Colleges Should Learn from Newspapers' Plight

[Commentary] Newspapers are dying. Are universities next? For many, the answer could be yes, says Kevin Carey, policy director of Education Sector, a Washington think tank. Writing in the current issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, Carey argues that both industries are in the business of creating and communicating information. So far there is no Craigslist equivalent in the education industry, says Carey. That's because teaching is more complicated than advertising, and universities are sitting behind government-backed barriers to competition, in the form of accreditation. "Anyone can use the Internet to sell classified ads or publish opinion columns or analyze the local news. Not anyone can sell credit-bearing courses or widely recognized degrees." Doubtless universities today are as confident as newspapers were ten years ago. The confidence by some is justified. "Tony liberal-arts colleges and other selective private institutions will do fine, as will public universities that garner a lot of external research support and offer the classic residential experience to the children of the upper middle class." But less-selective private colleges and regional public universities, by contrast - the higher-education equivalents of the city newspaper - are in real danger. To survive and prosper, says Carey, universities need to integrate technology and teaching in a way that improves the learning experience while simultaneously passing the savings on to students in the form of reduced tuition.