This blog post was originally shared on http://educationcommissionblog.gatech.edu/. 

Five years ago this month, the New York Times wrote a story about an experiment at Stanford University with Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The idea that tens of thousands of people signed up for a free online course on artificial intelligence generated plenty of curiosity about MOOCs and touched off a heated debate that had been quietly simmering on campuses nationwide about the future of higher education. In the months that followed, barely a week would pass without a story in the national media questioning the business model of higher education or an academic conference focusing on “innovation” and “disruption.”

MOOCs, of course, never ended up replacing traditional classrooms and dozens of colleges didn’t go out of business. But even five years later, anxiety levels remain high about the future of higher education. Faced with rising tuition and flat family income, students and parents are questioning the value of certain degrees at particular institutions like never before. And states seem to be getting out of the business of higher education without any plan, as lawmakers reduce taxpayer appropriations and put more of the financial burden on students and institutions.

That is why the work of Georgia Tech’s Commission on Creating the Next in Education comes at a crucial time for higher education, both in Georgia and the nation. At a recent commission meeting, I had the chance to put the work of the commission in the context of what’s happening in higher education across the country and reflect on the biggest issues facing colleges and universities as we enter another academic year. Among the important trends we identified:

1. Prepare students for the ambiguity of the job market by giving them a flexible undergraduate curricular experience.

Entire industries are expanding and contracting at an alarming pace. One study from Oxford University predicts that future technology could displace nearly half of American jobs.

So how can colleges and universities prepare students for this future workforce where navigating ambiguity might be the most important skill to have?

Soft skills—the ability to communicate, problem solve, and work in teams—are perhaps more important than ever. An analysis of millions of job ads by the workforce analytics firm Burning Glass found that those requiring a bachelor’s degree list more soft skills than technical skills among the set of requirements.

Indeed, occupations that require strong social skills are growing much more than others, according to research by Harvard University’s Robert Deming. The occupations that have shown consistent wage growth since 2000 require both cognitive and social skills, such as doctors and engineers. Jobs that require strong social skills have also grown, such as lawyers and child care workers.

2. As knowledge grows at a fast pace, colleges and universities will become platforms for lifelong learning.

Half of what is known today was not known ten years ago, according to the Association for Talent Development. As a result, higher education can no longer end after four years or at the age of 22. Rather, from the age of 18 throughout the rest of our lives, we will need to navigate a “new learning economy” that includes the traditional undergraduate curriculum at legacy institutions as well as short, just-in-time courses offered by a range of providers.

This is already happening as new college graduates flock to courses from online providers, such as Coursera and edX, or “boot camps,” like General Assembly and the Koru, that teach them everything from coding skills to business know-how, all in the space of a few weeks. Recently, the U.S. Education Department recognized this new learning environment by approving an experiment that would allow students to use federal aid at non-traditional providers.

In the future, universities will build their own lifelong learning platforms that offer a variety of educational pathways for students to navigate throughout their careers, and institutions will do so by partnering not only with other colleges and universities, but also the new players in this evolving 21st Century learning economy.

3. Colleges need to adopt a start-up model for innovation.

Innovative ideas for reforming higher education are being tested, and in many places, delivered with measurable results by researchers, professors, and entrepreneurs. But for the most part, much of that work remains on a small scale because institutions are unwilling or unable to expand their experiments. What’s more, much of the pedagogical innovation in higher education these days is coming out of computing programs or psychology, not schools of education.

A new model is needed for colleges and universities to innovate their curriculum and pedagogy, so they can better harness innovative ideas from the trenches, test them quickly, and scale what works. One, universities should build new disciplines in learning and design to harness the knowledge of computer scientists, educators, and psychologists. Two, universities as a whole should adopt the mentality of start-ups, which have developed a way of design thinking to pitch ideas to investors and test products with potential customers all in an effort to deliver the best ideas to market quickly.

4. Colleges and universities need to develop faculty career paths and future leaders for a new reality.

Career pathways for most faculty members are fairly flat, especially after earning tenure and if they don’t have an interest in administration. Most administrators fall into their positions without much training.

As Baby Boomers retire in the coming years, an opportunity exists to create new career pathways for both faculty and administrators. New faculty models are already emerging. Some professors are focused solely on teaching, while others teaching online and face-to-face are creating their courses in consultation with learning designers. A few campuses are adding an instructor called a preceptor between the traditional professor and the teaching assistant.

On the administrative front, changes to career tracks are happening more slowly. Many academics still lack insight into opportunities on their own campuses or elsewhere, and there is relatively little mentoring, coaching, or overt succession planning that would allow for the cultivation of the next generation of leaders.

As we begin another academic year, the challenges facing the future of higher education remain significant. But with efforts like the Commission on Creating the Next in Education, we have the opportunity to chart a course that leads Georgia Tech and other institutions to define a new era of success in the long history of higher education in the United States.