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.
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