When it comes to improving completion rates, reducing tuition costs and helping universities to bridge the revenue gap, technology is part of the solution. In the case of fast changing digital teaching methods however, technology, and the need to adapt to it, is a part of the problem. Perhaps the higher education sector is due for major disruption.

In the third blog in our series on higher education challenges, exploring how innovative colleges and universities are addressing them, we’ll look at funding. I’ll look specifically at the non-profit college sector that must increasingly seek out non‐governmental sources of revenue either to replace lost or inadequate funding or to acquire support for new research initiatives, programs, equipment, buildings, staff, and student assistance.

It’s not all doom and gloom in higher education when it comes to completion rates – there are great many colleges and universities that are taking their responsibilities seriously enough to implement expensive, and time consuming programs. It must also be acknowledged, though, that high schools must do their bit and ensure students arrive on their first day of college better prepared than they are today.

It is in a way appropriate that the higher education space mirrors and also reveals the broader challenges faced by the society of the day. The skyrocketing costs of attending university lead to exclusivity and lack of access, but there are innovative solutions that can override this trend.