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ROB MCCLENDON: HELLO EVERYONE; THANKS FOR JOINING US HERE ON
HORIZON.
WELL MENTION THE WORDS HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE WORD INNOVATION TYPICALLY
FOLLOWS, YET THERE IS AN OLD UNIVERSITY JOKE I AM REMINDED OF, AND IT GOES
LIKE THIS.
HOW MANY ACADEMICS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?
THE ANSWER: CHANGE?
WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT CHANGE?
UNIVERSITIES ARE OFTEN CALLED INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, AND FOR
GOOD REASON THEY ARE INSTITUITIONS WITH ENTRENCHED TRADITIONS.
YET THE CHALLENGES FACING TODAY'S COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, WELL, THEY
ARE NUMEROUS.
EVERYTHING FROM COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE FOR PROFIT SCHOOLS, TO
STUDENTS MORE ATUNED TO DIGITAL LEARNING THAN THE LECTURE HALL; OH, AND DID
WE MENTION?
COLLEGE IS GETTING CRAZY EXPENSIVE.
JOINING ME NOW IS OUR ANDY BARTH.
ANDY BARTH: WELL ROB, STUDENTS AND PARENTS ALIKE ARE UNHAPPY AND UNSURE
ABOUT THE RISING COST OF COLLEGE.
WITH THE STUDENT DEBT CEILING REACHING MORE THAN ONE TRILLION DOLLARS, SOME
WONDER IF IT'S EVEN WORTH IT, WHILE OTHERS BELIEVE IT'S A WISE INVESTMENT.
ANDY BARTH: IT'S BEEN MORE THAN FOUR YEARS SINCE THE STOCKMARKET'S MOST RECENT
CRASH, LEAVING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS UNEMPLOYED.
ROBERT HENRY: I THINK THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS NOT PANIC, BECAUSE WE
ARE GOING THROUGH A HARD ECONOMIC TIME.
ANDY: NATIONALLY, COLLEGE ENROLLMENTS ARE GROWING BY CLOSE TO SEVEN PERCENT
ANNUALLY, AN INCREASE OF NEARLY ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THOUSAND STUDENTS
PER YEAR.
YET, SOME QUESTION WHETHER TODAY'S STUDENTS RECEIVE THE RIGHT SKILLS.
OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT, ROBERT HENRY.
HENRY: THERE ARE HIGH PAYING JOBS THAT ARE SEEMING TO REQUIRE A
MASTER'S DEGREE.
BUT I THINK THE PRIMARY THING IS THAT EDUCATION NEEDS TO TAKE CARE AND BE
SURE THAT IT'S RELEVANT, BE SURE THAT IT'S TEACHING THE SKILLS THAT ARE
NEEDED.
ANDY: IN CAMPUSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY A NEW EMPHASIS IS BEING PLACED ON SKILLS
TRAINING AS WELL AS HIGHER EDUCATION.
AND HERE AT LANGSTON UNIVERSITY, PRESIDENT KENT SMITH SAYS HE BELIEVES THE
NEXT DECADE COULD DETERMINE THE FATE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
KENT SMITH: I THINK WE'RE AT A CROSSROADS; I REALLY DO.
AND I THINK IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS OR SO, WE WILL HAVE WHAT I CALL THE HAVES
AND THE HAVE NOTS.
I THINK YOU'LL HAVE THE UNIVERSITIES WHO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY IN A DYNAMIC
WAY WILL BE THOSE WHO SURVIVE.
AND I THINK THOSE WHO DON'T, I THINK SOME OF THEM WILL GO EXTINCT.
ANDY: AND SMITH SAYS LANGSTON WILL NOT BE ONE OF THOSE COLLEGES REFUSING
TO MOVE FORWARD.
SMITH: ONE OF THE PIECES THAT WE NEED TO DO, WILL DO, A MUCH BETTER JOB OF
IS INFUSING TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CLASSES THAT WE HAVE.
I FORESEE MORE ONLINE COURSES FOR LANGSTON UNIVERSITY.
I ALSO SEE MORE ONLINE HYBRID COURSES, MEANING A MIX OF TRADITIONAL
TEACHING MIXED IN WITH SOME ONLINE PIECES WITHIN THE SAME CLASS.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: TODAY, WE MARK AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE ON THE ROAD TO
HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM AND HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM.
ANDY: IN 2010, PRESIDENT OBAMA SET TWO NATIONAL GOALS FOR EDUCATION.
BY 2020 HE WANTS AMERICA TO ONCE AGAIN HAVE THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF
COLLEGE GRADUATES IN THE WORLD, UP FORM ITS CURRENT SIXTEENTH PLACE, WITH
COMMUNITY COLLEGES ADDING AN ADDITIONAL FIVE MILLION GRADUATES.
CURRENTLY, COMMUNITY COLLEGES ENROLL MORE THAN SIX MILLION STUDENTS
NATIONWIDE.
REDLANDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, PRESIDENT LARRY DEVANE, SAYS HIS SCHOOL
HELPS STUDENTS GO STRAIGHT TO THE WORK PLACE.
LARRY DEVANE: OUR FOLKS TEND TO BE FROM OKLAHOMA, THEY'RE ABOUT OKLAHOMA,
AND OUR PLACEMENT RATES ARE IN OKLAHOMA.
SO THE BIGGEST MISSION WE SEE OURSELVES HAVING IS, THAT WE ARE VERY MUCH A
PART OF WHAT KIND OF QUALITY OF LIFE ARE WE GOING TO HAVE.
ANDY: AND WHILE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATH ARE DEGREES
HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER, DEVANE SAYS WE CAN'T FORGET OTHER SKILLS IT
TAKES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN A CAREER.
