COVID-19: Why higher education in the US must embrace digital – World Economic Forum
- The pandemic is an opportunity to change higher-education delivery.
- Online learning is cheaper and more flexible than the traditional on-campus variety.
- Universities should embrace a new role as validators of education.
The ongoing global pandemic has changed much of our daily lives, and education is no exception. Almost overnight, students at all levels were forced to homeschool online with little time to prepare. This shift was scary and uncertain for academic institutions, teachers, professors, students, as well as parents now forced to abandon the schooling routine to which they had come accustomed.
While the shift has been devastating to many, it also marks an opportunity to address many of the inequities in higher education: increasing costs, greater debt, limited access and curriculum, and a failure to effectively utilize technology to benefit the modern student. In many countries, including the United States, traditional higher education is out of reach for many, and is being re-evaluated for its relevance and return on investment.
The past decade has seen a simultaneous increase in both the demand for and the cost of higher education (the expense of a four-year college degree has increased by 25% since the 2008 recession).