I so enjoyed the feedback from my article on Chicago and Illinois politicians I decided to take on another sacred cow – so let's talk about education.

According to Inside Higher Education's article "In Search of Innovators" there is a distinct lack of innovation in higher education.  They cite a number of studies that show colleges are much better at enrolling students than graduating them.  Especially private schools and junior colleges.  And, imagine this, professors and administrators are more interested in continuing their positions and jobs than what students learn ("learning outcomes" in the industry vernacular.) Seems that keeping things from changing is the highest interest for educators, rather than actually teaching anything students need to learn to compete today.

But, we all know this.  We've all seen colleges that have courses taught by only one or two professors, who only teach at odd hours, only allow a few students, refuse to keep office hours, or refuse to post previous exams.  We're all familiar with schools that limit the hours administration offices are open, and are intractable about the requirements for graduation – even if they were set 20 years ago. 

Quite simply, Lock-in drives most schools.  Programs like tenure which make it impossible to fire anyone help maintain Lock-in.  And professors would rather argue about what they don't want to do than try anything new and different.  For all of us who went to college, and especially for those of us with students in college, it's clear that students are a route to their money (or their parent's money) – sort of little money pumps – intended to allow the college to not change.  Many colleges even brag about how little they've changed over the last 20, 50 or even 100 years!  In a world where change is every present, and dealing with change is now one of the most important skills a young person needs!

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education "For Innovation to Occur, Colleges Need a Big Push, Scholars Say."  This journal cites program after program where a college tried to start up something new, only to have the program fail.  But of course, because there is no White Space in colleges.  White Space is where you give Permission to break all Lock-ins and do whatever it takes to be successful – and then provide the resources for success to occur.  This does NOT exist in a college, where none of the Lock-ins can be violated.  A professor can't even decide to change from teaching in class to using video instruction or on-line training because it's not allowed.  So how can something new really be tried?

Where we have seen growth in higher education has been in for-profit schools like Devry and Phoenix that have rapidly challenged tradition and moved into new education models.  Traditional schools decry these institutions, claiming the quality isn't acceptable.  Of course, the "quality" argument is what printers used to claim Xerox machines would never succeed.  It's what DEC said about AutoCad – before DEC went out of business.  It's what Kodak executives said would make digital photography a tiny market compared to film.  It's what executives at Sony said would keep music customers from buying MP3 devices/music before Apple launched the iPod.  Quality is the #1 excuse used by Locked-in organizations to justify why they shouldn't change.  

Forty years ago it was pretty clear that if you could afford college and grad school, it was worth it.  But as costs/prices have skyrocketed, and the relevancy of education in many institutions has declined, that argument has lost a lot of credibility.  Increasingly students are saying they want their education to be meaningful, practical and applicable.  The market has shifted.  They want to study on their schedules, without giving up their incomes or struggling with horrible commutes.  And increasingly, these customers are moving to the suppliers that meet their needs – rather than trying to Defend & Extend old practices.

It's ironic that in the one place where we should most be open to new models we have almost no innovation.  But it's impossible without a change in the structures and processes – and that requires a willingness to create a lot of White Space.  For most colleges, I'm not optimistic.