Higher Education: Meeting the Needs of the 21st Century

David R. HopkinsPresident, Wright State University

In the 20th century, the United States was the envy of the world

American Higher Education Over Time

First Institutions to Inculcate Democracy

17th – 18th Century

Land Grant Institutions

1862

Research Fueling Industrial Revolution

1880s 20th CenturyGraduates leading the

technological revolution

Higher education covenant with government: Adapting over time to serve society

Today: Higher Education at a Crossroads• Ohio: Quality and Value

(summer 2014) initiative

• Federal: Rankings (2015) tied to federal support

Ohio State Appropriation per Dollar of Gross Tuition

$0.472013

$2.141980

78% decrease

“America is facing a jobs crisis, but it’s not the one you know about.”

- Anthony Carnavale, Georgetown University Center

on Education and the Workforce

Meeting the Demands of the 21st Century

We must get more of today’s students to the finish line of their degrees.

Serving 21st Century Students

Serving 21st Century Students

• Students in the second income quartile =~20 % chance of graduating college

• Of 20 million students, 75% are juggling work and family

The more relevant institutions in the 21st century will be value-added institutions that focus on “inclusion” of all students to reach

the finish line.

21st Century Model of Higher Education

Value= Meeting students where they are academically, economically, and experientially, to get them to the finish line as they define it.

21st Century Model of Higher Education

• Improving metrics and funding focused on outcomes• Completion index• Experiential learning• Ohio Academic Coaching Paradigm

• Ohio public institutions should work together on pathways

• Policy and funding changes

How Do We Get There?

Wright State has the opportunity to be a leader!