Audio: Ralph Wolff on How Higher Education is Evolving
Originally posted on kalwnews.org
Ralph Wolff is president and executive director of the senior college commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. He speaks with KALW's Nancy Mullane about how higher education has changed dramatically over the last few decades, and how it's adapting to current realities.
The typical student today is an adult returning to higher education. 30 years ago, the idea of education being available to anyone, of any age, was a new concept. And 10 years ago, online technologies for education were nascent. Now we find that adult students and distance learning are integral to the ecology of higher ed. Our task is to accelerate these changes to reach more people and enhance the quality of curricula.
One essential is faculty retraining and development of hybrid learning — the combination of online and face-to-face time. Faculty members inherently desire to ignite curiosity for learning in their students, and should be supported in design of student interaction. Online and technology-based content is proving to be a powerful instrument for creating a blended approach that maximizes learning.
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