At this point, few in academe are unaware of the digital divide—minority, low-income, and rural students and their families are severely restricted in their access to broadband internet connections and high-speed computing platforms. “…[O]nly 66 percent of black households, 61 percent of Hispanic households, and 63 percent of rural households had access to broadband, and one survey found that about 20 percent of college students did not have consistent access to technology, such as laptops and tablets….” As colleges shifted classes in March to remote delivery dependent on high-speed internet access, the impact of the digital divide became more pervasive. Continue Reading

Early this year, we at Optimal Campus began thinking about posting a series of blogs focused on what many perceived as a crisis in higher education.  Shifting demographics of potential students, rising costs, challenges to the value of higher education, and academic inertia placed higher education at a crossroads.  Many were arguing, and we agreed, that, without fundamental changes, the current system of higher education in the United States would be unable to survive.  And then COVID-19 happened!Continue Reading