The disruptive forces affecting higher education are likely to result in a vastly different landscape than the one that exists today. Institutions are re-evaluating their basic business models and planning assumptions.
In an article in Inside Higher Ed, Steven Mintz, executive director of the University of Texas System’s Institute for Transformational learning and Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin, has made ten predictions about the future of higher education, ranging from the general to the specific. For example, Mintz forsees:
- The higher education landscape will become even more diverse.
- The higher ed system will be structured differently.
- The fixed fifteen-week semester will increasingly exist with other options.
- The learning experience will become more student-centered--enhanced by faculty mentoring, less centered on coursework, and facilitated by more intellectually coherent and rational curricular pathways.
- Campuses will embrace technology by incorporating a number of cutting edge uses, including personalized, adaptive learning pathways that are responsive to student needs; content that is automatically tailored to student interests; and automated advising.
- Institutions will pursue other secondary revenue sources, such as continuing education programs.
- Alternative credentials beyond the major-minor-degree paradigm will become more important, such as badges, certificates, and specializations.
AACRAO will be offering a free webinar led by Dr. Christopher Tremblay, Associate Provost for Enrollment Management at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Tremblay will share his observations about the various certification programs available in higher education. Much of the information is derived from a recent environmental scan of 34 educational offerings in college admissions, financial aid, enrollment management, and college access/college success programs. These educational offerings include certification, endorsements, degree concentrations, credentials, online programs, and a specialist designation. Participants will leave the webinar with practical knowledge about the types of certification programs currently being offered, as well as information about program content, cost, location, curriculum, and expectations.
Dr. Tremblay has an extensive background in the enrollment field and has worked at multiple institutions including Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan; the University of Michigan-Dearborn; and Gannon University. He has acquired significant knowledge and expertise in the field of enrollment management, with a special focus on Certifying Enrollment Management Programs. To learn more and register, click here.