Via Phil Candy, here is the recently released The Future of Higher Education: Beyond the Campus [20 pages, 100 kB PDF]. Described as a "collaborative visioning of the future of higher education to explore issues common to our countries and memberships", it has been produced jointly by:
- the Council of Australian University Directors of Information Technology, CAUDIT;
- EDUCAUSE (the association for information technology in higher education, based in North America);
- the UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee, JISC;
- the SURFfoundation in the Netherlands.
The report is organised under three broad headings Drivers of Change, Enablers of the Future, and Emerging Themes, and it includes a six-page Underlying Technologies appendix covering: cloud computing; open educational resources; identity management; analytics; mobile devices; collaboration tools. Abstract:
Higher education’s purpose is to equip students for success in life — in the workplace, in communities, and in their personal lives. While this purpose may have remained constant for centuries, the world around colleges and universities is undergoing significant change. Higher education is under pressure to meet greater expectations, whether for student numbers, educational preparation, workforce needs, or economic development. Meanwhile, the resources available are likely to decline. New models, an intense focus on the student experience, and a drive for innovation and entrepreneurism [sic] will ensure that higher education continues to meet society’s needs. Information technology supports virtually every aspect of higher education, including finances, learning, research, security, and sustainability, and IT professionals need to understand the range of problems their institutions face so they apply IT where it brings greatest value. Creating this future will require collaboration across organizational and national boundaries, bringing together the collective intelligence of people from backgrounds including education, corporations, and government.
Public education should be fixed by the Govt. as right to education. However, higher education depends upon the person and family as well.
Posted by: Neelam | 13/09/2010 at 14:07