In an interview with Deseret News, Mitch Daniels, who used to be the governor of Indiana and is now the president of Purdue University lastly discussed some of the crucial problems of the modern higher education system. He then outlined factors that have reduced value of college education including rising tuition cost, diluted curricula, and vibrant political polarization among university students and noted evident signs of decay that requires a drastic fixing to make college education valuable once again.
Former Purdue University president Mitch Daniels stressed, for instance, the question of affordability and accessibility while pointing to the fact that the cost of higher education, including college tuition, became unattainable for many American families. He has also expressed his concern towards the current state of affairs due to which standards of education has dropped and there is no actual free speech prevalent there in most cases people have to toe the party line.
Daniels stressed free speech to the Purdue University and worked for the extension of STEM education since he said that STEM education is not politicized like the other fields. Among other things, he deplored the recent spate of campus protests and the inability of university chancellors to keep law and order while enforcing academic discipline.
In addition, several points to address include education for the adults and the opportunities for online Education with the factors that forced them not to complete the studies. Citing the example of Purdue University that has lately bought an online university that, currently, enrolls thousands of adult learners, he justified the idea of how higher education institutions are capable of changing to fit the needs of a more diverse populace.
When looking to the forecast, Daniels claimed that there would be more consolidation in the higher education market due to shifts in demography and erosion of trust. Whereas, he encouraged institutions to allow competition and change in order to cope with the emerging environment in the provision of education.