ABSTRACT
We could have continued these news releases ad infinitum. But the point is this: The Academy, long cherished as a bastion of scholarly learning sheltered from the hectic pace of daily lives, is now becoming engulfed in a sea of swirling currents, driven by new technologies, new markets, new competitors, and new financial models. The academy, where transformation was once measured in time units of generations of tenured faculty, is now undergoing change at an unprecedented rate. Slow motion is being pressed by Internet speed. What is a university or college president to do? That is the question behind this essay. Our particular focus is education and technology, what we call technology-enabled education, including both on-campus and distance education. The confluence of economic trends and enabling technologies places the academy in a precarious position, with an unprecedented set of opportunities and an equally enormous set of risks. Our goal is not to suggest right or wrong answers; there appear to be none. Rather, we attempt to lay out the issues, place the current situation in context, illustrate by example, and speculate on the future. Our bias is positive-we view the current era as one of magnificent opportunity for colleges and universities and for our most precious assets-our students.
