An Avalanche Is Coming: Higher Education and the Revolution Ahead

This publication argues that the next 50 years could see a golden age for higher education, but only if all players seize the initiative and act ambitiously. 


If not, an avalanche of change will sweep the system away.

This report challenges all players in the system to act boldly. Citizens need to seize the opportunity to learn and re-learn throughout their lives. University leaders need to take control of their own destiny and seize the opportunities opened by technology to offer broader, deeper and more exciting education. Each university needs to be clear with which niches or market segments it wants to serve and how. Finally, governments need to rethink their regulatory regimes for an era when university systems are global rather than national and a student’s education can take multiple paths.


The key messages from the report to every player in the system are that the new student consumer is king and standing still is not an option. Embracing the new opportunities set out here may be the only way to avoid the avalanche that is coming.


In his foreword, Larry Summers, President Emeritus of Harvard University says ‘This argument about unbundling needs to be studied

and acted on by university leaders around the world.’