What About the Future?

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Most professionals in the higher education field are permitted to speculate on the future at least once before retirement. I’ll be brief, and rely on the fact that almost no one will check this in 10 years.

When I entered the higher education profession more than 40 years ago, the really BIG idea was "open access."  A nation that had created the highest quality post-secondary institutions in the world took on the task of making education available to everyone. It was a monumental task and it was successful.

But, success at a single task often creates problems in its attainment. The meaningfulness of a two- or four-year degree sometimes was diminished. Open access did not always translate to successful achievements nor degree attainment. Open access may have resulted in some waste and certainly was costly.

The next BIG idea will involve the measurement of quality outcomes for post-secondary education. Students will be required to be successful before moving on to higher learning tasks. That success will involve education in often smaller bites. Quality outcomes will at times conflict with open access as there will be "screening" of those most likely to fail. How the two "Big Ideas" merge will be a significant process during the next 40 years.

Related to this idea will be a reform of financial aid. I’ve publically stated that the current system of loans has been broken for about 30 years. Future systems should likely go directly to students, be uniform independent of the institution attended, AND be closely tied to short-term success. This will create a funding revolution in tuition similar to the decline in state funding.

The open education options brought about through online learning will continue. I worked at a self-instructional segment of a community college in 1976. It has taken 35 years to begin to reach its potential. As students limit their physical attendance at institutions, all of auxiliary services will be impacted. You are seeing the beginning of the impact of electronic books on bookstores, and will also see potential contraction for housing, food services and other functions.

I’ve previously predicted that new challenges for learning will require new professionals to meet those challenges. The good news is that retirements (like mine) will provide tremendous opportunities for new thought and new approaches. The bad news is that the institutional memory of what has made most institutions great will largely leave with those retiring. There will be a temporary "brain drain" that institutions will need to work hard to fill, and then improve upon. 

For NACAS our biggest short-term challenge will be to "deal" with membership, primarily institutional membership but also among business partners. This will require creative thinking. Traditional association membership models suppose a loyalty that isn’t terribly prevalent these days. Rather NACAS will need to work on professional development, certification, business relationships and many more services that directly impact various segments of our auxiliary service audience. Whether NACAS can be "nimble" enough to only concentrate on return on investment of services, rather than membership, will be a future debate in which all who care about higher education will participate. The great news is that our present membership and leadership are up to that task.

Future Funds. The flexibility of any association, but particularly NACAS will be critical. Flexibility is difficult when you must live off of current operational dollars. The NACAS Education Foundation has done a wonderful job of finding the future funds to move and improve NACAS. I look at our updated professional development programs, our certification system and much more, and give thanks to the leaders of NACAS and our the Foundation.

I recently received a report of a similar higher education association that was feuding with its Foundation. The Foundation was angry because the association had a different idea of the future. NACAS and the NACAS Education Foundation do not do that.  Because of the leadership of George Burris, Dr. Jeff Pittman, Patty Eldred,  Frank Mumford, Marti Gray, and many, many other NACAS members, leaders, and staff, NACAS IS the Education Foundation and the Education Foundation IS NACAS. They all work well together to plan for your future in higher education.

Many have asked what I want as I leave. I want every one of you who can to make your first contribution to the NACAS Education Foundation, or increase your existing gift if you can. As we all provide for the future of higher education, you’ll be gifting me with success for my children, my grandchildren, and future generations of students who will eventually be successful graduates, and inevitably better citizens. I expect to see your NACAS success – built upon, yet different from any we’ve achieved to date –leading the way for many years to come.

I haven’t retired yet, so agree or disagree to bob@nacas.org.