Higher Education Industry: How have colleges and university changed over the past 20 years - Term Paper Example

Higher Education Industry: How have colleges and changed over the past 20 years? Education is a continuous process. It starts at the time of birth and ends at the time of death. Education is one of the basic necessities for human development. Based on the rapid changes and advancements happening in science and technology, educational systems and methodologies are also changing rapidly. Earlier the education was a process which revolves around the teacher. In other words, teacher got the major attention in the educational process earlier. At present, instead of the teacher, the students are getting more attention in the educational process. Current teachers are only the guides for the students in the learning process. Organizational theories and principles are undergoing tremendous changes in the last couple of decades. Professionalism can be seen in every aspect of human life at present and educational sector is also not an exception. Educational institutions and universities are currently witnessed as organizations rather than a separate unit and hence organizational theories and principles are applicable in the educational sector also. The changing opinions about the educational institutions brought many changes in the educational sector over the last two decades. This paper analyses; how have colleges and universities changed over the past 20 years and why have they changed. “With rapid advances in technology and communications, the time it takes to exert influence around the world from even the most remote locations has been reduced from years to only seconds” (Daft p.7). Computers and internet has increased the speed of the communication procedures. Educational institutions are struggling to keep in pace with the changes happening in the technological world or communication sector. The world is getting smaller and smaller as time advances because of the immense advancements happening in the communication sector. Knowledge is coming out from all the corners, virtually in every second. Traditional means of education is unable to manage this knowledge explosion. For example, traditional educations were text book based. Teachers and the students waited for years to get new knowledge. At present, internet is getting updated in every second so that the teachers and students are getting the new knowledge more rapidly. Under such circumstances, the text based learning becomes meaningless since such curriculum methods will take longer times. Online education is at present getting popularity in the current higher education sector because of the immense advantages it provide to the learners compared to the traditional higher educational methods. The current people have more responsibilities than the older generation and hence they are finding difficulties in allotting time for their higher education. Such people can select online education as an option for their higher education. “Over 20% of the 17.0+ million higher education students enrolled are taking at least one course online. And this figure is on the rise” (Online Education — the Advantages of Online Degrees). Online education attracts everybody because of the convenience it provides to all irrespective of age, gender, intellectual level or location. It is possible for online learners to attend the classes anywhere and anytime they want. A person staying in India can attain an online degree from America easily because of the advancements in online educations at present. Some of the reputed academic qualifications in the past became meaningless at present because of the changes happening in the higher educational sector. A doctor with an MBBS qualification was highly respected in hospitals earlier; hover at present along with MBBS degree, a doctor needs higher qualifications like MD, MS etc to get good recognitions in his profession. However, the expenses needed to study for higher degrees like MD, MS etc are too much at present and many of the brilliant students finding difficulties in getting higher educations. Because of the big expenses, many students are currently going out in search of cheaper higher educational options. Countries like China and Russia are offering cheaper higher educational options and many of the students from foreign countries are studying in China and Russia at present. Globalization and liberalization policies increased the chances of students in getting cheaper higher education from overseas countries. It is difficult for a college or university to remain competitive in the current changing world with the help of traditional curriculum methodologies alone. A good library was earlier regarded as the symbol of quality education in a university. However, at present the availability of advanced computers, internet facilities, networking options etc are the status symbols for higher educational institutions. In other words higher educational setups are changing day by day because of the advancements in science and technologies. “The growing global interdependence creates new advantages and challenges”(Daft p.8). Globalization has affected the entire life segments and higher education sector is also not an exception. Privatization, the concept which entered the world as a result of globalization, succeeded in converting many of the public universities and colleges in to private institutions. “Privatization of educational institutions resulted in more autonomy to these institutions” (Varghese, p.6). Current educational institutions are enjoying much independence or freedom because of privatization. However, privatization of educational institutions brought many challenges also along with opportunities. Private organizations are working with an intention of profit making alone and hence the tuition fees and higher educational expenses were increased a lot. At the same time, privatization forced the educational institutions to improve their quality and hence the students succeeded in getting better facilities even though they forced to pay more. Michael Porter stressed the importance of low cost leadership in order to improve the competitive power of the organizations. “A company having low cost leadership when extends its thinking to the value its customers expect, can further strengthen its strategic position in the marketplace” (Customer focused low cost leadership strategy). However, the above strategy is difficult to implement in the higher educational sector. Any attempt made to reduce the cost of higher education may affect the quality of the education. In other words, it is difficult to achieve a balance between quality and cost in the higher educational sector. Both these parameters are depending each other. For example, it is difficult to anticipate that either Oxford University or Cambridge University to reduce their tuition fees and still be able to provide quality education to the students. To conclude, higher education sector is undergoing big changes at present because of the rapid advancements in science and technology and the subsequent knowledge explosion. Universities and higher educational institutions are similar to organizations and the principles and theories applicable to the modern organizations are applicable to the educational institutions also. Quality and cost of higher education have improved/increased a lot over the last two decades. The advancements in communication technologies succeeded in delivering the new knowledge to the students without any time delay. Works Cited 1. “Customer Focused Low Cost Leadership Strategy”. Web. 19 February 2011. 2. Daft, Richard L. “Organization Theory and Design”.2009. Cengage Learning, 2009 3. “Online Education — the Advantages of Online Degrees” Web. 19 February 2011. http://www.edvisors.com/ 4. Varghese N.V. “Institutional Restructuring in Higher Education in Asia: Trends and Patters”. 2004. Web. 19 February 2011. Read More