Higher Education Market Research Shows that Academic Institutions Should Prepare For Change Thanks to Internet Technology

This article explains how the Internet is changing the landscape of higher education. Academic institutions will have a lesser demand for cafeterias and janitors, and a greater demand for professors and information technology experts.

The entire field of education is shifting rapidly as we speak, according to higher education consulting firms. The Internet continues to alter every aspect of our society, and the educational sector is not immune to this disruption. We see this as a welcome disruption – an opportunity. New terms are being coined, such as “competency-based learning” and “adaptive learning.” So what does this all mean in the larger scheme of things?

Basically, for the first time in history there is huge financial pressure on accredited institutions of higher learning to dramatically lower tuition fees. A college education that costs six figures may soon be a thing of the past. Individuals in even the remotest areas of the world will have a chance to obtain an Ivy League education thanks to the new Internet lifestyle.

“The current financial model that most academic institutions still use is quickly being turned on its head thanks to disruptive technologies,” say higher education market research representatives.

Shifts Brought About By Disruptive Technologies

Over the next few years, academic institutions will move from the common brick-and-mortar and administrative expense structure to an online structure that is focused around the professors and students themselves. Instead of expenses pouring into maintaining dorm rooms, physical libraries, cafeterias, manicured lawns, classrooms, and sports facilities, online academic institutions will funnel expenses directly to the professors and tutors themselves.

“With fewer costs, tuition can be kept low,” say higher education consulting firms. “College education will go from being a scarce resource that only the minority can afford to a resource available to all, because the Internet lifestyle is available to all for next to nothing.”

While doomsayers have been saying that the lower tuition fees and budget cuts caused by disruptive technologies will lead to layoffs for faculty, higher education market research doesn’t indicate this happening. An increase in the number of students will inevitably lead to a need for more faculty staff. Because colleges won’t have to focus their budgets on keeping the lawns manicured and the floors mopped, faculty will be compensated at a higher level.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer science fiction. It increases the efficiency at which professors can do their great work. They can actually teach classes better by utilizing AI technology platforms that allow interaction between regulators, students, faculties, employers, and financial sponsors.

Scientific analytics can improve every aspect of the learning experience for students at a fraction of the cost of conventional classrooms. Academic institutions that embrace these new technologies will thrive at a level that was never imagined before, thanks to “disruptive technologies” and the modern Internet lifestyle. They will grow exponentially.

“Institutions that fail to embrace the vast benefits of the Internet will quickly go the way of the dodo bird and the dinosaur,” say higher education consulting firms.

The Age of the Internet Lifestyle

This is the age of abundance and the age of the Internet lifestyle. Instead of focusing on time spent in the classroom (or time spent on the job), we can now focus on the actual mastery of learning (or the mastery of teaching). It’s a real paradigm shift for those from a generation in which you were expected to clock in and clock out to “prove” that you were being productive. Now we can focus on the results only – not the clock.

Students don’t have to be sitting in the classroom to be studying and learning. They can be on their mobile devices -- interacting in the online classroom setting – while sitting at home or on the beach. It doesn’t matter where they log in from for them to benefit from an online classroom setting and with substantially lower tuition costs, everyone can participate in higher learning.

The Pleasures of Being a Mentor

In this article, the author recalls the mentors who have made a difference in his life and the reason why he enjoys mentoring young entrepreneurs.

At Significant Systems, one of our true passions is mentoring. While we aren’t “official” mentors, we do enjoy helping young entrepreneurs build their skillset in order to thrive in today’s world. With mentoring, the benefits are win-win for both individuals involved – both the mentor and the mentee. We as the mentors learn so much from their passion, innovations, inquisitiveness, and fresh viewpoints and opinions. The mentee, in return, gets to learn from the wisdom of someone who has been in their shoes before.

When I was young, I was a musician. Playing the trumpet was my passion, but I also wanted to become a businessman. There were a few different mentors over the years who made a significant difference in my life, both from a business perspective and from a spiritual perspective. To this day, I am so grateful for those “unofficial” mentorships. One of my mentors was William C. Turner, who has served on 30 Fortune 100 boards during his lifetime. Another mentor was Lou Falcino, the inventor of the closed-circuit television and pay-per-view television, as well as a controller of heavyweight boxing in New York and New Jersey. Pastor Tommy Barnett, another one of my mentors, was the pastor at Phoenix Assembly of God Church. I also experienced the opportunity to be mentored by Dr. Bill Wright, who founded Campus Crusade for Christ International (CRU). My wife and I also had marriage counselors who have helped our marriage thrive for over 33 years. There are numerous other individuals who have played important roles in my life and in my development as an entrepreneur. Everyone has the opportunity to be a mentor to someone at some point in his or her life. Seize that opportunity because helping others is the most rewarding thing you can do in life.

I often think about what it is that makes some entrepreneurs so successful, while others end up spinning their wheels and eventually getting “a real job.” Steve Jobs has been quoted as saying, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

Many of the individuals I have had the opportunity to mentor refer to themselves as serial entrepreneurs – creative people who love to entrepreneur (verb). The successful entrepreneur has to be laser-focused on their corporate mission, and they have to be seriously passionate about the project. They also have to constantly reevaluate their path, and of course provide high value to the marketplace. Jumping from project to project does not mean you are a serial entrepreneur.  You will undoubtedly have many failures before you reach the success that you seek. Even Steve Jobs was not a serial entrepreneur. He stayed dedicated and passionate about Apple -- a company that has changed the world on an exponential level. And although Apple is known for producing a variety of products – computers, laptops, ipods, ipads, iphones – it is still only one company.