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This Moment in Our History

Higher Education Institutions are facing unprecedented challenges. Our longstanding history of intellectual autonomy, governmental partnership, and stable financial models is confronted by an array of political, economic, and cultural threats. We face numerous new federal regulations that constrain emphasis on topics central to our mission, such as social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Evidence of educational quality has been recast as graduate earnings, rather than growth in knowledge, commitment to humanitarian ideals, and respect for diverse others. The value of higher education is juxtaposed with the lower cost and expediency of skilled trades. Revised funding models for low-income students may limit their access to higher education for the first time in over 50 years. These and other headwinds place Spelman at a critical intersection where change is inescapable.

Our strategic plan is a response to these challenges. It represents a vision and plan for institutional progress that is creative and adaptable, appropriate to meet both known and unknown pressures for change. Indeed, “Future-Ready Spelman” is a theme that undergirds our work going forward. In the same way that prior social and financial inflection points have led to changes in how our very important work gets done, we are preparing ourselves now to maintain the course, obstacles and occasional detours notwithstanding. By empowering women of African descent through intellectual and leadership development, Spelman will remain true to her founding principles and its dedication to academic excellence. As we now confront new challenges that limit student access to federally sponsored loan funds; require graduate earnings standards by program; and impose restrictions on advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion, it may feel like we are moving backwards. Furthermore, policy proposals that seem to undercut the importance of liberal arts and science vs. work skills may feel like an assault on our values and history of graduating capable and productive women. Despite these and other obstacles, we remain resolute in fulfilling our mission by reimagining our academic and co-curricular programs with a focus on the future.

A Future-Ready Spelman means that we must think boldly and differently about how we develop the next generation of leaders. For example, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on teaching and learning impacts how we might build courses and instruct students most effectively. Sometimes described as the most significant cultural shift in the past century, AI brings opportunities for individualized learning that could revolutionize our notions of the learning environment, perhaps leading to decreased emphasis on credit hours in favor of individualized, competency-based education. In such an environment, the “classroom” may be quite a different setting than most of us have known. Rather than learning in groups with live instructors, students might learn individually and demonstrate their acquisition of competencies with the assistance of adaptive learning technologies. In such a setting, we may be compelled to reconsider what should be the evolved role of college faculty, staff, and administrators.

Another concern about the future of higher education highlights growing uncertainty about the value of a college degree, especially in light of rising education costs and resultant rising student debt in recent decades. Recent federal legislation establishes limits on the amount of federally sponsored loans that students and parents can take each year. That may be considered a strategy for lowering student debt, but it may also result in students not being able to access sufficient funding to attend the institution of their choice or pursue their desired career. Our strategic plan takes such dilemmas under consideration. Indeed, Twenty-First Century leadership must effectively address challenges such as these in postsecondary education, with concern for equitable outcomes at local, national, and global levels.