Creative Destruction and the Academy
Clayton Christensen, the influence Harvard professor and thought leader, delivers this provocative quote in an online interview:
In 15 years from now half of US universities may be in bankruptcy … in the end I’m excited to see that happen.
He hedges his bet by saying "may," but the point is unmistakable: Christensen believes we are on the cusp of Schumpeter's creative destruction in education. He is not just talking about the impact of online learning here; in fact, Christensen thinks that online is not disruptive in and of itself because it is not yet a new business model. Rather,
We subsidize [student's] education in fields for which there are no jobs ...
This sounds in agreement with the Administration's plan to tie federal student loan and grant support to measures of higher education outcome, including employability. Change, for better or worse, is in the air.