Category Archives: future of education

The end of Roe and what it might mean for American higher education

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Bryan Alexander

I do appeal to educators across the nation to think, seriously and urgently: With the landscape for women’s reproductive rights changed, what will your institution do to prevent the erosion of women’s hard-won achievements in higher education? –Jo Ellen Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in enrollment, future of education, politics | 9 Comments

Which university or college will be the first to charge $100,000 per year? Checking in on a 2018 forecast

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Bryan Alexander

When will the first American college or university charge $100,000 or more to attend for a year?  What might that mean for higher education? I first posed this question in 2018, during the Before Times. The gist was that a … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, future of education | 4 Comments

Academia, climate change, and the future: an interview with Kim Stanley Robinson

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

How might the climate crisis unfold?  What should academia do about it? One year ago our online book club read Kim Stanley Robinson‘s recent novel about one way the next few decades could play out, The Ministry for the Future … Continue reading →

Posted in book club, climatechange, future of education, interviews | Tagged | 5 Comments

What neonationalism may mean for higher education

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

What is neonationalism, and what does it mean for colleges and universities around the world? Last week the Future Trends Forum hosted University of California-Berkeley research professor John Aubrey Douglass to discuss.  He’s the editor of Neo-Nationalism and Universities: Populists, … Continue reading →

Posted in future of education, Future Trends Forum, politics | Leave a comment

Four futures for higher education after neoliberalism

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

How might higher education change if society moves beyond the neoliberal order? Scholar Chris Newfield recently published a fine set of scenarios for future colleges and universities.  It is very much worth your time to explore.  Here I’ll set the … Continue reading →

Posted in future of education, futures, scenarios | 3 Comments

Have master’s degrees gone too far? A critique and a discussion

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

Have master’s degrees become a problem? Last week New America’s education policy leader Kevin Carey gave an interview to Slate.  In it Carey and his interlocutor, Jordan Weissmann, argued that American master’s degree* programs have been corrupt and dangerous in … Continue reading →

Posted in economics, enrollment, future of education, higher education | 13 Comments

Which university or college will be the first to charge $100,000 per year? Checking in on a 2018 forecast

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

Three years ago I pondered when the first college or university would charge $100,000 or more per year to attend. What does that 2018 probe into the future look like in 2021? To give a little background: in that 2018 … Continue reading →

Posted in future of education | 3 Comments

Looking ahead to higher ed in fall 2021: struggling towards normalcy

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

Earlier this week my family took in a videoconference hosted by the University of Vermont, where Owain is a history major. The UVM team was very clear on one point: the return of a pre-COVID educational setting by fall 2021.  … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus, future of education | 10 Comments

How might American academia respond to rising tensions with China?

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

What does the growing struggle between the United States and China mean for higher education? Here I’d like to continue my exploration of the question. This post is a direct follow up on my last one. For more on the … Continue reading →

Posted in future of education, politics | 3 Comments

How will higher education react to an expanded pandemic this semester?

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Bryan Alexander

How will higher education react if the COVID pandemic gets worse this semester? On the one hand this seems like a surprising question, given the current standing of infections, at least in the US. Those numbers have been trending downwards, … Continue reading →

Posted in coronavirus, future of education | 2 Comments