Ep 75: Anticipating Higher Education’s Near Future(s)

How has the COVID-19 pandemic and the other upheaval of the last couple of years changed the outlook for colleges, their students and their employees?

Bryan Alexander is a writer, author, teacher and “futurist.” He wrote the 2020 book Academia Next and hosts his own series of video conversations, The Future Trends Forum.

In this week’s episode of The Key podcast, he first explains the work of professional futurists, and how they differ from other kinds of analysts who operate as if they owned crystal balls. Then Alexander explores a wide range of topics about how the COVID-19 pandemic, the drive for racial justice and other recent phenomena might affect the next few years in higher education, touching on technology, the curriculum, and his current focus, environmental sustainability.

 This episode is sponsored by Pearson Inclusive Access. Hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman.