Colleges Are Dying, Long Live Higher Education

To forecast our future, we have to identify patterns of change early. But rather than only seeking out collections of signals representing growth, it behooves us to simultaneously study what’s crumbling – signals of decay.

After all, growth stems from deep fractures.

One of today’s most glaring fractures worthy of our attention is higher education. The changing landscape of higher education is ground zero for radical social change and required innovation.

Good news!

TVs, toys and software have never been cheaper in human history.

Bad news: College tuition and textbooks have never been more expensive.

This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics which has been tracking the prices of consumer goods and services relative to inflation for the last two decades.

College tuition — second to healthcare — is the most “increasingly expensive” buy in America.

How coincidental that these are two of the most important purchases one can obtain, and certainly the sort which more should have access to, not less?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 1968 academic year, it cost $1,545 to attend a public, four-year institution (including tuition, fees, room and board).

In 2020, it was $29,033.

For the fifth of college students attending private schools, that figure is significantly higher.