bottom 20%. Since elite college degrees are treated as the highest quality “brand” on the job market, this exacerbates socioeconomic divisions.

Smith argues that the only way to make these systems both morally and economically sustainable is to embrace digital technology. This is the topic of his latest book, The Abundant University.

“If our goal is conveying knowledge (and I think it is), then can we use new technologies to facilitate part of that distribution of knowledge in a way that might even be better than what we achieve in the classroom for some tasks? That’s what I’m trying to get us to think about.” - Michael Smith

Technological disruption as a solution

There are three key scarcity factors that continue to keep universities in business, despite the almost unbearable costs: limited seats in the classroom, access to scarce faculty experts, and access to scarce, valuable credentials. Digital technologies, which enable remote learning, address the first two. With unlimited seats and direct access to some of the best teachers in the world right at one’s fingertips, universities no longer have a monopoly on these two factors. Their final stronghold is the final factor: the perceived value and continued demand of degrees.

Smith argues that this is already changing. The university students attend is often treated as a “brand” when they later approach employers. However, brand is only a proxy for quality. If prospective employers had more information about the actual quality of credentials, they would be able to move away from brand-name recognition when it comes to degrees. Smith even envisions review-based markets, like AirBnB or Amazon, but where the degree and credentials themselves are reviewed. Ultimately, this would dissolve the final scarcity factor, allowing more online learning methods to be quality credentials when entering the job market.

If this comes to fruition, universities that don’t readily adopt such technologies may be left flailing. As someone who studies and teaches technological disruption, Smith often bears witness to how models that don’t adapt die out (think Blockbuster, Britannica, CDs/DVDs, etc.). Success happens when industries do recognize the potential of new technology and use it to fulfill their underlying mission better. In the entertainment industry, that meant developing content for streaming services and other retail platforms that have replaced older modes to better fulfill the underlying mission. In higher education, this may involve taking advantage of remote learning to improve education and opportunities across the board.

Unprecedented teaching innovations

The adoption of digital technologies in education means new possibilities for teaching in more collaborative environments. With the existing system, it’s challenging to effectively portray multiple perspectives in the classroom. With the continual and significant decrease in ideological and political viewpoint diversity in higher education over the last few decades, it gets even harder (according to Jonathan Haidt’s and Greg Lukianoff’s latest work).

By remotely connecting teachers of different opinions, students have the opportunity to learn a wider range of perspectives and build their critical thinking skills based on multiple views.

“Instead of saying we’re going to read chapter one from this book, I could say I’m going to bring in the author of this book and we’re going to pepper her with questions.” - Michael Smith

This extends beyond content, to even how a lesson is delivered. Smith shared with me an example of an online course that allowed students to listen to explanations on the same content by different instructors. Some students, like his daughter, immediately gravitated towards instructors of their own demographic background. Although having a diversified teaching workforce to improve student performance has long been a subject of discussion, never has it been so achievable as with remote learning.

Resistance to remote learning

Many people feel that remote learning isn’t on par with in-person education. As such, plenty of institutions are still resistant to its adoption. However, Smith is adamant that not everything needs to be remote. Instead, the priority is shifting the mindset from one of “finding reasons why it can’t work” to instead considering opportunities for improvement. Although some institutions like ASU and Georgia Tech have adopted fully remote learning programs, via their online degree programs, the adoption of digital technology is a spectrum. In many cases, some combination of in-person and remote learning could mean significant improvements.

Smith also believes that taking advantage of digital technology can benefit other aspects of higher education, and particularly research. The more teaching responsibilities are redistributed, the more time professors will have to devote to research. Already tenure-track research faculty juggle too many responsibilities. By at least alleviating teaching loads, digital technology may play a key role in giving researchers more time to produce credible and reproducible research.

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Despite the profound potential benefits of adopting digital technology and remote learning, some resistance remains. The key to getting beyond the initial opposition is to recognize the potential improvements to be gained, as well as to study the industries that failed to react to disruption. Smith believes that this tech can enable universities to pursue their core mission better, by improving teaching, access and opportunities for students of all backgrounds.

What have been your experiences with remote learning, and how do you see it disrupting higher education? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

As it stands, teachers are already adopting more remote learning practices. In fact, we at Litmaps are working on a course that instructors can use in the classroom to teach fundamental literature discovery concepts using our tool. Pre-register today to get notified as soon as the course is live!