The case for being optimistic about higher education’s future
Preview:
In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” there is a moment when the brooding prince climbs atop a cliff, one overlooking the Danish sea, and delivers his most famous lines: “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”
University presidents now find themselves on a precipice like Hamlet as we think through the many changes gathering on the horizon: artificial intelligence, the impending enrollment cliff in 2025 and some overloud critics questioning the relevance of a college degree. Just one of those forces alone creates an existential crisis for higher education, but all three coming at the same time, well, it feels a bit like watching a tsunami wave fast approaching our shores.
Originally published: June 26, 2023
Author: Andrew Hsu
Position: President
Institution: College of Charleston
Published by: Higher Ed Dive