A Watershed Moment: Will US Colleges and Universities Lead or Lag in Education Innovation?

The panel on November 14 will be tasked with proposing the kind of disruptive innovations that can retain America's preeminence in higher education. Discussion topics will include: Digital technology will play an increasingly important role in higher education. What are the pros and cons of that trend? Will non-traditional, for-profit colleges and universities lead the innovation? And if they do, will many of our campus-based institutions go the way of the typewriter and rotary telephone? Are MOOCS (Massively Open Online Courses) the wave of the future or a passing fad? Can we finally master, perhaps with the assistance of technology, science and math education, and teacher training? Digital Natives: Does the generation weaned in the age of the internet learn differently? If so, how will colleges and universities adapt? How will we deal with the challenges of educating an increasingly diverse population? A family's socio-economic status is a better predictor of college success than academic achievement in secondary school. How can that be reversed? Are we prepared to provide the kind of lifelong education the modern economy requires? And if learning must be lifelong, does the traditional four-six year degree model still make sense? Featuring Molly Corbett Broad, President, American Council on Education; Kevin Carey, Director, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation; Michael M. Crow, President, Arizona State University; Matt Leavy, Chief Executive Officer, Pearson eCollege; Jeffrey Selingo, Editor at Large, Chronicle of Higher Education; Soraya Gage, General Manager, NBC Learn and Education Nation.