The Demise of a Bastion of Progressivism

The Demise of a Bastion of Progressivism
http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2014/08/11/tottering-ivory-towers/

""When the process of innovation moves in from the edges of higher education and begins to disrupt the business models of leading public and private institutions, what will higher education look like? Considering the pattern in other industries, how should existing colleges and universities respond to the threat to their survival? Can they respond?""

 ""Innovative deans and college presidents often face tenured faculty who resist change. Moreover, they have a valuable and costly brand to protect, and elites who offer lower-end goods and services do court danger. Top clothiers like Nordstrom had to be careful about the perception of their valuable brand when they opened discount stores. Likewise, the more elite universities attach their brand names to less expensive, second-tier products, the more they endanger their brand and invite their primary customers to question the extra value they get for their $40,000 in annual tuition. They risk unbundling themselves from their own prestige""

""Where value-for-money rather than a tony brand is the competitive edge, colleges are more inclined to consider partnerships designed to gain an edge. For instance, several U.S. state university systems, including the State University of New York and the University System of Georgia, have teamed up with MOOC giant Coursera to offer online courses and test out new business models and teaching methods. Some international partnerships are reshaping graduate education in professional fields. The for-profit Kaplan University maintains a facility in Singapore, for instance, with academic partners all over the world, from Murdoch University ""

""Nathan Harden predicted in these pages not so long ago that thanks to the online revolution roughly half the nation's colleges and universities will cease to exist within the next fifty years. '""

I believe the most endangered Professors who no longer teach, and retain their status from the tenured status, not inherent ability.  They are part of a support group who back each other up.  See the principles in the global warming debate. once that edifice crumbles they have no fallback.  The principled opposers of global warming are likely to do well.  They have survived the fierce intellectual struggles with their intellect intact. That which you survive makes you stronger. Good, we will need them.