creative destruction

Vedder’s Case for Creative Destruction

The United States has long been the gold standard for higher education. Its colleges and universities top global rankings and draw students from every corner of the world. But the shine is fading fast. Public support for these institutions is in free fall, and it’s not just a vibe: enrollment is dropping, even at some […]

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The Unstoppable MOOCs

By Richard Vedder Although difficult to measure, it is unlikely that higher education has had any productivity advance in the 50 years since I finished college. Economists like Princeton’s William Baumol have argued that rising college costs are inevitable, given inherent limitations on reducing the cost of disseminating knowledge -only so many people can fit […]

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Creative Destruction In The Academy

At a recent conference on higher education organized by the National Association of Scholars there were several references to Schumpeter’s famous expression “creative destruction”. It was argued that technology was fomenting a change in pedagogy and the delivery of knowledge. Presumably in an environment of tightening resources, the university as we known it will change […]

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