Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking shared with Fox News Digital on Wednesday how a rising number of colleges are reducing expenses in higher education.
“It’s excessively priced, students are accumulating excessive debt. Even families in the upper middle class are expressing doubts about affording it. Numerous schools are currently facing significant challenges,” Docking stated.
Rize Education, a for-profit entity, functions as an intermediary for a course-sharing platform that enables collaborative online class offerings among colleges.
Docking contended that escalating higher education costs stem from inefficiency and a deficiency in institutional collaboration to curtail costs, unlike practices in the private sector. He pioneered the concept of course sharing, facilitating universities in sharing professors and thereby averting faculty hiring expenses.
UC SAN DIEGO REPORT INDICATES A CONCERNING DECLINE IN FRESHMEN MATH PROFICIENCY, WITH ONE IN EIGHT PERFORMING BELOW MIDDLE SCHOOL STANDARDS
“If German is taught at Adrian College, and there exist 10 other colleges and universities within a hundred-mile range, each with a German professor, an excessive number of German professors is present relative to the number of students majoring in German,” he elucidated.
“Why not employ just one or two German professors to share among the other schools, thereby reducing costs? This enables the introduction of new majors. We’ve recently initiated 38 new academic programs while adding only one professor.”
Docking established the company in 2019 with two Harvard alumni, Kevin Harrington and Connor McCarthy, after persuading them to relocate from New York City to Adrian, Michigan, a remote locale approximately an hour’s drive from Detroit. Harrington and McCarthy served as Docking’s assistants at Adrian to gain insights into the business aspects of the higher education sector.
Harrington, the CEO and co-founder of Rize, along with McCarthy, expanded the company to 65 employees. Five years prior, seven colleges utilized Rize; presently, nearly 140 colleges employ it, with projections indicating further growth.
“Five years ago, approximately 40 students participated in classes through this shared arrangement with other colleges. This year, the figure will surpass 10,000,” Docking revealed.
HARVARD FACULTY EXPRESSED SUPPORT FOR POTENTIAL LEFT-WING POLITICAL VIOLENCE DURING A 2018 PANEL DISCUSSION
Over 1,500 Adrian College students engage in shared classes with other colleges, according to Docking. Students undertake courses conventionally in person, followed by enrolling in a course at another 501(c)(3)-accredited college.
“I encountered widespread interest across the United States in participating in this, leading me to realize the significance of our endeavor,” Docking conveyed to Fox News Digital.
Harrington informed Fox News Digital that 130 schools introduced over 700 new academic programs and career pathways at “1/10th of the cost, implying that student expenses can be reduced as these colleges broaden and enhance their offerings.”
Due to the platform’s success, Docking was invited to testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Nov. 18, during a hearing entitled “The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs” at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
WHY ELITE COLLEGES ARE WARY OF TRUMP AND MCMAHON’S NEW ACADEMIC AGREEMENT LINKING FUNDING TO FREE SPEECH
Docking was among four witnesses who deliberated on inventive strategies they asserted would alleviate student debt and enhance employment prospects for college graduates.
“I believe the reason for my committee invitation lies in our proactive response, rather than mere acknowledgment. We affirmed the necessity of decisive action and substantial changes to lower education costs,” Docking communicated to Fox News Digital.
College tuition has significantly escalated over the years, compelling students into debt. During the fourth quarter of 2023, student loan balances totaled $1.6 trillion, as indicated by data from the New York Federal Reserve.
College expenses have become an increasingly critical issue in the U.S., prompting widespread efforts to identify solutions.
Docking co-authored a book entitled, “Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America” and is credited with strengthening the school’s sports programs and doubling enrollment at Adrian College since his tenure began in 2005. Currently, the institution provides a wider array of majors.
Since Adrian College established a partnership with Rize, the institution has inaugurated 27 majors, 13 minors, and 8 certificates in business, technology, engineering, and healthcare.
“The detrimental consequences for a democracy like ours are profoundly far-reaching. An educated populace is essential… when we diminish this due to prohibitive costs, we all incur a cost.”
