Traditional schools behaving more like the "for-profits"
According to recent reports, Wake Forest University has joined the list of traditional colleges that have begun to drop standardized tests as an entrance requirement. Schools like Wake Forest are finding that the standardized tests are not a good predictor of academic performance.
However, it appears that this is another sign of the impact that the flexible college programs - like those at Andrew Jackson University - are having on the traditional schools. The truth is that the education space is becoming increasingly more competitive. Traditional schools have long tried to differentiate themselves by creating barriers. They have restricted enrollments and access to their curriculum, focused more on their administration and faculty, and created elitist social networks of students.
In the last ten years, the internet has opened up education; 'for-profit' schools have been doing as 'for-profit' businesses have always done: listening to their customers.
Access to education is key for our economy to grow, and the fact that schools now compete for students - instead of students competing for schools, the result of the traditional barriers' existence - is creating access for more people. Furthermore, competition also leads us to better quality education. To compete, schools have to open up their curriculum and begin to offer courses and programs that students want and need.
Don Kassner
Comments