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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 1999

NEA CD-ROM Offers Sweeping View of Higher Education's Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- How will technology change higher education? Will dorm rooms and residential campuses become obsolete? How do we create campuses for lifelong learning in an ever-changing technology driven economy? A newly released CD-ROM produced by the National Education Association (NEA) dives headfirst into these provocative questions.

"The best way to predict the future is to create it," declares the CD-ROM-The Future of Higher Education. NEA publicly unveiled the first of its kind CD-ROM for faculty, administrators, policymakers, and students to help them plan for higher education's future with a wealth of information and viewpoints on the needs of the next generation of students.

"This CD-ROM virtually explodes with information and penetrating discussions about higher education in the 21st Century," said NEA President Bob Chase. "It is a valuable tool for charting a course for a productive and vibrant future, with an emphasis on what colleges and union members can do to shape change and sustain the highest quality education. The future is up to us. We're the ones who can make an enormous difference."

Using video clips, futuristic scenarios, charts and graphs, the CD-ROM tackles tough questions about how technology will change higher education, if state investments in higher education will yield returns, increasing access to higher education, and the role of business and community in producing quality higher education.

Change on America's campuses is occurring at a breakneck speed. Demand for higher education is increasing as funding dwindles. Students from diverse backgrounds and cultures are enriching campus life in new ways. Technology is revolutionizing the way teachers teach and students learn. Distance learning, e-mail, and two-way video free education from the old restrictions of time and place. The dynamic careers of a technologically driven economy are returning more adults to college campuses for lifelong learning. "It is essential for us to embrace these changes and channel them in a way that produces quality education for students," said Chase. "The best way to accomplish that goal is to be informed and collectively develop strategies that meet the needs of the future."

NEA aims to get the new CD-ROM into the hands of as many higher education stakeholders as possible. Those who tap into the CD-ROM will find:

• State-by-state breakdowns of faculty numbers and student enrollments projected to 2010.
• Future scenarios of what higher education will look like under market and quality driven approaches.
• Data on state demographic and employment trends.
• Teaching tips.
• Video clips representing all sides of the debate over the future of higher education.

To order your complimentary copy, send an e-mail with your name and address to HigherEd@nea.org or write Office of Higher Education National Education Association 1201 16th St. NW Washington, D.C. 20036.