IMS Global: So when you talk about the accelerating needs of students, what you're talking about is that diverse range of needs?

NA: Yes. Look how everything is changing in the workplace and in our society. And it is partly brought on by the technology revolution. There is so much students need to learn today, and I don't mean just memorizing facts and data, but knowing where to go to get information, and then being able to determine whether it is any good in the first place. Information literacy is one of the crucial skills students must have today, especially with the emergence of Web 2.0. This skill ought to be required in every curriculum, taught early, before students get to higher education. At the university level, it must be required as an early course when students come in.

IMS Global: You mentioned a moment ago the Spellings Commission report. As a result of that report, there has been a lot of conversation in higher education circles about affordability, accountability, and accessibility. What is your perception of some of the things discussed in that report and what issues do you believe will continue beyond the current administration?

NA: I know there has been a lot of criticism about the report, especially related to the process in which the report took shape. I think there is some truth to those concerns. But I do think that however faulted the process, the Commission got the report right with the emphasis on accessibility, affordability, accountability, and quality. Those key words are going to be around for a long time. There has to be greater access to higher education than in previous generations. The rising tide of expectations demands it, and if educational institutions and governments don't provide access, humanity as we know it will be headed toward catastrophe. The widening gap between those who fulfill their needs and those who are stuck at unimaginable levels of poverty and despair is not a prescription for a planet that will survive.

Affordability is a related issue I mentioned earlier. Compare industries around the country; and guess which one comes out with one of the highest rates of cost increases. We constantly hear about the rising cost of health care and health insurance, but higher education is way above them all. And that's unacceptable. Both political parties are recognizing it is unacceptable. And if higher education doesn't find a way to fix it, then government will eventually impose corrective measures that institutions will not want.

Accountability is another example where our industry has come up lacking. As an industry, higher education has paid little attention to the results end of the equation. We're an industry that loves inputs and processes, but we have an entrenched culture that avoids looking at outcomes, at least where student learning comes in. It's a culture that has run away from accountability. We think that if we can hire the right faculty with the right credentials, put enough computers in the lab, enough books in the library, have great athletic teams, and require students to spend "X" hours in classroom seats, then learning will occur. Well, maybe it does and maybe it doesn't. How do we know other than faculty grades, and we all know about the problem of grade inflation. Until recently, little attention was given to learning outcomes assessment; evaluation was left in the hands of individual faculty where everyone does it differently.

Quality is another crucial, but no less complicated issue. A long-held myth in higher education that if we were to have quality, we had to restrict access and that quality equated to high cost, and higher tuition. I believe technology has given us the means to change that equation. High quality education can be available to everyone on a mass basis, and at a cost that is affordable.

Of course that statement raises the question of how do we define quality? And what is the bottom line in quality? And how much more can everyone afford? I like to compare education to the automobile industry, much to the horror of some of my colleagues. Not everyone gets to buy a Mercedes or a Jag, and if that were the only defined level of quality in automobiles, perhaps more of us would be taking pubic transportation. But the auto industry has been able to build good quality transportation for large numbers of people and to mass customize it to people's needs. I think the same approach holds true for higher education. One size does not fit all. Not everybody will get to Harvard or Princeton, but everyone should be able to get a good solid education at whatever point in their life cycle they need it, and customized to meet their own individual needs.