2023:1

In the past three years, higher education globally has survived epic disruption and change. The sector has moved from pre-Covid business-as-usual, through a pandemic remote-learning pivot, and now to the post-pandemic realities challenging nearly every aspect of the existing ways of working. A sector that takes pride in its slow pace of change is discovering that gradualist change is not enough. Facing existential disruption from changing generational demographics, unstable employment markets, and EdTech 3.0+ will require a different orientation.

Going forward into 2023, the focus of our two newsletters—Ex4Edu.Report and Student360.Report—will be refined yet remain with the purpose to support navigation of the changing world of higher education.

The Ex4Edu.Report will focus on significant trends and events at a macro level that impact the sector’s viability and ability to deliver value. The guiding idea is navigating change rather than attempting to manage unmanageable change. Understanding how to navigate change is one of the “5 Disciplines of Highly-effective Organizations” observed through years of observing and working with role-model, resilient organizations. The Ex4Edu.Report will focus on identifying and interpreting key trends from the viewpoint of how to navigate change effectively in higher education.

The Student360.Report will concentrate more on the nuts and bolts of delivering value from a student-lifecycle optic. The emphasis will be on good practices in designing, delivering, supporting, and evaluating learning in higher education. The term “good practice” is intentional and avoids the pitfalls of notions such as best practices—which are, in reality, mythical—and confusion of one-off successes—something that works in limited surroundings—with real solutions fit for multiple settings and cultures.

Both newsletters will remain free of charge for now. Our development of a cooperative venture in 2023 could lead us toward new, specific levels of subscriber content. The more specific desires and needs of those joining us in the co-op may suggest paid tiers as we co-create our economic model. Information will be provided as the developments unfold.

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We also plan to develop expert chat sessions—using the new feature of Substack—once we develop a sufficient subscriber base. For now, please enjoy the content of one or both newsletters. And, of course, your helpful comments on the topics posted are genuinely appreciated.

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