Uncharted Territory: A Guide to Reimagining Higher Education

The original Stanford 2025 project responded to a specific moment of disruption: the growing popularity of MOOCs and online learning, and the rising cost of ... TheFuture TheCurrent InsidetheGuide GetaCopy FieldNotes UnchartedTerritory:AGuidetoReimaginingHigherEducation Wefeelittoo—thefutureshapeofhigheredisuncertain.It’sfullofambiguity,changingconstraints,andnewstudentchallenges.Yetwecanallagreethateducationisacornerstoneofathrivingsociety.We’recollectivelyinspiredbyahugeopportunity:ifweaddresscontemporaryneedsanddesignnewapproaches,highereducationcanbetrulytransformational.ThisguideisPartTwoofthed.school’sStanford2025project—anexplorationofthewaysinstitutionshavebeguntochartnewpathsthroughthisevolvingenvironment.We’reexcitedtosharewhatwe’velearnedfromfeaturedinnovatorswhoseworkisilluminatingnewpathwaysandpossibilitiesforthesector,andmostimportantly,forstudents. Part1ofStanford2025:Whatpossiblefuturescanweimagineforthecollegeexperience?TheoriginalStanford2025projectrespondedtoaspecificmomentofdisruption:thegrowingpopularityofMOOCsandonlinelearning,andtherisingcostofhighered.Wesawthenthatanumberofforceswerebeginningtodestabilizetraditionalmodels.Itisinsuchmomentsthatchangeoftenhappens—evenwithinanentrenchedsystem.BackinMay2014,manyaspectsoftheundergraduateexperienceappearedripeforreinvention.Webroughtourcommunityalongonathoughtexperimentor“journey”totheyear2100.Weimaginedarangeofdifferentfutures,includingtheriseoftheOpenLoopUniversity,whichentailslifetimelearningratherthanafouryearexperience,andPurposeLearning,inwhichstudentsdeclaremissionsnotmajors,amongotherideas.Wereceivedanenthusiasticresponsefrominstitutionsaroundtheworldthatbeganlookingforwaystoimplementsomeofthethemesthatwerehighlightedinourfouroriginalprovocations.FortheoriginalStanford2025project,visitwww.stanford2025.com. “Wethinktheleadersprofiledinthisguidearemakingimportantcontributionstohowweallcanthinkdifferentlyaboutthefutureofhighereducation.Theirpersistence,biastowardaction,andjustplaingutsiness,isaninspiration.” Part2ofStanford2025:What’salreadyreshapingeducation? CaseStudyPreview:WesternGovernorsUniversitystructuresitscompetency-basededucationmodeltogivecredittostudents’pastexperienceandallowthemtomoveattheirownpace. Collegesanduniversitiesareexperimentingwithblendedonlineandin-personclasses,findingnewwaystoreducecostsforstudentsandfundtheenterprise,andmoreschoolsareexpandingthedefinitionofa‘student’toincludeadult,first-gen,part-timelearners,andmore.Newdisruptorshaveemerged:third-partyeducationproviders,funders,educationtechnologycompanies,andstart-upcollegesanduniversitiesarenowpartofthesector.Boldvisionariesaresheddingtheconstraintsofwhathighereducationhastraditionallylookedlike;theyarecreatingradicalnewmodelsincreasingaccessforamorediversesetofstudents,enablingthemtobetterbridgetheacademicinstitutionandtheworldtheyenteraftergraduating.Theirbeliefindesigningabetterstudentlearningexperience—andinthetruevalueofacollegeeducation—becomestheiranimatingforceforchange.Weshare12casestudiesthatspanworkhappeningattheindividuallevelatthefringesofaninstitution,tosystemicchangesdrivenbypeopleatthedeanoradministrativelevel,andreachallthewaytotheextra-institutional,wherethepaceofchangehappensmorequickly.Wehopetheywillinspireandstimulatethethinkingofleadersanddreamerswhoareitchingtomakeachangeattheirowninstitutions.Inadditiontorepresentingarangeofinstitutions,wefocusedonexampleswherewefoundvividfootprintsleftbytheinnovatorsastheyjourneyed:theearlystepstheytook,thehurdlestheyfaced,andtheinsidertipstheywanttoimparttoothers.Thisbackstory,thehow,notjustwhat,mightbethelessvisiblebutmoreimpactfulactionsofourinnovatorguides.Wethinktheleadersprofiledinthisguidearemakingimportantcontributionstohowweallcanthinkdifferentlyaboutthefutureofhighereducation.Theirpersistence,biastowardaction,andjustplaingutsiness,isaninspiration.Wehopethisguidewillmakeyoufeelingoodcompanyandwanttospringintoaction.Theexamplesthroughoutthisguideremindusthattherearemanycreativepeopleworkingacrossalllevelsinallkindsofeducationalinstitutionstoreimaginecollegeinastudent-centeredway. StudentsatAfricanLeadershipUniversity(ALU)inRwandaandMauritiusdeclaremissions,notmajorsandwraptheircourseofstudyaroundthem.Here,ALUstudentsworkonadrone-buildingprojectintheEngineeringLab. LivingLearningCommunitiesatGeorgiaTechprovidestudentswiththespaceandcurriculumtolearn,live,andworktogether.Here,studentsandfacultybuildingcommunitythroughhands-onactivities. InsidetheGuide  Immerseyourselvesin12casestudiesandactionabletipsforhowtogetstartedonyourcampus,fromlongstandinginstitutionstonewground-upinstitutions:AfricanLeadershipUniversityBatesCollegeCollegeUnboundDukeUniversityGeorgiaTechGeorgetownUniversityIndianRiverStateCollegeMakeSchoolMinervaMaharishiInvincibilityInstituteUniversityofUtahWesternGovernorsUniversity Manyoftheleadersweinterviewedhavedeeply-heldviewsaboutthedirectioninwhichtheyseehighereducationmoving… “Broadly,thekeythingisthatwe’reinamomentwhereweareshiftingfromwherewe’vebeenfor20years,fromsaying‘wehaveasub-populationofstudentswhoneedtochangetoadapttous’tore-thinkingwhowearetoadapttothem.”--RandyBass,ViceProvostofEducationatGeorgetownUniversity NoahPickusofDukeKunshanUniversity(DKU)highlightsthedifferencebetweencontentexpertiseandcompetencies,notingthat“expertisecanbeoversold.”AtDKU,theybelievethatthe"abilitytointegrateknowledgeandworkacrossfieldsismoreimportantthanmemorizinginformationthatisalreadyavailableonyourphone.”  CaseStudyPreview:Reconfiguringhigher-edarchitecture HowdidDukeKunshanUniversityinChinadesignateam-basedinterdisciplinaryfacultymodelandacurriculumwithoutmajors?  CaseStudyPreview:Globalrotation HowdidMinervaforgoatraditionalcampusinfavorof‘cityasclassroom'? 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