The Other Higher Education

By Liz Reisberg. No one doubts the phenomenon of “massification” that has resulted in more access to higher education for more students worldwide.  This is certainly a good thing.  But as we have discussed in past blogs, massification introduces many new challenges.  When higher education was an elite undertaking, entering students often came from elite primary and secondary schools, making it more likely that they had the necessary preparation to continue tertiary studies through to graduation.  As participation rates move from 6 or 16 percent to 46 or 66 percent, the cohort includes more students from public primary and secondary schools where the quality of education varies dramatically. The growing participation in postsecondary education parallels economic growth, particularly notable in Latin America and Africa where rapidly growing economies demand higher levels of skilled labor. Read more...