Potential Changes for Higher Education

or decades, the methods and form of higher education remained virtually unchanged. However a technological and social transformation will take place in the 21st Century which will bring about profound changes to the campus of Marshall University and to all institutions of higher education.

Some of the key changes and issues to be faced by faculty, staff; administrators and students in the coming years include the following:

1. An increase in distance and on-line learning - Instead of coming to campus, more students will travel to regional learning centers or stay at home using a personal computer to take classes or obtain degrees.
   • Telecommunication technology will continue to improve bandwidth, thus allowing more information to be exchanged between distant sites and the originating campus.

   • Digital broadcasting presents opportunities for closer cooperation with public broadcasting entities as a possible delivery system for distant and virtual classrooms.

2. Pedagogical Changes - Increased computer usage means more modular and individualized learning packages will be available to students.

3. Faculty and Staff workload - As more students move into an asynchronous learning mode, the issue of faculty workload will become of paramount concern to the campus community.
   • Demand for research will change as the base of knowledge continues to expand.

   • New computer programs for polling and survey techniques will allow almost instantaneous compilation of prevalent attitudes and opinion.

   • Distant learning and on-line education will increase the number of part-time and adjunct faculty. These faculty members will have their own unique set of needs and demands.

   • Support staff may have to examine the concept of a flexible workday to meet the needs of the increasing number of non-traditional student. Faculty and staff may have to adapt to a flexible calendar.

4. Faculty Retention - Marshall University will have to continue to make progress in acceptable salary levels for all faculty members.
   • Because of the demographic structure of of the current faculty, which includes a large number of faculty at or above 20 years of service, Marshall will see a large turnover in the next few years.

   • The new faculty members must be paid at levels which attract quality teachers and researchers. When it comes to establishing salary levels, Marshall competes in a national marketplace.

   • Any increase in the size of the student body will require an increase in the size of the faculty and support staff.

5. Resources - The funding of programs necessary to bring about the new paradigm of higher education is a concern for administrators and legislators. Technical support must be in place for each academic unit while faculty, staff and students must receive the training necessary to stay abreast of the changes in the information age.
   • At a minimum 20 to 25 percent of the hardware will have to be replaced on an annual basis for the university to remain current with the equipment needs of the next century.

   • Marshall will have to see more external funding to address many of the issues related to growth.

6. Student Retention- Colleges in West Virginia are faced with the additional challenge of student retention. Unlike our surrounding states and most states in the nation, West Virginia’s traditional college age population will decrease over the next several years. Public school systems throughout the state are consolidating to address this trend. Available pools of college age students will drop by as much as 17 percent by the year 2008.

7. Competition - On-line education means Marshall will face more competition from colleges and universities throughout the nation and the world. As more universities and colleges place degrees and courses online, students in West Virginia will have the opportunity to access these offerings instead of attending an in-state institution. Conversely, Marshall will be able to offer classes and degrees outside of the traditional service area.

8. The Traditional Student - While changes will take place in the structure of higher education, there will still be a significant role to be played by Marshall central campuses at Huntington and South Charleston.
   • Traditional college-age students will still seek a residential experience to interact with students from different backgrounds than their own.

   • Commuter students will still seek the interpersonal contact provided by the campus experience