EP 716 Remaking Colleges and Universities for the Digital World

Disruption is the name of the game in so many corners of our economy including music, video entertainment, and other communications sectors, and our guest argues in this podcast that higher education is not, and cannot, be immune from it.  It is too expensive, too exclusionary and a key reason for yawning gaps in income inequality.  Wealthy parents, often providing legacy admissions opportunities for their children, wall themselves in to the college experience, while walling others out. The prevailing philosophy of ‘scarcity’ in higher education is outmoded when considering that great scholarship can be delivered to many excluded segments of the population through abundant digital technologies.  Thus Michael D. Smith calls his compelling new book “The Abundant University.”  The pandemic may or may not have offered us a good glimpse into the future.  Granted it was rushed and hastily put together, but the change it signaled can be the basis to find new forms of learning which involve it exclusively, in some cases, and as a hybrid experience, both on line and in classes which require hands on instruction.  Is a lecture hall with 200 students any different than learning on your computer?  And don’t we all turn to you tube and other sites for instruction daily?  It’s a fascinating topic and we explore it today.

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