A Learning Moment

Recently I have seen three articles about the current state of higher education financing which perplexed me greatly. First, Business Week published an article which portrayed proprietary institutions as “cashing in” unduly on stimulus money. Then, the New York Times reported that Michael Crow’s bold vision for Arizona State University was under severe pressure due to funding shortages. And, even more recently, the 11 Presidents of Florida Universities wrote about their cash crunch and the need to raise tuition in the Miami Herald.

What do these stories have to do with each other? A great deal. They provide the basis for a “learning moment” as we try to understand the impact of this recession on higher education and the larger challenges the country faces in educating many more people well in the months and years ahead.

Michael Crow’s institution, ASU, is state-funded and, therefore, limited ultimately in the number of students they can admit. And Forida has the same problem. They need more money to serve their current student population well. And as the recession grinds on, ever more students are coming to college to retool and renew their knowledge and skills. As a result, potential students cascade down the line in the public system from the universities to the community colleges, looking for a funded space where they can get their education. The institutions are filled to overflowing and the students are losing out.

At the same time, business leaders are crying out not only for better trained workers coming out of college, but also for many more highly trained workers coming out of college. In fact, a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the the 100 fastest growing job categories in the US required either a first professional degree or a BA at a minimum. And the gap projected between supply and demand for high skll workers is growing. This is a fact. It is also a recipe for economiuc diaster, as President Obama pointed out in his bold call for more higher education for every high school graduate.

This is where the Business Week story misses the point. New, fully accredited institutions, like Kaplan University, are helping with this exploding need for more higher education. We are educating learners, who are capable but, for many reasons, have failed to thrive in the existing, more traditional, system. We are doing so at a reasonable cost and with success rates that are competitive with community colleges and many state colleges and universities, among others. There is no special stimulus money targeted at us. And we are fully regulated and compliant with federal rules and regulations for financial aid.

I have had the privilege of serving as the founding president of both a Community College (Community College of Vermont) and a State University (Cal State, Monterey Bay). And I have served as a Dean at the graduate level for a fine private university (George Washington). The current traditional institutions in America need and have earned the continued support of the public as well as state and federal legislators. Their contribution is huge and critically important in the years ahead.

In this “learning moment”, however, let’s recognize that it is the diversity within America’s higher education system which gives it enormous resilience and strength. The newest addition to that diversity is the growth of online and blended programs, some proprietary, others not, which are  wholly or largely unsubsidized by the federal and state governments, other than financial aid. This addition is not the only way to educate learners.  It is, however, a critical option within the diverse array of choices for america’s learners. America needs all of us to win the education battle.