The Future of Higher Education - 4

Part 1: The Global Context
INTRODUCTION
Higher education is in a fraught state in 2023.
After the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the postsecondary
system, colleges and universities now
face a range of challenges, including enrollment,
public skepticism, demographics, and changes in
student sports. As academic institutions respond
to these pressures over time, campus services
are likely to be transformed. We can anticipate
those changes by conducting a futures analysis.
Specifically, we can identify the major trends
at play in order to map out possible futures for
higher education.
This report will offer such a map, based on the
latest research. It organizes trends under broader
categories, starting with the global situation.
GEOPOLITICS
We can begin our futures work by zooming out to
the largest level of analysis. While it might seem
strange to link global politics to campus services,
the connections can be quite influential.
Active conflicts can involve academics in
At the same time a larger conflict looms, as a new
cold war builds between the United States and
China. Briefly, this involves each nation seeking
economic, military, and political superiority over
the other, while also engaging multinational
many ways, both around the world and within
American institutions. As of this writing, the
Israel-Hamas war is very prominent and has
already had many academic connections.
Students, faculty, and staff have been
displaced, injured, and killed. In the United
States, statements and actions in support of or
opposition to sides in the conflict have roiled
campuses, as governments and private donors
have intervened. Similarly, the Russian war in
Ukraine has impacted Ukrainian academics
directly, of course, while various American
institutions have broken ties with Russian
universities, hosted refugees, and taken public
positions on the war. It seems likely that as these
conflicts persist, and as others break out across
an increasingly unstable world, academics will
continue to be impacted and to engage in various
ways.
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The Future of Higher Education
The Future of Higher Education

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