Future of Higher Education

Main Nav

Higher education's purpose is to equip students for success in life -- in the workplace, in communities, and their personal lives. While this purpose may have remained constant for centuries, the world around colleges and universities is undergoing significant change. Higher education is under pressure to meet greater expectations, whether for student numbers, educational preparation, workforce needs, or economic development. Meanwhile, the resources available are likely to decline. New models, an intense focus on the student experience, and a drive for innovation and entrepreneurism will ensure that higher education continues to meet society's needs. Information technology supports virtually every aspect of higher education, including finances, learning, research, security, and sustainability, and IT professionals need to understand the range of problems their institutions face so they apply IT where it brings greatest value. Creating this future will require collaboration across organizational and national boundaries, bringing together the collective intelligence of people from backgrounds including education, corporations, and government.

Articles and Reports

The Current and Future State of Higher Education, EDUCAUSE Live!, November 2012.
Through a Glass, Brightly: IT’s Impact on Higher Education by 2020, ECAR Bulletin, August 2012.
Information Technology and Tomorrow’s University: A President’s Confessions and Advice. Jolene Koester. EDUCAUSE Review, January/February 2011.
Open Governance in Higher Education: Extending the Past to the Future. Patrick Masson. EDUCAUSE Review, January/February 2011.
Much of the EDUCAUSE Review Magazine, Volume 45, Number 2, March/April 2010 issue is devoted to the future of higher education.
The entire issue of the EDUCAUSE Quarterly Magazine,Volume 33, Number 1, 2010 is largely devoted to anticipating the future of higher education.
The entire issue of the EDUCAUSE Review Magazine, Volume 45, Number 1, January/February 2010 is largely devoted to innovation and the future of higher education.
The Future of Higher Education: Beyond the Campus, EDUCAUSE White Paper, January 2010

Podcasts and Videos

The Future of Mobile Computing. EDUCAUSE Live! April 2011
Future of Higher Education, Diana Oblinger, Midwest Regional Conference, March 2010.
The Future of Higher Education: What Is the IT Professionals Role? Linda A. Jorn, James J. Koenig, David W. Dodd, Robert H. McDonald and Melissa Woo, Midwest Regional Conference, March 2010.

Projects

2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning, KnowledgeWorks Foundation.

April 2013

EDUCAUSE Staff Picks

IT-Based Transformation in Higher Education: Possibilities and Prospects, Greg Jackson, EDUCAUSE, March 2012. A Discussion of how achieving both greater efficiency and better outcomes in higher education through information technology requires a commitment to fundamental, unfettered thinking about the future both within and outside current institutions—the kind of process many institutions are beginning to undertake.
Rethinking Higher Education Business Models, Robert Sheets, Stephen Crawford,and Louis Soares. Center for American Progress. March 2012.
Innovating the 21st-Century University: It’s Time!, EDUCAUSE Review, Volume 45, Number 1, 2010. If colleges and universities open up and embrace collaborative learning and collaborative knowledge production, they have a chance of surviving and even thriving in the networked, global economy of the future.
The Changing Landscape of Higher Education, EDUCAUSE Review, Volume 46, Number 1, 2011. Focusing strictly on technology trends can obscure other environmental factors that are drivers for innovation in higher education. The authors identify ten fissures in the landscape that are creating areas of potentially tectonic change.

Latest News

Higher Education in the Ultra-Connected Age

Join us for a free, EDUCAUSE Live! Game Changers Spotlight Series webinar that will explore the new, connected landscape we all must gingerly yet strategically navigate.

Library Items on this Topic

View All

EDUCAUSE Library Items for Future of Higher Education

Showing 1 - 10 of 73 Results

Sort by:

Relevancy | Title | Date

Mobile IT—2011 ECAR Survey Questionnaire: July 14, 2011

This is the July 2011 ECAR survey instrument used for the ECAR study of information technology mobility in higher education. The study updates and expands our community’s understanding of how …
ECAR 2011 Student Survey Crosswalk: October 14, 2011

In 2011, ECAR conducted two versions of its annual survey of undergraduates and information technology. This crosswalk compares questions in the two survey instruments: the February 2011 Stude…
ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2011—Survey Questionnaire: October 14, 2011

This is the June 2011 ECAR survey instrument used for the ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2011 . The 2011 ECAR study was conducted in collaboration w…
Students and Information Technology in Higher Education: 2011—Survey Questionnaire: February 28, 2011

This is the February 2011 ECAR survey instrument used for the ECAR research study of student information technology use and skills in higher education. Citation for This Work : EDUCAUSE C…
IT Workforce and Leadership in Higher Education, 2010 Survey Questionnaire: June 28, 2010

This June 2010 survey is a critical component of a new EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) study that will expand our community's understanding of the issues and concerns of current…
Identity Management in Higher Education 2010 Survey Questionnaire: March 23, 2010

This March 2010 survey is a critical component of the 2010 EDUCAUSE Center on Applied Research (ECAR) follow-up to its 2006 baseline study of identity management in higher education. The 2006 st…
Students and Information Technology in Higher Education: 2010 Survey Questionnaire: February 22, 2010

This is the February 2010 ECAR survey instrument used for the ECAR research study of student information technology use and skills in higher education. Citation for This Work : EDUCAUSE Cen…
Classroom Technology Survey: December 9, 2009

Kyle Johnson posted an informal classroom technology survey query to the CIO list in November 2009, these are those results. Kyle Johnson posted …
IT Funding Crisis Management Survey Questionnaire: November 10, 2009

This November 2009 survey is a critical component of the EDUCAUSE Center on Applied Research (ECAR) study on key issues related to the impact of the economic crisis on information technology fund…
Printing Survey: July 22, 2009

These are results of an informal survey from the EDUCAUSE CIO listserv on student's printing limits. The questions asked are as follows; How many pages is a student allowed to print per …