Universities with long histories and genuine reputations for innovation are weighing whether they need the very thing that 687 other universities have decided they cannot do without.
Yes, 687 universities in the US have a school, college or academic division dedicated to professional and continuing education (PCE). These aren't mid-tier universities hedging their bets on online adult learners. Some of these units have been around since the early years of the last century. The list includes the likes of Columbia, Georgetown, Northeastern, Northwestern, NYU, and Boston University; universities that actually understand the landscape of higher education and see the traditional model, built for 18 to 22 year olds attending full-time and sitting in classrooms, rapidly deteriorating under them.
The case for maintaining a well-funded and agile PCE unit should be obvious. Unfortunately, it's not. Working adults are increasingly looking to higher education for career specific skills and competencies. Traditional age students are demanding flexible and accessible part-time pathways. Employers want to hire people with credentials that are relevant and immediately applied. None of that fits into the traditional model, and tired, clueless and scared executive leadership doesn't have the mental agility to see the campus any other way.
Higher ed is changing and the universities best positioned to survive are the ones that figure out how to serve more than full-time on-campus 18-22 year olds. The universities that are defunding and devaluing their PCE schools and colleges while their peers are actively expanding their units are performing a genuinely impressive act of self-defeat.
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