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Universities in the information age: Leaders or laggers?
TELEMATICS and
INFORMATICS
Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 3-4, 1988 Copyright © 1988 Pergamon Press plc. Printed in the USA 0736-5853/88 $3.00 + ,00
UNIVERSITIES IN THE INFORMATION AGE: LEADERS OR LAGGERS?
Universities and colleges worldwide are facing the "Crisis of Adjustment." Primarily trapped by outdated bureaucracy, rising costs, and declining prestige, many universities are struggling to redefine their place in the modern society called the Information Society. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero once said of an acquaintance, "Idem Manebat, Negue idem d e c e b a t " - " h e remained the same, and the same was no longer fitting." Cicero's comments apply to many of today's institutions of higher learning. Why can't institutions, with some of the best scholars and thinkers within their walls, upgrade their organizational purpose and standards to the general public's expectations? It is baffling. For centuries, universities and colleges have been an active intellectual and social force in propelling change. This is no longer true. The once widely admired and respected organizations are struggling to define their identity in the Information Age. What has contributed to this gloomy situation? There is no one answer. And, therefore, there is no one remedy for the problem. However, one common thread runs across the myriad of variables: Today's higher education institutions, notwithstanding a few exceptions, are reluctant to change, adopt, and adapt to the realities of the modern world. Frustrations on college campuses seem widespread. Administrators, professors, and students alike lament during the present "Crisis of Adjustment," often blaming each other but unwilling to share the blame. The group suffering the most are the students. Today, students are still being trained for the society that existed rather than society that will exist. The tools and techniques applied in education and training are invariably obsolete, although educators' intentions remain pure. The universities and colleges are facing three serious challenges in the Information Age. They are (1) the emerging socio-economic need to teach modern skills and values, (2) an urgent need to modify the process of higher education, and (3) the need to meet the diverse path of life-long learning. In the Information Age, it is essential for students to learn new ways to do a job better, as well as to be able to do new jobs. A greater effort is required to develop conceptual skills such as logical reasoning, problem solving, and analytical thinking. Modern society is powered by technology. Yet, colleges and universities continue to turn out graduates with no functional understanding of technology, computers, or science. Education must create a more widespread awareness of the realities of probability,
4
Editorial
risk, and uncertainty, which are critical in understanding the development and implementation of technologies. The unexamined life is not worth living, Socrates declared more than 2,000 years ago. Life today cannot be intelligently examined without technological literacy. To live in the midst of technological revolution and not understand it is a monstrous illiteracy. The Information Age will continue to transform the very nature of tasks on the manufacturing plant floor, in the office, and in the executive suites. This poses a significant challenge to universities and colleges. The emerging source of economic strength for modern societies is no longer capital investment or natural resources; it is brain power. The industrial society is now brainintensive. It centers on knowledge which creates sophisticated products and manufacturing processes, while framing the techniques of management itself. Universities and colleges must accept the challenge to create new generations of workers and managers. It is essential that institutions of higher learning begin to take a coordinated, business-like approach to identifying priorities, and then work with business and government to meet these priorities. This will require a national and international Information Age education strategy. In the past, universities have led society into new explorations and new ways of living. However, because of the power of industrial innovations and big government sponsorship of big science, society is leading universities. Today, the vanguards of higher education have become laggers rather than leaders in the Information Age.
lndu B. Singh Editor-in-Chief
INFORMATICS
Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 3-4, 1988 Copyright © 1988 Pergamon Press plc. Printed in the USA 0736-5853/88 $3.00 + ,00
UNIVERSITIES IN THE INFORMATION AGE: LEADERS OR LAGGERS?
Universities and colleges worldwide are facing the "Crisis of Adjustment." Primarily trapped by outdated bureaucracy, rising costs, and declining prestige, many universities are struggling to redefine their place in the modern society called the Information Society. The Roman statesman and orator Cicero once said of an acquaintance, "Idem Manebat, Negue idem d e c e b a t " - " h e remained the same, and the same was no longer fitting." Cicero's comments apply to many of today's institutions of higher learning. Why can't institutions, with some of the best scholars and thinkers within their walls, upgrade their organizational purpose and standards to the general public's expectations? It is baffling. For centuries, universities and colleges have been an active intellectual and social force in propelling change. This is no longer true. The once widely admired and respected organizations are struggling to define their identity in the Information Age. What has contributed to this gloomy situation? There is no one answer. And, therefore, there is no one remedy for the problem. However, one common thread runs across the myriad of variables: Today's higher education institutions, notwithstanding a few exceptions, are reluctant to change, adopt, and adapt to the realities of the modern world. Frustrations on college campuses seem widespread. Administrators, professors, and students alike lament during the present "Crisis of Adjustment," often blaming each other but unwilling to share the blame. The group suffering the most are the students. Today, students are still being trained for the society that existed rather than society that will exist. The tools and techniques applied in education and training are invariably obsolete, although educators' intentions remain pure. The universities and colleges are facing three serious challenges in the Information Age. They are (1) the emerging socio-economic need to teach modern skills and values, (2) an urgent need to modify the process of higher education, and (3) the need to meet the diverse path of life-long learning. In the Information Age, it is essential for students to learn new ways to do a job better, as well as to be able to do new jobs. A greater effort is required to develop conceptual skills such as logical reasoning, problem solving, and analytical thinking. Modern society is powered by technology. Yet, colleges and universities continue to turn out graduates with no functional understanding of technology, computers, or science. Education must create a more widespread awareness of the realities of probability,
4
Editorial
risk, and uncertainty, which are critical in understanding the development and implementation of technologies. The unexamined life is not worth living, Socrates declared more than 2,000 years ago. Life today cannot be intelligently examined without technological literacy. To live in the midst of technological revolution and not understand it is a monstrous illiteracy. The Information Age will continue to transform the very nature of tasks on the manufacturing plant floor, in the office, and in the executive suites. This poses a significant challenge to universities and colleges. The emerging source of economic strength for modern societies is no longer capital investment or natural resources; it is brain power. The industrial society is now brainintensive. It centers on knowledge which creates sophisticated products and manufacturing processes, while framing the techniques of management itself. Universities and colleges must accept the challenge to create new generations of workers and managers. It is essential that institutions of higher learning begin to take a coordinated, business-like approach to identifying priorities, and then work with business and government to meet these priorities. This will require a national and international Information Age education strategy. In the past, universities have led society into new explorations and new ways of living. However, because of the power of industrial innovations and big government sponsorship of big science, society is leading universities. Today, the vanguards of higher education have become laggers rather than leaders in the Information Age.
lndu B. Singh Editor-in-Chief