Andrew S. Rosen

It’s no wonder American higher education is facing a crisis.While low-income students can’t find a spot in their local community colleges for lack of funding, public four-year universities are spending staggering sums on luxurious residence halls, ever-bigger football stadiums, and obscure research institutes. We have cosseted our most advantaged students even as we deny access to the working adults who urgently need higher education to advance their careers and our economy. In Rebooting for the new talent economy Andrew S. Rosen clearly and entertainingly details how far the American higher education system has strayed from the goals of access, quality, affordability, and accountability that should characterize our system, and offers a prescription to restore American educational pre-eminence.To change, our system will have to end its reflexive opposition to anything new and different. Rosen describes how each new wave of innovation and expansion of educational access— starting with the founding of Harvard in 1636, and continuing with the advent of land-grant colleges in the 19th century, community colleges in the 20th century and private sector colleges over the last two decades—has been met with misunderstanding and ridicule. When colleges like the University of California, Cornell and Purdue were founded, they were scorned as “pretenders to the title of university” – language that tracks later criticisms of community colleges and most recently for-profit colleges.Avoiding that condescension is just one of the reasons colleges have come under the sway of “Harvard Envy” – schools that were founded to expand access feel an inexorable tug to become more prestigious and exclusive. Even worse, the competition for the best students has led universities to turn themselves into full-fledged resorts; they’ve built climbing walls, French bistros and 20-person hot-tubs to entice students to their campuses.How can America address an incentive system in higher education that is mismatched to the challenges of the years ahead? In Change.edu , Rosen outlines “seven certainties” of education in the coming 25 years, and presents an imperative for how our system must prepare for the coming changes. He proposes a new “playbook” for dealing with the change ahead, one that will enable American higher education to regain its global primacy and be a catalyst for economic growth in the 21st century.

Harvard Envy is a chapter excerpt from Change.edu coming out October 18, 2011.Exploring the limitations of the exclusive, tradition-bound world of higher education, innovator Andrew S. Rosen, chairman and CEO of Kaplan, Inc., delivers a vision for making a world-class college experience available to students of all backgrounds. Little is known about John Harvard, who bequeathed his books and £779 to a fledgling college on the Charles River in the 1630s, but the institution that bears his name has become the gold standard for universities worldwide. Tracing this fascinating history, and the history of American higher education overall, “Harvard Envy” raises important questions about the effect of super-elite campuses on America’s educational landscape. Just as Congress hotly debated whether to approve land-grant colleges in the nineteenth century, opening the doors of higher education to farmers, we face a competitive new demand for a highly educated workforce. Yet many colleges continue to insist on limiting access, and many college applicants continue to believe that exclusive institutions deliver the highest quality. With an eye-opening examination of the U.S. News and World Report college rankings and other barometers, “Harvard Envy” takes an enlightened look at how universities allocate resources and talent. Offering an inspiring alternative to the Ivory Tower playbook, Andrew S. Rosen presents a bold, cost-effective new vision for a truly competitive higher education system that serves both individual and national interests.

Club College is a chapter excerpt from Change.edu coming out October 18, 2011.On college campuses nationwide, luxury and learning go hand-in-hand, keeping the price tag for higher education out of reach for many Americans. Education innovator, and chairman and CEO of Kaplan, Inc., Andrew S. Rosen examines today’s resort-style campus, providing inspiring solutions for stopping the spending spirals and making college affordable for all. Despite the financial crunch, many American universities have become surprisingly lavish over the past decade, providing state-of-the-art recreation facilities, bistro-style dining, spectacular residence halls that rival fine hotels, and “free” amenities such as Kindles, not to mention multi-million-dollar stadiums and coaches’ salaries starting in the high six figures. Showcasing these extraordinary campuses, “Club College” captures the new economic models of higher education, which often divert funds from academics to gain a competitive edge in attracting an elite group of students. On this fascinating tour, Andrew S. Rosen proposes bold new alternatives that focus our nation’s dollars on learning.Poised to spark a dialogue about our nation’s higher education system, “Club College” makes the classroom the centerpiece of college once again, opening doors to careers for a broad range of talented individuals—arguably our greatest economic asset.

OVERCROWDED COMMUNITY COLLEGES: Many community colleges are turning away prospective students and failing in their primary mission of educating nontraditional students.UNDERSERVED POPULATION Other community colleges have stopped serving their core student body and are falling prey to the same "mission creep" and "Harvard envy" of the traditional 4-year campuses.FALLING THRU THE CRACKS: How will tomorrow's workforce gain the skills they need to succeeed and prospure, a nd how will this lack of training mpact our country's ability to stay competitive in the global marketplace?EDUVISION: What will tomorrow's institutions of higher education look like 20 years from now? Find out about Rosen's vision for the future in "Change.edu: Rebooting for the New Talent Economy."