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College in the Age of Corona: Will it Ever Be the Same? By Frederick M. Hess WithcollegestudentspreparingforclassthisFall, collegeleadersneedtolookaheadwithasenseof urgencyandimagination
College intheAge ofCorona: Will It Ever be the Same?
byFREDERICKM. HESS
The coronavirus pandemic has upended America’s colprograms already involved a hefty online component. leges and universities. Last spring, schools shut mid-semester, There’s tough sledding ahead for colleges. As Andrew kicking students out of dorms and hurriedly moving classes Kelly, director of the Center on Higher Education Reform at online. The results were pretty dismal, with students feeling the University of North Carolina, has pointed out, colleges are ripped off and professors lost at sea. After this rocky spring, it’s likely to face an enrollment crisis, with student surveys sugnatural to wonder: What’s ahead this fall? gesting that “colleges could face declining enrollments as high
For starters, while there’s still as 20%.” On top of ongoing revemuch uncertainty, plenty of colnue shortfalls, which the American leges have announced that they’ll Council on Education claims that be going remote this fall. Institucolleges will need $34.6 billion to tions from the mammoth Cal State address, a drop in enrollment could system to Harvard University have prove devastating for some institutold students that they’ll be taking tions. courses on their iPad — but will College leaders need to look still be paying full freight. ahead with a sense of urgency and
For the slice of students enimagination. Meanwhile, what we rolled in four-year institutions, this need from higher education has is a lousy deal indeed. After all, changed, even before the pandemic. students are typically told there are Originally, we needed to figure out three big benefits from attending a how to get experts, books, and sturecognizable college or university: dents together at a time when eduthe campus experience, the exquicated instructors were scarce, books site academic instruction, and a brand that offers a big leg up in the Frederick M. Hess were rare, and students needed to be in the presence of a teacher. Now labor market.Well, that campus exthat books are plentiful and authoriperience has evaporated. And stuThe case for taking on big tative lectures are all over YouTube, dents are not pleased. As one survey of over 3,000 college students loans to attend residential what do we need colleges for? Well, for three things, at least. found, more than three-quarters colleges has now been First, to organize the flood said this spring’s online instruction reduced to the hope that a of content into coherent units of was unengaging and two-thirds felt it was inferior to in-person learning. piece of paper verifying that knowledge, explain what’s most important, and ensure that students In short, the case for taking on big a student watched Zoom have actually learned it. Second, loans to attend residential colleges sessions featuring professors to aid students who are struggling has now been reduced to the hope that a piece of paper verifying that from College X will translate by providing them guidance and support. And, third, to conduct rea student watched Zoom sessions to a better job. search and serve as lighthouses of featuring professors from College free inquiry and civic discourse. X will translate to a better job. Many colleges did a lousy job
Meanwhile, for the lion’s share with all of this, even before the of students who are enrolled in two-year colleges or who are pandemic. Too many courses are disjointed or unduly narrow. not “traditional” college-goers, the picture is a little different. There’s little assurance that students have mastered essential The value of their degree relies less on faculty relationships content. Less than half of the college students actually graduor the campus experience, and more on acquiring skills and ate, partly because institutions provide insufficient guidance or documenting that they’ve acquired them. Their education support. And there’s not currently much cause to regard cammore readily shifts to an online format; indeed, many of these puses as beacons of free thought or civility.
College leaders need to look ahead with a sense of urgency and imagination. Meanwhile, what we need from higher education has changed, even before the pandemic.
That track record means there’s no need to presume that higher education going forward need necessarily look like traditional colleges. Online entities can provide top-shelf courses and assessments in select fields without the traditional collegiate footprint. Apprenticeships married to practical instruction can provide the kind of guidance and supports sorely lacking in most colleges.
What does all this mean for public policy? Here are three places to start:
First, decades of preferential treatment for the college degree have left employers nervous about relying on alternative employment criteria. But, the college degree was never designed to serve as a hiring test. This needs to be remedied, through legislation or litigation. There’s also a need for publicprivate efforts to clarify acceptable hiring practices, so that responsible employers needn’t worry about getting dragged into court. Government agencies can help by modeling what it looks like to hire on the basis of skill, qualifications, and experience — rather than based on an expensive piece of paper. Loosening the link between college degrees and employment would free students from the pressure to pay for degrees they may not want, force colleges to compete on quality, and allow viable alternatives a fighting chance to emerge.
Second, alternatives to traditional colleges need public officials to dismantle the statutory and regulatory impediments that have made it harder for them to emerge. Currently, it can be challenging for students at nontraditional education providers to utilize federal grants and loans. Meanwhile, states funnel tax dollars into traditional higher education systems, while providing little in the way of support for the establishment of new public options. They should rethink that approach.
Third, state officials, like those in South Dakota did last year, should take steps to ensure that public institutions are actually serving as incubators of free inquiry and the civil exchange of ideas. After all, this is a big part of the mission for expensive, taxpayer-supported, residential colleges. If campuses can’t handle that mission responsibly, it’s time to ask whether they should continue to receive the same amount of taxpayer support.
American higher education is facing a crisis that could prove to be a profound opportunity for rethinking and reinvention. Here’s hoping that college leaders and public officials are equal to the challenge. RF
Frederick M. Hess is director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
Astellas is deeply grateful
to our healthcare professionals and those on the front line who are stepping forward to help others aff ected by the coronavirus pandemic. Their courage and unwavering service shines a light and inspires us. Among our eff orts, Astellas is helping non-profi t community and humanitarian organizations address the urgent needs of COVID-19 patients, healthcare workers and fi rst responders.
We also remain committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions for a range of diseases that bring value and hope to patients worldwide. At Astellas, we’re focused on making changing tomorrow a reality.
