To begin reimagining the future of higher education, we must reconsider its basic organizing infrastructure: the credit hour. Since its creation a century ago, the credit hour has remained the currency of the American higher-education system. The credit underlies everything associated with academics on a college campus, from faculty workloads to student eligibility for federal financial aid.
Part of a series of papers from The National Commission on Financing 21st Century Higher Education exploring different dimensions of higher education policy and funding. The series ultimately will include 10 papers. These first four papers focus on the outlook for states’ spending, transformations affecting higher education, lessons from other countries, and best practices in state finance policy.