Envisioning The Future Of Higher Education

Question:    After reading Thelin’s (2019) final chapter, create your own epilogue on the topic of higher education. Building on one of the themes discussed by Thelin in Chapter 9, what do you see for the future of higher education? Support your response using the current literature on trends in higher education.

Example: The nature of higher education finances, operations and its role in society has altered dramatically over the years. A college education has become a necessity to pursue most careers. Now that attending college has become part of the “routine” for young adults and that there is financial assistance to make it a possibility for most populations. As for the future of higher education. Thelin (2019), “To the delight of entering students, colleges and universities had invested mightily in services and facilities that made college life increasingly attractive to the daughters and sons of affluent America. Fitness centers, apartments rather than ascetic dormitory rooms, study abroad programs, tutoring services, career placement offices, computer sites, restaurants and coffee shops, recreational offerings, and tickets for big-time intercollegiate sports events meant that the American campus of the twenty-first century competed effectively in an environment of up-scale shopping and leisure. Colleges also increased their budgets for recruiting students and courting applicants. The trade-off was that disproportionate spending on noninstructional items rose higher and faster than commensurate investment in core academic programs.” (Thelin, 2019, pg 392) College campuses will continue to look to increase the “draw” to their campuses to bring students in, tuition is going to continue to rise, unless there is drastic change made to financial assistance to attend college, there is potential to be a decrease in students attending more expensive institutions. My thoughts on the future of higher education concerns costs and the financial burden and impact to be seen later. Students are going to be instructed much more thoroughly regarding financial burdens to be faced picking and attending a college. If student loan interests remain or grow we are going to see more and more students facing a financial burden that eliminate their ability to invest their money into being a consumer.