Where is higher education going, where has it been? So far, "what we've had is a ‘just in case education,'" said President Arthur Levine at a lecture presented by Eckerd College as reported in the Naples Daily News. Education has so far been geared toward the potential use of material. What will happen, Levine said, is that education will be geared towards what students actually need. Levine presented six major forces which will influence this change. Ultimately, what will happen is that education will become more transient. The majority of students, Levine points out, are not 18-22 years old and living in dorms. College will therefore become oriented towards being accessible so that it could reasonably fit the lives of many people.

What can potentially happen is that the existence of a physical place called a college will be threatened. The priority will be more about the efficiency and usefulness of what is learned. Business will potentially become successful in the education market as students search for more efficient material. "Over time," Levine questions, "what's it going to matter if you get your degree from Microsoft, Simon & Schuster or Southeastern State College?"

The article, entitled "Columbia University educator: Changes coming within U.S. higher educationx" appeared in the January 27, 2001 edition of the Naple News .