Are universities of the past still the future?

Digital is setting the stage for immense innovation. In a world of “work from anywhere,” people also want to “learn from anywhere.” New education platforms are rising to meet this demand.

We are seeing a tension in higher education between:

• Traditionalists: (particularly in elite institutions) who look at the ever-rising prices and current demand profiles, and say that the model is secure
• Revolutionaries: who look at falling birth rates, pressure on affordability, the costs and benefits of digitization, and emerging new competitors, and say that the current model is under existential pressure

Revolutions have been very few in higher education. But our thesis is that, while both opinions describe parts of the higher education landscape, the revolutionaries are describing the larger portion.

Universities must reinvent themselves. But reinvention is challenging when organizations are trapped by today’s assumptions. To help university leaders form a credible vision of their institution’s role in the new future of higher education, EY has developed a thought experiment, exploring how converging technologies, shifting demographics and new business models might change the sector’s structure.

The report is based on provocative EY thinking and interviews with a diverse range of university leaders, spanning developed and emerging markets, public and private institutions, and venerable and modern faculties to understand the challenges the education sector is facing as a result of the move towards greater digitalization.

Try this thought experiment to shake off today’s norms and consider what the future may hold for your university. For more details of each scenario and their likely implications for the sector, download the report.

1. What if… the cost of learning is driven down to zero?

Imagine that learning and gaining qualifications in 2030 is as convenient as shopping or banking in 2021, and is possible to do at a very low cost. You can access your learning “account” online and complete course modules or entire degree programs from the best providers, anywhere in the world, at your own pace. The learning journey becomes hybrid, taking the best that online and in-person modes can offer, and flexing to your individual needs.

2. What if… learning journeys are entirely flexible and customizable?

Imagine that accessing educational content in 2030 is like listening to music via Spotify in 2021. At the touch of a screen, you access catalogs of learning content from the best providers in the world. Algorithms take you deeper into topics of interest and artificial intelligence matches learning activities with your current knowledge levels, learning preferences, career aspirations and learning goals.

3. What if… higher education providers are accountable for results?

Imagine that investing in knowledge in 2030 is as easy as investing in exchange-traded funds in 2021. All the programs on your independent career platform are independently rated based on inputs and outcomes declared by learning providers. Inputs include teacher-student ratios, and the amount, nature and quality of teaching and evaluation methods. Outcomes go beyond academic attainment and skills acquisition, covering a graduate’s employability and earning potential.

4. What if… commercialized research pays for itself?

Imagine that revenue from commercialized research in 2030 is sufficient to allow research to pay for itself. Universities have a clear understanding of what research lends itself to commercialization, gain access to private equity capital and participate in rich innovation ecosystems, facilitated by venture studios. Government funding focuses more on solving the major societal issues that the private sector cannot tackle alone, or on pure research to boost national competitiveness.

5. What if… technology could solve the global supply-demand mismatch?

Imagine that, in 2030, a talented postgraduate engineering student in Luanda (Angola) could access the best, leading-edge teaching from the recognized leader in her field, without having to leave her hometown. Her self-accessed, remote learning is supplemented with occasional trips to her local campus for instructor-led teaching, delivered via video link from her professor in the US, or to use the campus laboratories. Her course fees are comparable to those of a local university degree, but she leaves with sought-after, recognized and internationally transferable credentials.