Surviving Peak Higher Ed with Bryan Alexander

The total number of students enrolled in US higher education institutions grew steadily in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. However that total peaked in 2011 at around 18 million students. It’s been declining ever since. You can imagine some of what that means—fewer students means less tuition, which means fewer faculty and staff and the closure of colleges and universities. US higher ed has been on the downhill across multiple measures for about 15 years now.

That decline is the focus of Bryan Alexander’s new book Peak Higher Ed. If a whole book on the crash of higher ed sounds grim, well, there’s some hope in the subtitle of Bryan’s book: How to Survive the Looming Academic Crisis. See, Bryan Alexander is a futurist—his work helps us imagine what might come next for higher ed and what steps we can take to navigate those challenges. I was very excited to have Bryan, who is also a senior scholar at Georgetown University, on the podcast this week.

In his book, Bryan lays out many possible futures for higher education that build on this notion of peak higher ed. He's not trying to predict the future, but instead to describe the various shapes that future might take, and how other factors, like generative AI and climate change, might impact those shapes. He's not spitballing--he draws from deep research on trends within and outside the sector. The goal is to empower those in higher education to navigate the coming changes, as he says in the interview:

One thing I appreciate about Bryan's work is that it gives him a perspective on topics like generative AI in higher ed that's incredibly broad and nuanced. He can see how AI is many different things to many different people, and as a result, he avoids dogmatic takes on the topic. He understands the faculty who actively resist and refuse AI's role in their teaching and the faculty who are exploring and embracing it, and he doesn't tell you which group is right! Because he sees the complexity of the space. That's something I get from my work as a faculty developer, and it's refreshing to hear him describe that complexity using the tools of futurism.

​You can listen to my conversation with Bryan Alexander about the future of higher ed here, or search for "Intentional Teaching" in your favorite podcast app.

The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching

My new book, The Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching, co-authored with Annette Vee and Marc Watkins, is now available to pre-order! The ebook is expected to be available July 1st, and print copies are expected to start shipping on September 24th. Here's how you can get a copy:

1. Our publisher Norton is pleased to offer the guide as a free ebook for all instructors currently using a Norton textbook. If that's you, you'll receive access from the Norton team when the ebook is available July 1st and can contact your local Norton representative with any questions.
2. If you would like to pre-order the ebook so that you have it July 1st, you can now do so through Amazon and Barnes & Noble and perhaps other retailers.
3. If you would like to pre-order the paperback version of the book, you can now do so through Norton, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and likely other retailers. If you go through Norton, be sure to use the code AIFREESHIP at check out to get free shipping!
4. If you would like to order multiple copies for a campus reading group or some other faculty development effort, Norton has an option for you: On orders of 10 or more print copies, we offer 50% off the list price and free domestic shipping. (Such orders must be on a nonreturnable basis.) To take advantage of this offer, contact Peter Wentz at pwentz@wwnorton.com with subject line “Norton Guide to AI-Aware Teaching.”