Top 10 developments for higher education

There are some years where not much of note has signaled change but 2023 has been very different. Steve Mintz offered the top 10 developments for higher education, listing issues that will be familiar to most educators who pay attention. Higher education as a social and political dividing line, declining public trust, alternatives to college, an expanding governmental role, and hyperpoliticization are on the list.

As if to respond to the top 10 developments in 2024, Mintz' subsequent opinion suggested that it's time for institutions to think outside the box in their approaches to organization, curriculum, ways of teaching, and assessment. The first recommendation, one that will challenge student affairs educators, was to reconsider the bureaucratic divisions of academic and student affairs in order to better align cocurricular and extracurricular with academic goals, involve more faculty, and relate academic and career advising more purposefully. Recognizing the impediments to change that are part of the higher education scene, Mintz later offer 10 changes that colleges and universities need to implement.

Republicans plan to target affordability and accountability in the proposed College Cost Reduction Act. Democrats' opposition of the sweeping measures included in the Act are reflected in their Roadmap to College success, which includes provisions for affordability, access, and supporting students.  Review of the Republican provisions provide fair warning for how they view higher education and how they see federal policy controlling it. Conservative efforts are progressing at a rapid pace with 84 bills in 28 states and at the federal level now being considered to put controls in place for higher education institutions.

With the highly controversial 2024 U.S. Presidential election on the horizon, the politicization of higher education is becoming a major issue, with conservative candidates throughout the ballot claiming "wokeness" and violation of freedom of speech. Campus responses to the Supreme Court reversal on affirmative action are likely to draw greater scrutiny and the risk of dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is significant, which necessitates stronger defense if institutions are to be able to "create and advance structures in higher education that are just, equitable and inclusive." Democrats defended diversity initiatives during the U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee meeting. Education world wide may see changes as key elections take place across the globe in 2024.

It's difficult to determine if lack of confidence contributed to politicization or politicization led to lowered confidence. An article in the U.S. News and World Report related declining public confidence to politicization, cost of attendance, and access. Edge Research identified many of the same concerns noted in the U.S. News and World Report and attributed the negativity to news sources highlighting concerns rather than benefits of higher education achievement. It may not matter what or how the concerns emerged. The point is that higher education faces a barrage of challenges and negotiating them simultaneously will challenge educators of all types, ranks, and places.

Politicization is reflected in numerous legislative initiatives across the country, including challenging tenure, curricular control, DEI offices/programs, and accreditation. An Indiana legislative bill demanding "intellectual diversity" sounds reasonable, except that it mandates post-tenure review of faculty by governing boards, a move that could threaten the careers of faculty whose scholarship does not conform to the preferences of board members. Civil rights groups are pushing back on the Indiana legislation as well as numerous other anti-DEI measures in other states. On the other hand, whether or not President Biden's support of HBCUs will bring Black voters back to the Democratic party is yet to be determined.

Being humiliated in the public's eyes has frightening potential as higher education leaders navigate public scrutiny and regulatory whiplash. Some of the critique is based on questioning what proportion of young adults really need a college degree, especially since the return on investment has declined in recent years. As questions loom, it's not surprising that state higher education officials identified workforce preparation as the major concern for their institutions. Preparation for careers in a knowledge-based economy and improving return on investment of time and money indicators for higher education are integral to the workforce development focus and this is the benefit that students expect. With this in mind, research indicating that states' contribution to post-college outcomes are low is a clear vulnerability.

Addressing what students want and recognizing issues about which they have concern is essential. The faculty's focus is central to students' experience, with students and their families expecting teaching to be their core function. Yet this expectation is often not actualized in campus culture and rewards. If institutions want to be perceived as benefitting the public, they need to do more than post their commitment to teaching on the website. The headlines for higher education, with the number of issues educational leaders face, require attention to fulfilling "their mission as purveyors of a liberal education, producing students well-equipped to participate in today's unstable, uncertain, unpredictable and extraordinarily diverse global environment." And solutions will likely only come from reaching across entrenched political perspectives.

Elite higher education institutions are at the center of the scrutiny of higher education, which was demonstrated during the House Committee hearings on anti-semitism. Derek Bok's book, Attacking the Elites, is one of several critiques that warrant consideration of how elitism plays out in an era of populism. Steve Mintz equated elite higher education's dilemma to that of a Greek tragedy saying that privileged institutions need to "recenter themselves and to declare, quite boldly, that their purpose is to produce global citizens who serve the world... to ensure that those fortunate enough to attend or teach at an elite university are respectful and are able to interact civilly in a world of discord."

Although 2023 represented some return to stability after the 2020-21 pandemic, there are numerous issues that will challenge higher education leadership in 2024 and beyond. With the likelihood of continuing, and perhaps escalating, dissension about higher education, clearly asserting the values of a university will be paramount. Presidents serve many constituents as they navigate defining and communicating the education value proposition and helping oversight boards thing strategically is critical. Dan Edelstein's opinion was that the essential values include that universities are places of learning, they are places to distinguish fact from fabrication, learning comes from interaction with others, and orthodoxy has no place here. Edelstein's advice might be useful to higher education Presidents who expressed confidence in their own institutions but uncertainty about higher education in general. The annual Provosts' survey identified the need for AI policy, concerns about free speech, DEI, and several other areas as their top concerns.