Philip H. Francis, PhD, MBA,  was a professor and department chair at the Illinois Institute of Technology and has served as an executive of three Fortune 100 companies. He has served on the advisory boards of eight major colleges and universities.

He now works, along with his wife Diana, as a consultant both to academia and to industry.

Phil also has written books on R&D management, and on New Product Development for industrial practitioners.

Higher education as we know it today is on the verge of a major transformation. We’ll be forced to re-examine our ways in light of rapid changes in demographics, costs, lifelong and distance learning, and even in the way we...

Higher education as we know it today is on the verge of a major transformation. We’ll be forced to re-examine our ways in light of rapid changes in demographics, costs, lifelong and distance learning, and even in the way we best learn, individually.

The author analyzes the challenges including changes in finance, demographics, technology, the marketplace, and the political environment. He looks at issues including accreditation, admissions, finance, pedagogy, tenure, technology, ethics, leadership, management and branding.

He briefly summarizes the evolution of the modern college/university system since roughly the establishment of Harvard College in 1636 – the first college in America. From there, the discussion moves to mission and cultures of the modern university as we know it. Ensuing chapters fast forward to have a close look at today’s colleges and universities: their missions, cost structures, vulnerabilities, and how they dispense education. The author examines the cultural, economic and technologic dimensions that are driving substantial changes in the educational experience – for students of all ages.

The basic educational foundations of academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance are examined, as well as how they are being reinterpreted for the years ahead.

This re-examination of the U.S. higher educational system is a prologue to a vision of what higher education will look like in the years ahead. Finally, the author makes a compelling case for a new “business model” that will take us forward to improved educational and institutional processes.

The book is designed for

• academic administrators who see a need to create bold new visions for their institutions.
• state and federal legislators who need to understand the financial structures and the cost-benefit relationships of public higher education.
• academics and those aspiring to careers in higher education that want to understand what tomorrow’s institution will look like.
• entrepreneurs who are looking to get a piece of the huge new markets that are being created.

Chapter I: The Beginnings and the Journey

Chapter II: Laying the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Higher Education Systems

Chapter III: Beginnings of the New Transformation

Chapter IV: Technology’s Transformational Role in Higher Education

Chapter V: The New Business of Higher Education

Chapter VI: Getting the Most, While Managing Costs