Volume 12, December 4, 2000

"Useful Devils"
by Mark C. Taylor, Cluett Professor of Humanities at Williams College and the cofounder of the Global Education Network, Educause Review, July/August 2000, p. 38.

"As we move from an industrial to an information economy or from modern to postmodern culture, new socioeconomic structures and institutions are transforming all aspects of life. What is emerging might best be described as network culture." (p. 38) "Unfortunately, educators tend to see threats where businesspeople recognize opportunities. What are the opportunities, and where are the threats?" (p. 38) "What the business world understands and the academic world is reluctant to admit is that education is a very valuable commodity." (p. 40) "While some faculty members recognize opportunities created by new technologies, many others regard the alliance of technology, business, and education as a pact with the devil." (p. 40)

"The university as we have known it for two centuries is a thing of the past. This does not mean that it will disappear in the near future. To the contrary, resistance to its passing will increase as the far-reaching implications of the convergence of education, technology, and the market become clear." (p. 44) "Educators and educational institutions must retain control over what they produce. Furthermore, basic research and education whose practical value is not immediately evident should continue to be supported. But this important work can continue only if additional revenue streams are created." (p. 44) "The cost of producing and distributing high-quality online education is prohibitive for most colleges and universities. Competitors have to learn how to cooperate. Educational institutions must simultaneously enter into alliances among themselves and form partnerships with businesses, which can provide necessary technical assistance and adequate financial backing." (p. 44) "The new education economy will have a significant impact on the administration, employees, curriculum, and students of colleges and universities:" (p. 45)

1. Administration: "The defining characteristic of network culture is speed; only the quick survive." (p. 45) "In many cases, deliberative processes will have to be streamlined and decision-making responsibility delegated to individuals with the necessary expertise. This will inevitably result in the decline of on-campus faculty power." (p. 45)
2. Employees: "For institutions to survive, their staffs must be flexible, adaptive, and competitive. Growing pressures will result in the erosion of tenure." (p. 45) "But tenure will also be compromised by a new era of 'free agency' in which outstanding faculty will maintain minimal affiliation with established educational institutions." (p. 45) "Colleges and universities already face major problems when they must compete with business for talented workers." (p. 45)
3. Curriculum: "New technologies are changing the product that colleges and universities produce and sell." (p. 45) "With the movement from mass production to mass customization, the uniformity of course offerings will decrease. Students will have a greater impact on the content of their courses. Furthermore, the curriculum will become less fixed and more flexible." (p. 45) "Many schools and especially graduate programs are producing products for which there is not demand and are cultivating skills for which there is no need. This cannot and should not continue." (p. 45)
4. Students: "College and university courses are now available to anyone anywhere in the world." (p. 45) "One of the most significant opportunities for growth is the lifelong learning market." (p. 45) "In addition to practical and technical training required in the workplace, the growing retired population will create a significant market for education that is not directed to practical ends." (p. 45)

"There are enormous opportunities for educators who have the vision and conviction to take the initiative. The new education is no more going to displace the old education than the new economy is going to replace the old economy." (p. 46) "But it is no longer enough to remain committed to a university model that originated in the eighteenth century; nor is it possible. Whether we like it or not, the restructuring that corporations underwent as they moved from an industrial to a postindustrial or information economy is now occurring in higher education." (p. 46) "The challenge that educators face is to turn the useful devils of business and technology to their own ends. If usefulness is a devil, it's a devil we must learn to dance with or educational institutions will become more obsolete than they already are." (p. 46)

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