Dive Brief:
- In a recent blog post, George Siemens, who coined the term "MOOC" and helped create the first massive open online course, took issue with the narrative employed by higher ed disruptors, defending the innovation of traditional colleges and universities.
- A recent closed-door meeting at the White House brought Siemens and other experts together to discuss education innovation and quality, and following a day of presentations, Siemens said he is getting “exceptionally irritated” with the narrative that higher education is broken and stagnant.
- He also reflected upon the lack of understanding that higher education has for what is coming, including dramatic changes from — among other things — competency-based learning, the unbundling of degree programs, venture capital funding, and technology.
Dive Insight:
When representatives of companies announce their new tech innovations for higher education, many reference the idea that classrooms haven’t changed in hundreds of years. Siemens argues that universities have been exceptional at innovation and change. He does recommend that colleges and universities create committees focusing on responding to such pressures for change systemically, to stay ahead of the curve.
As Siemens points out, many of the disruptors who attack traditional higher education got successful training through it and still look for the most highly educated graduates to contribute to their own companies.
