The Future Of Higher Education

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Running head: THE FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The Future of Higher Education in a Global Economy

Tamara L. Marlar #0905

Bethel College

SUCCESS Program

February 5, 2007

Business, Government & the International Economy

MOD 430

Bob Owens

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Introduction

Achieving and sustaining quality in higher education is a tough challenge. A new stakeholder contract may be needed, and better performance measures would help light the way forward. It is a national imperative that we join together to transform the American higher education system for the 21st century. It is a state responsibility to design the goals and strategies to accomplish that. The cost of doing nothing affects not only students, but also families, our states, and our country.

Global Education

Higher education is attracting unprecedented public attention across the globe. In Germany a competition to create universities of excellence is fuelling debate; in France discussions continue about struggling mainstream universities versus more well-endowed grandes йcoles; in the UK there is a debate about education as a public good versus faculties as market-oriented enterprises; and in the US public focus continues on accessibility, competition and costs. Along with other policymakers, members of the commission have been greatly influenced by Thomas Friedman's recent book, The World is Flat. Friedman lays out a logical and alarming case that the United States is losing its competitive advantage in a new, high-tech, highly mobile global economy. This lack of competitiveness should be a matter of the highest urgency for federal and state policymakers. It is our contention that higher education policy should be at the center of this discussion. Higher education is both the problem and the solution. The nation is

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losing its competitiveness because it has failed to focus on how higher education reenergizes U.S competitiveness and revitalizes the states.

The American higher education system no longer is the best in the world. Other countries outrank and outperform us. Although the United States has some of the best institutions in the world, we do a poor job overall in our mass education production. The American higher education system is not preparing students for the 21st century global society. Many business, political and education leaders--including Thomas Friedman and Bill Gates--argue that we've lost our competitive edge. We're not taking globalization seriously. Globalization demands different priorities, different skills and different knowledge.

Role of Education

Historical influences, institutional developments, the role of education in society, past and current attitudes to funding, quality and access: when it comes to measuring quality, relevance and impact of universities, we simply need more evidence. Institutions of higher education everywhere are increasingly encouraged--if not obliged-to draw a higher proportion of their resources from non-state funds. Just as the health system and pension funds can no longer be solely funded with public money, university "consumers" will increasingly be asked for a financial contribution. There is a paradox: on the one hand governments and the public request public universities to provide greater access, improved quality and to cut costs. On the other hand, public funding is reduced. In some

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countries higher education may as a consequence become scarcer, and access more limited. Some change, whether in approach or structure, seems inevitable.

Education Reform

Education reform is far more than just about funding or turning educational institutions into businesses. It is about promoting a new social contract involving all stakeholders, beyond governments, teachers and students. The terms of the social contract which has underpinned these institutions until now-mainly public finance based mainly on taxation-are changing. Also, governments have to make sure the challenges are met quickly, since the knowledge economy relies heavily on higher education for its raw material of human capital.

It is important to consider higher education in a regional as well as a global context. The higher education and research institutes made their entry into regional policy in the 1980s, when entrepreneurship became central to local development. There were new incentives to create closer ties between knowledge institutions and trade and industry, led by the likes of Silicon Valley in California, Route 128 in Boston and other high technology centers. Regions and their universities have drawn new "road maps" towards dynamic local forces capable of competing in a global economy and delivering social well-being. Such forces require a stable infrastructure, including best-performance schools and universities, research laboratories and a networked technological infrastructure. As Microsoft's Bill Gates puts it, cutting-edge companies now base their

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location decisions on the availability of talent pools and a culture for innovation, rather than tax policy.

In 1997 Governor Don Sundquist appointed a panel of state leaders to develop a plan for elevating Tennessee's public colleges and universities. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission is working to raise the awareness of policymakers regarding the importance of linking appropriations and fee determinations with student aid levels; develop a new statewide master plan; and restructure its longstanding funding formula so that it will be more responsive to statewide policies and goals. In the emerging knowledge-based economy, the university is a driving force in much the same way as the automotive industry was in the 20th century and the railroads were in the 19th century. The states with the best ideas, the best products, and the best-educated work force will be the