Future of college

May 3, 2020, 8:03 AM

I teach at a university. We have been online since mid March. I honestly could get used to Zoom and working from home. I have noticed same trend in students as on campus. Students who want to succeed do succeed and others struggle. I am moving to industry soon so I am not pushing anything.

For those who don't know, enrollments for the fall are way down. They may pick up as uncertainty lifts, but they've been trending down for years most places. Something like 20% of schools, mostly small private liberal arts, were predicted to close in 10 years. Pandemic ia going to accelerate that. I have always said tuition at this level is unsustainable. This is one reason I am leaving. I see long term problems, and I will probably make double salary in 10 years from now.

The question is are major universities at risk now that there is a proven way to take classes at home? This would be very low overhead for whoever creates an online reputable program so very low tuition. Meanwhile, traditional colleges are swamped in debt from five star dining facility projects, etc.

Too many people go to college currently as evidenced by their lack of effort, but I would hate to see places like Clemson having serious ruin. I also dont want it to be a place only the rich can go.

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A couple of thoughts:

I'm not sure the reason why the number of students committing to traditional colleges is because they are enjoying the online experience. I think it's because of their families economic uncertainty and because they don't want o commit to a school that will only be offering online in the fall. It's cheaper to attend tech schools online for a semester.

I think the overwhelming number of students still want the traditional college experience. However, I do think most colleges will expand their online offerings in the future but not at the expense of getting that dorm, meal plan, and athletic money.

I think colleges/universities like Clemson and other large public schools will be fine. They may lose some students during this health and economic crisis but there will be a bounce back in enrollment just like after 2008/2009. Remember, Clemson was set to grow their enrollment prior to this crisis. Smaller liberal arts colleges may suffer more as students seek more technical or medical degrees (based on who is hiring).

Last, it is interesting having this conversation at a time when (pre-pandemic) all the politicians were talking about how to manage student debt.

Just a few thoughts - Stay healthy Tigers

Future of college

Wow, you're just the kind of Professor we want at Clemson

Re: Wow, you're just the kind of Professor we want at Clemson

^^Which 'Bishop'

Re: ^^Which 'Bishop'

I did it for six years and won two teaching awards

Re: Future of college

Re: Future of college

Re: Future of college

For some of the degrees, you are correct!***

Intersectional Womyn’s Justice Studies for the win!***

Pheonix is on it***

I hope that's not the case. Especially with the youth of

Re: I hope that's not the case. Especially with the youth of

Re: I hope that's not the case. Especially with the youth of

Agree! Plenty of kids will not apply themselves at college

Re: Agree! Plenty of kids will not apply themselves at college

Agreed. Former adjunct here. Here’s how I see the future:

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