She contrasts this perspective with what she sees as a takeover of higher education by technocrats, careerists and bureaucrats preoccupied with “objective” outcomes. In Immeasurable Outcomes: Teaching Shakespeare In The Age Of The Algorithm, Gayle Greene, professor emeritus at Scripps College, pays a very personal, readable tribute to the power of the liberal arts to change students’ lives and enrich their understanding of themselves and the world. The value of a college degree continues to be a lively topic and this year, two books offer very different takes on how the worth of advanced education should be judged. Smith portrays the current problems bearing down on higher education and offers bold solutions for a future where a college education becomes “more open, flexible, inclusive, and lower-priced.” The Abundant University is a provocative book that should be read by higher ed insiders and anyone else who cares about expanding the reach and the impact of higher education.
Smith believes higher education will undergo a similar transformation, increasingly using digital technology to enroll, instruct and credential students, particularly those who’ve been left behind by the current system.
What’s the solution? Exploiting a digital technology to create abundance in educational resources, much like digital advances transformed other industries, most notably entertainment.
