Peak Higher Ed

Bryan Alexander foresaw higher education's "peak scenario" back in 2013, and now revisits that analysis in a world utterly changed with the effects of a pandemic, accelerated climate change, an unprecedented political assault on institutional autonomy, and the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence. Alexander not only helps institutional leaders understand what is going on, but he offers valuable counsel for navigating these stormy seas.

Alexander offers both a historical lens and forward-looking roadmap for navigating higher education's post-peak landscape. In the process, he provides the tools for strategic resilience and a vision for how colleges and universities can adapt, innovate, and regain momentum in service to students and society.

Bryan Alexander combines the foresight of a true futurist with the passion of a Biblical prophet. He sees the problems of higher education whole, and he charts the possible pathways forward with a clear sense of how these citadels of civilization can save themselves—and us in the process.

There is no use in pretending that higher education will go on as before—there are too many demographic, political and financial challenges. But as the author makes clear in this fascinating book, once you accept that premise your mind is freed to consider (and work on) a whole host of possible outcomes, some of them strikingly beautiful.

Bryan Alexander is a futurist, a builder of scenarios, a higher education activist, and both a practical and visionary thinker. In Peak Higher Education he does the near-impossible: supplying us with the data, research, and context for the present and unfolding "polycrisis" in higher education while offering sustainable, sane, and even practical suggestions not just for "managing descent" but using the context of this crisis to make valuable and productive changes in higher ed. Invaluable!