The EdUp Experience - Episode 5

The Non-System of Higher Education with Doug Lederman

Episode Summary

In this thought-provoking episode of The EdUp Experience, hosts Elvin Freytes and Joe Sallustio welcome Doug Lederman, editor and co-founder of Inside Higher Ed, for an insightful conversation about the current state and future of higher education.

About Doug Lederman

Doug shares his journey from working at the New York Times to the Chronicle of Higher Education, where he spent 17 years before co-founding Inside Higher Ed in the early 2000s. His vision was to create a more accessible publication that would serve a broader audience within higher education, including adjuncts, community college staff, and graduate students who were traditionally underserved by existing publications.

Key Insights:

The Current State of Higher Education

Doug characterizes higher education as "an ecosystem under more strain and pressure than I've seen it under in the 30+ years I've been covering it." While he doesn't believe higher education will lose its dominant position in education and training, he acknowledges that increasing financial pressures, declining numbers of traditional-age students, and growing doubts about value proposition are creating significant challenges.

Institutional Closures

When asked about the growing trend of institutional closures, Doug shares his evolving perspective. While he once believed only a handful of institutions would close annually, he now sees the rate accelerating:

• Bond rating agencies like Moody's predict closures will triple from the historical average of 5-6 per year to 15-20 annually
• Over a decade, that represents 200 institutions (approximately 5% of all colleges)
• Many more institutions are disappearing through mergers and consolidations
• Small private institutions are most vulnerable, but some small and mid-sized public institutions are also at risk

Higher Education as a Non-System

One of the most compelling concepts Doug introduces is that higher education is not actually a "system":

"I do not talk about the higher education system because we don't have one. A system implies a set of interconnected entities operating in conjunction with each other... That's really not how it works in higher education."

This non-system nature has been historically beneficial by fostering competition and differentiation. However, it creates challenges when systemic change is needed:

"It's hard to get systemic movement in a non-system."

Innovation and Adaptation

Doug challenges the perception that higher education is stagnant, pointing out substantial innovation:

• New institutional models have emerged (community colleges, online institutions, competency-based education)
• Many institutions are experimenting daily
• The challenge is in scaling successful innovations across the non-system

When asked who's "doing it right," Doug notes that innovation varies by focus area:

• For student success: Georgia State University and institutions in the University Innovation Alliance
• For rethinking adult education: A different set of institutions
• He cautions against the tendency to overly praise any single institution as universally innovative

The For-Profit Sector

Doug describes a historical cycle in for-profit education:

1. Growth fueled by responding to market demands
2. Hypergrowth often driven by problematic incentives
3. Increased regulation following problems
4. Contraction of the sector

He believes the for-profit sector still has a place in higher education when "behaving well," but doesn't expect a return to Wall Street-funded rapid expansion. He also notes increasing convergence between for-profit and traditional sectors.

The Future of Education

In his vision of education's future, Doug sees the traditional model of concentrated learning followed by career as outdated. Instead, he envisions:

• "A pretty perpetual relationship between an individual and some combination of providers"
• Continuous learning throughout a lifetime (professional, intellectual, curiosity-driven)
• More fluid, shorter-term educational interactions
• An expanding and diversifying mix of educational providers
• Continued need for guidance and structure for most learners

Conclusion

Doug hopes to be remembered professionally for "telling the truth and helping people make sense of the world they operate in," which he sees as the fundamental purpose of journalism today. His insights provide a valuable perspective on the complex challenges and opportunities facing higher education in the coming decades.

The EdUp Experience is a podcast that makes education your business, hosted by Elvin Freytes and Joe Sallustio. To learn more, visit edupexperience.com.