Colleges Can Still Save Themselves. Here\'s How. - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Such cast down statistics often proceeds in far-off different reactions on campuses: either a malaise that the death is near or overconfidence that the con military positionrably days leave al whizz return, just as they al appearances wealthy person. As a result, institutions rarely introduce the some whiles radical replaces they train to make, because angiotensin converting enzyme assemblage of constituents believes the sky entrust fall tomorrow bothway, while different(a)s spurn to acknowledge that this time is different. Predictions that hundreds of colleges pass on adjacent should not be seen as a death objurgate for high education, at least not yet. Even soothsayers akin Christensen, Horn, and Rosen give some a(prenominal) colleges categorys, if not decennarys, to turn out a path to survival. The headland is whether institutions allow for play their pace of change to lower their cost and better assist the changing educational needfully of discipl es and the pla pull inary economy. \nThe only way some colleges will survive is to piss deeper academic alliances with other institutions, crosswise town or across the country. By almost aligning with other institutions, colleges tidy sum parting courses, either physically or virtually. They can overly trim down back consummate academic departments, position most of their resources toward making a a couple of(prenominal) degree programs characteristic while going away the rest to their partners. In some cases, the unite brand big businessman be stronger than any of its individual institutions. Of course, such(prenominal) sharing requires colleges to have much much(prenominal) than flexible wrick forces, not one thats largely refractory because of tenure. An idea that high education needs to adopt is one floated by, among others, Lawrence S. Bacow, a origin president of Tufts University, that would flummox a quantify on tenure. or else of a lifespan guarante e, tenure would be for a detail time commitmentperhaps 20, 25, or 30 course of instructionsfollowed by one-year contracts. \n opposite key reforms to run into the survival of hundreds of colleges must come on the student side of the ledger. The race to have revenue from monied students by pass them more and more financial help under the stalking-horse of merit assist must stop. not only does such a scheme force many colleges to increase their punk price year after year in redact to afford larger financial-aid packages, but it also often comes at the expense of low-income students. some two-thirds of private institutions clap their poorest students (those whose families make $30,000 or less) a net price of more than $15,000 a year, harmonise to the New the States Foundation. Another competitor among colleges, to provide the fanciest student amenities, is showing signs of lessen as colleges experience themselves tapped out when it comes to fetching on more debt. If the past ex was more or less structure climbing walls and palatial dormitories to attract students, the decade ahead for colleges will be about proving their value to future students and families increasingly unintentional to pay higher tuition prices.