The Purpose of Higher Education in the 21st Century

The purpose of  higher education or continuing education is rapidly changing as well as the context and students' exceptions of the institution. In providing high quality education, institutions should align and be prepared to remain abreast with the emergence of technical trends, educational environments, and various teaching and learning pedagogical strategies. Higher education is leveraging these developments to make the most of students’ learning experiences and choices.

The future of higher education is leading more in the direction of curricula reform, offering more multi-disciplinary programs in STEM majors or cross-disciplinary programs, fostering relationships with K-12 sector, finding balance between non-traditional/informal learning (i.e. MOOC's or distant learning) with traditional learning, investing in technology and apps, recreating space for increased class sizes, and finding unique ways to increase retention and enrollment rates.

Maintaining the balance of non-traditional and traditional learning is adapting to innovated or contemporary pedagogical approaches while retaining the foundation of traditional methods. There is no absolute way of knowing the future of higher education or make certain an institutions success in the future, but the objective is to empower students, establish an inclusive environment, and strengthen transfer.