Today, in the nontraditional sector, organizations and services have abandoned key elements of traditional higher education practice. They’re rejecting time- and place-based education; creating low-cost degrees; adopting competency- or outcome-based education; emphasizing digital technologies; focusing on populations underrepresented in traditional higher education; and offering pioneering subject matters and certifications. Knowledge organizations, ranging from libraries and museums to media companies and software makers, have entered the postsecondary marketplace, offering content, instruction and certification. Entrepreneurial for-profits have attempted to poach universities’ most profitable programs in areas such as general education, business and education, seeking to offer cheaper, faster, better, and/or more convenient versions.
