Tertiary Education in the UK needs a fresh idea. What we need is an initiative on the same scale as The Open University, kicked off over 50 years ago.
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It is clear that an educational vision is needed and I think the best starting point is that outlined and executed by Paul LeBlanc at SNHU. It is substantial, well articulated and has worked in what has become the largest University in the US.
It would be based on the competence model, with a focus on skills shortages. Here’s a starter with 25 ideas, a manifesto of sorts, based on lessons learnt from other successful models:
Non-traditional students in terms of age and background
Quick and easy application process
Personalised learning using AI
Multimodal from the start
Full range of summarisation, create self-assessment, dialogue tools
The program is designed to strengthen the collaboration between private industry and higher education institutions—and evolve the higher education technology market. The new program will do so by taking the following actions:
Giving higher education professionals better access to corporate thought leaders who can help create change at their institutions
Educating corporate partners on the nuances of higher education and the major challenges it faces so that they can help provide meaningful solutions
Giving the EDUCAUSE staff and leadership better access to corporate change-makers in order to advocate for change on behalf of our institutional community
Providing the institutional community with higher-quality content and services from companies that are deeply invested in the success of higher education
Providing the corporate community with custom-built packages that allow more meaningful connections with the institutional community—not only at our in-person events but also through online opportunities year-round
By building better bridges between our corporate and institutional communities, we can help accelerate our shared mission of furthering the promise of higher education.
Intermediaries do the heavy lifting for the employers.
Bottom line: As I discussed with Michael later in the show, we already have the varied system that Leonhardt imagines—it’s just that it’s often by chaos and neglect. Just like we didn’t say to 8th graders a century ago, “go find your own high school,” we need to design a post-high school system with clear and well-designed pathways that include:
Apprenticeships outside of the building trades so students can learn a variety of jobs by doing the job.
Short-term certificates that lead to jobs without necessarily having the college degree immediately, but having the option to return for a college degree later on.
Transfer pathways where credits earned in high school really count in college and the move from two-year college to any four-year institution is seamless.
