John Oliver’s student loan crisis update
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
3d ago
Nearly a decade ago the comedian John Oliver took on student loans on his remarkably pedagogical show.  It was a good, bracing overview of the problem as it stood then. This week Oliver returned to the theme.  I wanted to share it here, then add some comments: Oliver (and his writing, research team) hit on a good range of essential points.  The show starts with updated data: “over 43 million Americans have student loans, that’s about 13% of the U.S. population, for a total outstanding debt of $1.7 trillion.”  Then Oliver races ahead, sketching out: student loan history bac ..read more
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More academic cuts in early 2024
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
1w ago
On March 1st I posted about a series of colleges and universities closing and merging, along with cuts to academic programs, faculty, and staff. The post attracted some attention.  Publicly, people commented on the blog, commented on the Medium version, and responded across social media.  Several people also wrote me privately – which is a sign of just how difficult and stressful it can be to even discuss the topic openly.  Some of these responses (both public and private) shared additional stories of academic cuts, and I wanted to share them as part of my research. Also, in the ..read more
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Four years of a vegan diet
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
2w ago
What’s it like to eat a vegan diet for some years? For most of my life I was a serious carnivore, eating lots of meat and animal products.  Yet in late 2019 I experimented with eating a partially vegan diet.  This turned out so well that in March 2020 I switched to eating solely plant-based foods and have done so for the following four years. The most delicious force in the universe. tl;dr – veganism works very well for me on multiple levels and I’ll keep doing it. I made the switch for two reasons.  First, as I was (and still am) researching climate change and finding a conse ..read more
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Starting my new book project: Peak Higher Education
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
3w ago
Greetings from somewhere over the United States.  I’m flying from DC to LA, and will take this lofty moment to announce my next book project. I introduced the peak higher education concept way back in 2013.  It was a scenario describing one path for colleges and universities.  Since then I’ve developed the model in presentations, articles, a book chapter, and workshops.  Meanwhile, the past decade largely embodied what I projected, with enrollments declining along with a steady stream of institutional cuts, closures, and mergers. Now I’d like to announce a full length, scho ..read more
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Starting 2024 with all kinds of academic cuts
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
3w ago
In this new year of 2024, which colleges and universities are cutting academic programs and jobs? For a month I’ve been working on this post, accumulating information about different examples, but the instances have been coming in faster than I’ve been able to note them down. And my own schedule ramped up to a fever pitch again.  Finally I’m drawing a line under stories so far, just to get this out there.  So this is not an exhaustive list. I’ll break this down into several categories, then offer some reflections about what the examples tranche might mean for higher education’s futur ..read more
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Two futures events today
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
1M ago
Greetings from the last day of an incredibly busy February.  Today’s post is about two futures events taking place or starting today, both of which I recommend. First, today Arizona State University is hosting an exciting event.  It’s a design summit for the 100 Year EdTech project.  Lots of people are gathering to share stories about education, technology, and the future.  They are also working in groups to address some great futures ideas, like: What will the world look like 50 years from now? What conditions do we need to create across education for community empowermen ..read more
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Looking for a more ambitious writing experience in an app: an exploration
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
1M ago
For years I’ve written articles, interviews, chapters, and books using a combination of software tools.  Now I’m looking for something more advanced. Currently my main writing application is Microsoft Word, as it is for many people. I also use Google Docs for short writing (chapter/article length), for collaboration, and for other sharing purposes. Over the past few years I’ve taken to drafting almost everything in Google Docs, as I habitually move between around three devices every day, noodling or frantically typing here and there, before exporting to Word for more serious editing and f ..read more
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Turning 57 in the year 2024
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
1M ago
Earlier this month I had a birthday, which I prefer to think of as “completing another solar orbit.” Today I’ll continue with this blog’s tradition of birthdayblogging: a bit of reflection, some memoir, and a touch of futuring. (previously: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2018, 2017) This isn’t easy to write about. Turning 57 is an odd milestone.  It feels like… nothing in many ways.  The number doesn’t trigger any events. There’s no symbolism around the non-event, nothing in the culture, nothing in policy nor law.  Instead, the non-milestone makes me look ..read more
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Massachusetts removes college degree requirements from most state jobs
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
1M ago
Over the past year at least a dozen American states have taken a very interesting step.  They have removed a college degree requirement for applicants to some or most state jobs.  It’s a way of helping people “break the paper ceiling,” of advancing without needing to have postsecondary education credentials.  Examples include Alaska, California, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania (and Philadelphia), South Dakota, Utah, Virginia. Now Massachusetts has joined them. (alternative link) Governor Maura Healey filed an executive order on Thursday ..read more
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Did the decade-long enrollment decline turn around?
Bryan Alexander | Futurist, educator, speaker, writer
by Bryan Alexander
1M ago
Greetings from February, which somehow occurred just as I was getting adjusted to December.  Over the past month I’ve been frantically teaching, traveling (US, Qatar), pitching a new book idea, managing the Future Trends Forum into autumn, arranging professional engagements through summer, caring for my wife… and while I’ve started a dozen blog posts here, I haven’t published them.  It’s time to get back into the bloghouse and posting seriously again. Let me begin with some important higher education data. The National Student Clearinghouse just issued the latest update on enrollment ..read more
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