The study also found that only 3% of private campus executives think that the “higher education system is currently functioning smoothly.” In fact, the survey results show that the majority of university presidents and/or provosts welcome change. However, when the same educators were given an option between "evolutionary change" and "disruptive change," two-thirds selected massive to moderate disruption.
Though, it was found that 60% of those asked feel “optimistic about the direction the American higher education system is going in,” only 30% believe that “the higher education system is currently the best in the world.” It is therefore counter intuitive that this value would drop to 17% when the same respondents answered about the next decade. If we are moving in the right direction shouldn’t the value increase?
"Years ago, disruption to the higher education business model was not something widely discussed among institutional leaders," says Jay Bhatt the CEO of Blackboard. "Times have changed. This report emphasizes that schools of all types and leaders at all levels are being forced to re-evaluate what it means to be relevant. We need a reimagined educational experience that directly connects learners to success. While a challenging time, it is also an exciting one as we work with schools to drastically transform the industry in ways that foster both institutional and student success."
The results were discussed at Blackboard’s annual user conference BbWorld and is a part of the report entitled The Innovative University: What College Presidents Think About Change in American Higher Education. This report was edited by Jeffrey J. Selingo who serves as a contributing editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education. The survey received about 400 responses from presidents/provosts of four-year university and colleges spanning public, private, and not-for-profit education.
Source Blackboard