Peak Higher Ed begins with a look back over the recent history of colleges and universities. From the 1980s to the early 2010s American campuses grew immensely, but the sector hit a peak around 2012-2013. What followed was a decade on decreasing enrollment, a shrinking number of schools, and a souring reputation.
This book examines reasons for that rise and fall, ranging from changing cultural and political attitudes towards major shifts in demographics and institutional economics.
Next, Peak Higher Ed explores how post-peak academia might change. It examines three major forces impacting the world, to see how they might transform colleges and universities: climate change, artificial intelligence, and how we view progress.
The last chapters imagine the next years for colleges and universities depending on how they respond to these trends. We might see the American post-secondary sector continue to dwindle. We could also reimagine the academy for a new era.
Here’s a Johns Hopkins University Press blog post about the book.
And here is the table of contents:
Introduction
1. Peak Higher Education, the First Decade
2. Forces Pushing Academia Further Downslope
3. After the Consensus Shattered
4. Automation Comes for the Campus
5. The Anthropocene Is Here, Ready or Not
6. Academia and the Struggle for Humanity’s Future
7. Managed Descent
8. Climbing Back to Peak