A CHANGING HIGHER-EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT

Radical changes in contemporary society are forcing colleges and unive rsities to alter their time-honored traditions. Economics, demographic s, and technology have forever changed the university of the past. The public's demand for accountability is challenging the relevancy of pr ograms, the value of tenure, and the utility of research endeavors. Hi gher education must focus on serving society's needs to survive in the future. New structures, learning environments, and technologies must be used. To be successful, colleges and universities must be able to r espond to opportunities as well as serve as catalysts to create a new vision, have a clear sense of the future, and be organized to energize and support the efforts to carry out the vision. University faculty a nd administrators must carefully deliberate about higher education-its purpose and its methods-and turn those ideas into action to meet soci ety's needs now and into the next century.