Online: Trending Now

In 1997, Sylvia Manning, then VPAA of the University of Illinois system, later president of the Higher Learning Commission, declared, “The online learning train is leaving the station—get on board or be left behind!”

This is a challenging time to lead, as a provost, dean, director or department chair at a college or university. That is not to say that there are not successes and rewards to be achieved, but they come harder than in decades past.

This is a rather dark Dickensian time in higher education, caught in the storm of societal and economic sea change. Yet, there is hope for those institutions who recognize and respond to the changes that are upon us.

Too often we assess our own learning by how pleasant the learning experience is, rather than assessing retention as well as how authentically relevantly and meaningfully those experiences and outcomes apply to real-life situations.

An artifact of centuries of schooling history in agrarian cultures, our universities have been bound by semesters, quarters, terms and other rigid predefined calendar schedules. Likewise, we have been fenced in by regulations of states, campuses and other locational limitations.

Postsecondary education is broken. The signs are obvious and pervasive. Although not perfect and not a universal solution, Google has launched an alternative approach that illuminates the way to address many of the shortcomings that plague our current system.

The concept of a higher ed metaverse is less about replicating the brick-and-mortar university and more about creating a unique reality immersing learners in experiences, creativity sandboxes and assessments that enable learning.

As artificial intelligence and associated technologies extend their influence in our society, the role of higher education must change. We can no longer prepare learners for static careers in unchanging fields.