Task Force on the Future of MIT Education Releases Final Report

MIT President L. Rafael Reif has released the final report of the Institute-Wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education, an 18-month process that seeks to envision the future of MIT and higher education.

The Task Force’s 213-page report builds off concepts from the November 2013 preliminary report and includes recommendations on increasing the flexibility of the curriculum, developing new physical spaces that support learning, and creating new opportunities for service.

In an August 4, 2014, letter to the MIT community, President Reif discusses a crossroads of higher education where the rising cost of education, combined with new opportunities like MOOCs and other online technologies, presents an unavoidable challenge that all colleges will face in the near future.

“At MIT, we are choosing to meet this challenge directly by assessing the educational model that has served the Institute so well for so long,” Reif writes. “We are experimenting boldly with ideas to enhance the education we offer our own students and to lower the barriers to access for learners around the world.”

MIT News summarized the final report and mentioned several key areas:

• The Task Force organized 16 recommendations around four themes: laying a foundation for the future, transforming pedagogy, extending MIT’s educational impact, and enabling the future of MIT education.
• Regarding pedagogical innovation, the Task Force recommends that MIT include creating an Undergraduate Service Opportunities Program and explore online and blending learning models to improve access to the graduate curriculum.
• To support the future of MIT education, the Task Force recommends that MIT examine further revenue opportunities in technology licensing and venture funding, expand fundraising activities to embrace a broader MIT community, and bolster infrastructure for executive and professional education.

The final report was compiled by a 52-member team divided into three working groups–MIT education and facilities, global opportunities around edX, and new financial models for higher education.

According to MIT News, a faculty forum and a student forum are being planned for discussion of the Task Force’s recommendations, and MIT community members can provide input by contacting mitedu-cochairs@mit.edu.

More information:

• Final report of the Institute-Wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education
• “The future of MIT education looks more global, modular, and flexible,” MIT News, August 4, 2014
• Letter from President Reif to the MIT community regarding final report, August 4, 2014
• Preliminary report of the Institute-Wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education
• “Reif releases preliminary report of the Institute-Wide Task Force on the Future of MIT Education,” MIT News, November 21, 2013
• Letter from President Reif to the MIT community regarding preliminary report, November 21, 2013
• “Institute-Wide Task Force aims to sketch the MIT education of the future,” MIT News, February 6, 2013
• “Presidential Charge to the Task Force on the Future of MIT Education,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif, February 6, 2013