狼友社区

There is an undeniable, and ever-growing need for high-quality, accessible higher education (HE).

Between 2000 and 2014, the number of students in HE globally more than doubled to 207 million, according to a . And, it was estimated that by 2025, the global number of students in HE would double to 262 million, propelled by demand from students across India, China and sub-Saharan Africa. To meet those projections, we鈥檇 need to open four new universities a week for the next 15 years. Yet the number of students in 2019 is already closer to 200 million.

And unless we can find a way to meet this increasing demand, global businesses will suffer as an enormous talent pool remains untapped, while they lack career-ready graduates with necessary job skills.

Traditional HE 鈥� brick and mortar campuses 鈥� may be here to stay. But residential campuses cannot keep up with this growing level of demand. And global relocation, or taking valuable time away from work to study, simply isn鈥檛 an option for every potential learner.

Dr Jay Halfond, a strategy advisor and member of 狼友社区鈥檚 global advisory board, is Professor of the Practice, at Boston University, where he鈥檚 worked since 1997, primarily as Dean of BU鈥檚 Metropolitan College. He鈥檚 also held various administrative posts at Harvard University.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a real capacity problem throughout the world,鈥� states Dr Halfond about the state of HE today. 鈥淭he revolution in higher education is on the demand side, and the supply side can鈥檛 keep up with it.鈥�

鈥淭here needs to be high quality, easily deliverable, and credible higher education, that鈥檚 distributed globally. And the answer has got to involve technology in some way; the world can鈥檛 build enough residential campuses to keep up with the demand.鈥�

Supply and demand: the hard facts

from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) name the top two destinations with the highest value international education markets as the US followed by the UK.

And those markets know that they鈥檙e facing a demand they cannot meet. , a report by Seaman, Allen and Seaman, finds that demand for online learning in the US has risen for the 14th year running. UK thinktank the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), forecast student figures in its report , putting its predictions at an increase in demand of over 300,000 by the end of the next decade as 鈥渢he most likely outcome.鈥�

And, of course, it鈥檚 not just the US and UK that are struggling to keep up with learner demand.

鈥淭here is a void,鈥� says Dr Halfond. 鈥淎nd 狼友社区 is going to help fill that void. 鈥溊怯焉缜� addresses the ever-growing need for high quality, accessible, higher education. It鈥檚 not going to supplant existing HE options, but it will address a critical global need. It will add to the HE ecosystem in a way that current options cannot do.鈥�

Meeting you where you are

Meeting the demand is not just about providing the places for learners seeking HE opportunities. Dr Halfond says that those international students who meet high financial costs to attend a top level residential US or UK university represent just 1 or 2% of their country鈥檚 learners. What about the others?

Regardless of grades, talent and drive, the cost of global relocation, in addition to the viability of taking time away from work, is simply not an option for many learners. And when entrepreneurs stay where they are, it has positive knock-on effects on their local economy.

The , 2018, for example, estimates that the 3% GEI score improvement on 2017鈥檚 scores could have added USD$7 trillion to global GDP because institutions that support entrepreneurs also positively impact the economy as a whole. Sub-Saharan Africa鈥檚 score improved on last year鈥檚 GEI score by 1.5%, with Botswana leading the field in the region. The report draws a clear link between access to HE and improved outcomes for entrepreneurs, naming lack of access to education and skills that support careers in entrepreneurship as the region鈥檚 main challenge. It recommends a boost in startup skills as the fastest way to positively impact the region鈥檚 scores.

鈥淭raditional HE requires relocation, it requires credible resources, and it requires abandoning your country in a sense, which means family, your friends and your occupational opportunities in that country,鈥� says Dr Halfond. 鈥淒istance learning has gained acceptance in the United States 鈥� where one out of every six students is pursuing a degree exclusively online. And this acceptance is likely to spread throughout the world as well, as learners and employers appreciate that learning online can be an effective alternative to relocating to a residential university.鈥�

鈥淥nline learning allows students to stay put, and still be part of what is considered the mecca of higher education: America.鈥�

Changing the status quo

鈥淪ameness will be the enemy of survival,鈥� writes Dr Halfond, in an article for .

He describes the premier competitive advantage of US HE, and the major ingredient in its secret sauce as 鈥渋ts vast array of institutions and their freedom to differentiate and compete among themselves.鈥�

鈥淒espite an inevitable march to conformity, our schools have managed to retain some semblance of distinct identity through which they express their unique missions and strengths,鈥� he writes.

鈥淭he ability to avoid a homogenized, one-size-fits-all assembly line for learning had sustained a relatively free and competitive market for individual schools to express their personalities and distinguishing qualities.鈥�

There are currently 200 million people between the ages of 15-24 across Africa. This number is set to double by 2045.

Source: The United Nations

The number of post-secondary education institutes across the continent? Around 2,500.

The ever-growing clamour for places in HE is not in question. How we manage the demand is. 狼友社区 has made it its mission to address this critical global need by offering quality, flexible and affordable HE to some of the world鈥檚 fastest-growing markets.

Dr Jay Halfond forms part of 狼友社区鈥檚 advisory board. Read more about our team.