The Cost of Digital and Change Avoidance in Higher Education

There are a variety of takeaways from the announcement that DeVry, a for-profit institution, agreed to settle for $100 million with the FTC, but what stands out to me the most has to do with priorities, focus, and organizational structure with higher education. In today’s fast-paced, software-centric world, a $100M is an incredible amount of money that if properly managed and directed, can deliver immersive, leading-edge, digital experiences that best support students and faculty. This, in turn, would help an institution meet their employment and salary goals by delivering highly trained and qualified graduates to the market.

However, DeVry chose to keep the status-quo of their institution. They were unwilling to change their organization and technology investments to best deliver and support their prospects and students. Digital disruption is happening to every industry and company, and either you face it head-on and embrace change or you try and bend the rules to make your numbers and risk the consequences.