Higher education costs in America are rising almost to the point where the majority of potential students can’t afford to go. The university system is deeply concerned and states and private institutions are looking at solutions. One of the solutions being considered is increasing the use of online education.
CNN recently reported the middle class is being priced out of the education market.
The crux of the problem: Tuition and fees at public universities, according to the College Board, have surged almost 130% over the last 20 years — while middle class incomes have stagnated.
Federal financial aid has failed to keep up with the price increases, forcing students to rely more and more on student loans to fund their education. Half of the students who take out student loans will be still paying for them twenty years later.
States like Arizona are concerned with the problem. The Board of Regents recently published a plan calling for zero tuition increases, raising need based financial aid within the state (grants) and establishing alternate pathways to reaching the goal of awarding more bachelor’s degrees.
Currently, there are more than 1,100 pathways between community colleges and universities in Arizona. Students can save up to 50 percent on the cost of tuition by completing a degree through a pathway program vs. taking all four years of classes at one of the main university campuses. These pathways are serving more than 11,000 students right now, and we seek a threefold increase by 2020.
We are implementing one of the nation’s most comprehensive online offerings for higher-education degrees, and online enrollment will grow fivefold – to more than 50,000 students by 2020.
Harvard University is concerned with a systemic failure of higher education. The current issue of Harvard Magazine discusses the problems and possible solutions. While traditional colleges are raising tuition for students, online universities are succeeding at educating students and remaining profitable.
Just at the moment when these challenges to established higher education have arisen and compounded, another group of universities has arisen whose financial health is strong and enrollments have been booming. And yet the brands of these schools are weak and their campuses far from glamorous; sometimes the campuses are even nonexistent from the perspective of students, as online learning has largely driven their growth.
Harvard calls this rapid systemic change “disruptive innovation.” Other industries have called it disintermediation. Regardless, technology is transforming education. Besides the numerous career colleges that created the new system, traditional brick and mortar universities are now embracing the technology.
At the heart of any change is fear of the unknown. Many misconceptions exist about the value of an online college degree. Even though that degree can improve employment opportunities, potential students fear it won’t carry the same “weight” with employers. The University of North Carolina has launched an online MBA program. Despite its status as a top 20 business school, “‘There’s a stigma that’s causing students to not be excited about the program,’ said class of 2012 student Louis Reavis.”
Reality is different than perception. “Deborah Bushway, interim president of Capella University, said employers have been impressed with the quality of graduates the university has put out.”
If Arizona’s Board of Regents projections are correct, the question of online universities will go away. The board expects a five-fold increase in online college students in the next nine years.
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