DEVANE: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCHING, DOING THE WORK THAT ONE
NEEDS TO DO, WHETHER IT'S TO SET SOMETHING UP OR TO BECOME A PRODUCER IN OR TO
HAVE A LIVELIHOOD IN, IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND THAT'S A FORM OF APPLIED RESEARCH.
ANDY: RESEARCH THAT LANGSTON'S PRESIDENT SAYS WILL DEMAND A STRONG GRASP
ON TECHNOLOGY.
SMITH: TODAY'S GRADUATE WILL ENTER A WORK PLACE THAT WILL HAVE ALL SORTS
OF TECHNOLOGY DEMANDS.
ANDY: WELL IT'S NO SECRET HOW IMPORTANT AN EDUCATION IS.
IT'S BEEN SAID THAT A COLLEGE GRADUATE EARNS A MILLION DOLLARS MORE IN
THEIR LIFETIME COMPARED TO NON COLLEGE GRADS.
BUT HOW DO WE PAY FOR THAT DEGREE?
TUITION AND FEES CURRENTLY AVERAGE MORE THAN $8,500 AT IN-STATE COLLEGES AND
MORE THAN $29,000 AT PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
LEAVING SOME ASKING, IS IT WORTH IT?
MARK SNEAD: STUDENTS, MORE THAN EVER, ARE CONSIDERING, YOU KNOW, THE
ECONOMIC PAYOFF.
ANDY: ECONOMIST MARK SNEAD SAYS THAT WHILE THE NATIONAL STUDENT DEBT IS
MORE THAN A TRILLION DOLLARS, THE COST OF COLLEGE ISN'T THE REAL
ISSUE.
SNEAD: WHEN YOU COMPARE THE PAYOFF TO A COLLEGE DEGREE TO THE UPFRONT COST
OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION, EVEN PRIVATE EDUCATION IS A BARGAIN.
THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT IT ALL HAS TO BE PAID UP FRONT.
ANDY: A PROBLEM SNEAD SAYS CAN BE FIXED WITH A LONGER PAYOFF PLAN.
SNEAD: MAYBE YOU NEED A 30 YEAR PAYMENT STRUCTURE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT EDUCATION COULDN'T BE
PAID FOR OVER A SIMILAR TERM, LIKE HOUSING.
I MEAN WE PAY FOR HOUSING OVER 30 YEARS, BECAUSE THAT'S THE PRICE, YOU KNOW
IT'S EXPENSIVE.
ANDY: AN EXPENSIVE INVESTMENT, BUT ONE THAT ITS PAYOFF IS TIED
DIRECTLY TO THE DEGREE AREA.
SNEAD: ONE THING WE DON'T HAVE IS TOO MANY COLLEGE GRADUATES, BUT ONE THING
WE MAY HAVE TOO MANY OF IS, TOO MANY TWENTY-TWO YEAR OLD COLLEGE GRADUATES
WITH NO WORK EXPERIENCE.
THAT'S NOT A PARTICULARLY POWERFUL COMBINATION.
ANDY: BUT ROBERT HENRY SAYS HE BELIEVES YOU STILL CAN'T DISCOUNT THE
BENEFITS OF A WELL-ROUNDED EDUCATION.
HENRY: YOU DO NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GRAMMAR, AND RHETORIC AND LOGIC.
YOU DO NEED TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE.
YOU DO NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A SPEECH SOMETIME IN YOUR LIFE.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU COULD WRITE AN ESSAY, OR AN ARTICLE, THAT IS
PERSUASIVE.
BUT THEY ALSO TEACH YOU HOW TO THINK AND HOW TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT STUDENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE NEED TODAY.
ANDY: ALL TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE FOR TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY JOBS IN A GLOBAL
MARKET PLACE.
ANDY BARTH: NOW WHILE THE COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION IS INCREASING IN BOTH
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLEGES, A NEW TREND IS EMERGING AS ONLINE
COLLEGES CHARGE TUITION LIKE A CELL PHONE PLAN, WITH PAY AS YOU GO CLASSES
MAKING IT MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE WHILE STILL EARNING THAT DEGREE.
ROB: NOW I KNOW THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCED IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADRESS
ABOUT A NEW WEB SITE THAT THE ADMINISTRATION IS CREATING THAT WILL ALLOW
BOTH STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO COMPARE BOTH THE COST AND THE QUALITY OF
COLLEGES.
ANDY: THAT'S RIGHT ROB.
AS PROMISED, THE WHITE HOUSE NOW HAS AN INTERACTIVE COLLEGE SCORE
CARD WEB SITE WHICH ALLOWS PEOPLE TO GO ON AND GET THE TRUE COST OF A
PARTICULAR UNIVERSITY THEY'RE INTERESTED IN, AS WELL AS GATHER DATA ON THE
STUDENT LOAN INFORMATION AS WELL AS GRADUATION RATES.
ROB: ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SO MUCH ANDY.
ANDY: YOU'RE WELCOME ROB.
ROB: NOW, IF YOU WANT TO LINK TO THE ADMINSTRATION'S WEB SITE
ON HIGHER EDUCATION, YOU CAN DO THAT AT OK HORIZON DOT COM, WHERE WE ALSO
HAVE A LINK TO A VIDEO FROM OUR PARTNERS AT FACE THE FACTS USA, ON THE
RISING COST OF COLLEGE, AND THE IMPLICATIONS IT COULD HAVE ON OUR ECONOMY.
NOW WHEN WE RETURN, WE LOOK AT CHANGES A-FOOT IN THE CLASSROOM.