As identified in our Delphi Study (Anderson, 2019) and many of the articles researched, there is tension between the need for adequate funding to transform the current educational model and the rapidly increasing and unsustainable cost of higher education. Covering this gap and funding a higher education ecosystem increasingly reliant on technology is the primary public policy issue facing higher education over the next five years.

Moody’s Investors Service notes in their 2019 Higher Education Outlook that aggregate expense growth in higher education is likely to exceed aggregate revenue growth for many public and private universities from 2020 forward (Shaffer, 2019, p.5). This unsustainable situation is further exacerbated by declining student enrollments, declining international student populations, and financial strain due to decreasing state funding and student debt limiting the ability to increase net tuition (The Top Challenges Facing U.S. Higher Education, 2018) (Harris, 2018) (Allaire, 2018). How to address traditionally underserved demographics, reverse international enrollment trends, and face the reality that the supply of higher education in its traditional form likely outstrips demand for the next several years due to declining enrollments, birth rates, and completion rates will be the most significant single public policy issue faced by higher education institutions in the next five years.

Piggybacking on the challenges of limited resources many higher education institutions face requires significant investments in technology and facilities. Though not identified by the Delphi Study, it was available to participants. It did not make the second round of the study indicate that the importance is misunderstood and likely misprioritized.

The 2008 financial crisis and subsequent financial and demographic challenges faced by colleges and universities led to administrators leaning on deferred maintenance of facilities and technology to help balance budgets. The ability of the university to raise funds for routine maintenance and upgrades to campus management or learning management systems is limited (Strikwerda, 2015). However, the amount of personal information – including medical and disciplinary information – on students and staff makes these vulnerable and aging systems high-value targets for hackers. It will likely take only one or two high-profile hacks to raise awareness of the need to invest in these systems and bring to light the actual cost of the long-term failure to invest in the maintenance and upgrade of these systems. How states and private universities respond to this ticking time bomb and reverse the trend of deferring maintenance and funding necessary upgrades to technology infrastructure will be a critical issue over the next five years.

References

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Allaire, J. (2018, January 15). Five issues facing higher education in 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://www.cornerstone.edu/blogs/lifelong-learning-matters/post/five-issues-facing-higher-education-in-2018 .

Anderson, D. M. (2019, July 11). Delphi Study – Final Results [E-mail].

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Harris, A. (2018, June 05). Here’s how higher education dies—Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/06/heres-how-higher-education-dies/561995 .

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Shaffer, S. (2018, December). 2019 higher education outlook. Speech presented at American Association of State Colleges and Universities 2018 Higher Education Government Relations Conference in Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, GA. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://www.aascu.org/meetings/hegrc18/Shaffer.pdf .

Strikwerda, C. (2015, October 23). Crucial higher ed issues: The elevator speech. Retrieved July 15, 2019, from https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2015/10/23/what-are-most-important-issues-confronting-higher-ed-essay .

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