The Innovative University

The Innovative University

by Clayton M. Christensen, Henry J. Eyring
Released July 2011
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781118063484

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Book description

The Innovative University illustrates how higher education can respond to the forces of disruptive innovation , and offers a nuanced and hopeful analysis of where the traditional university and its traditions have come from and how it needs to change for the future. Through an examination of Harvard and BYU-Idaho as well as other stories of innovation in higher education, Clayton Christensen and Henry Eyring decipher how universities can find innovative, less costly ways of performing their uniquely valuable functions.
  • Offers new ways forward to deal with curriculum, faculty issues, enrollment, retention, graduation rates, campus facility usage, and a host of other urgent issues in higher education
  • Discusses a strategic model to ensure economic vitality at the traditional university
  • Contains novel insights into the kind of change that is necessary to move institutions of higher education forward in innovative ways

This book uncovers how the traditional university survives by breaking with tradition, but thrives by building on what it's done best.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Preface
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Dedication
  7. Introduction
    1. Another Lens for Viewing the University
    2. Our Purpose and Approach
  8. Part One: Reframing the Higher Education Crisis
    1. Chapter 1: The Educational Innovator's Dilemma
      1. Voices of Warning from Within
      2. Pressures from Without
      3. The Educational Innovator's Dilemma
      4. The Risk of Disruption
      5. The DNA of the University
      6. Bigger and Better
      7. Two Schools of Thought
      8. The Power of Uniqueness
  9. Part Two: The Great American University
    1. Chapter 2: Puritan College
      1. The Advent of Secularization and Specialization
      2. Transition Years
    2. Chapter 3: Charles Eliot, Father of American Higher Education
      1. Lessons from Europe
      2. The Elective System: Having It All
      3. A Harvard-Style Innovation
      4. Everything at Its Best: Harvard Graduate Schools
      5. Faculty Prerogatives and Influence
      6. Student Freedom
      7. Eliot's Influence on Secondary Education
      8. Eliot's Innovative Influence
    3. Chapter 4: Pioneer Academy
      1. A High Regard for Education
      2. The Early Years in Rexburg
      3. Adopting Traits from the Great Universities
      4. The DNA of Ricks Academy
    4. Chapter 5: Revitalizing Harvard College
      1. Lowell's Strategy
      2. An Unsustainable Financial Reality
      3. Fostering Community at Harvard
      4. Breadth and Depth in the Curriculum
      5. Lowell's Curricular Compromise
      6. A Scholarly Solution Shop and an Instructional Value-Added Process
      7. Promoting Student Excellence
      8. Lowell and the Cause of Academic Freedom
    5. Chapter 6: Struggling College
      1. High Standards and Aspirations
      2. Hard Economic Times
      3. “The State Would Not Have It”
      4. A Return to Religious Values and Growth Aspirations
    6. Chapter 7: The Drive for Excellence
      1. Conant's Meritocracy
      2. Up-or-Out Tenure
      3. Merit-Based Admissions
      4. Harvard During World War II
      5. The Rise of Government-Funded Research
      6. The Redbook
      7. The Redbook and High School Education
      8. The Ivy Agreement
      9. The Essential Genetic Structure
      10. Harvard's Advantages
      11. The Costs of Harvard DNA
    7. Chapter 8: Four-Year Aspirations in Rexburg
      1. Strategic Repositioning
      2. A Bridge Too Far
      3. Expanding in the 1960s
    8. Chapter 9: Harvard's Growing Power and Profile
      1. Fundraising Excellence
      2. Explosive Expansion and Faculty Autonomy
      3. Implications for Instruction
      4. A Changing Student Body
    9. Chapter 10: Staying Rooted
      1. Rightsizing and Enhancing
      2. “A First-Rate College”
  10. Part Three: Ripe for Disruption
    1. Chapter 11: The Weight of the DNA
      1. Internal Strains
      2. A Voice of Warning
      3. Genetic Constraints
    2. Chapter 12: Even at Harvard
      1. A New General Education Program
      2. The Harvard Endowment's Ups and Downs
      3. Harvard's Recovery
    3. Chapter 13: Vulnerable Institutions
      1. Genetic Makeover
      2. Overstretched and Underfunded Schools
      3. Elusive Prestige
    4. Chapter 14: Disruptive Competition
      1. The Would-Be Academic Raider
      2. A Level, High-Speed Playing Field
      3. Disruptive Innovation
  11. Part Four: A New Kind of University
    1. Chapter 15: A Unique University Design
      1. An Unexpected Announcement
      2. Hinckley's Innovative Vision
      3. Eyring's Exhortations
      4. A Focus on Key Disciplines
    2. Chapter 16: Getting Started
      1. Heavyweight Teams and Administrative Engagement
      2. A New Approach to Student Activities
      3. Internships and Career-Oriented Majors
    3. Chapter 17: Raising Quality
      1. Presidential Interregnum
      2. Three Imperatives
      3. Resetting the Academic Calendar and Clock
      4. A Model for Learning
      5. Keys to Implementing the Learning Model
      6. Foundations: A New Approach to General Education
      7. Designing the Foundations Curriculum
      8. Creating the Foundations Courses
      9. Raising Quality Outside of the Classroom
      10. The Necessity of Sacrifice
      11. An Auditorium to Grow Into
    4. Chapter 18: Lowering Cost
      1. From Roxbury to Rexburg
      2. The Challenge to Create High-Quality Online Courses
      3. The Power of Peer Instruction
      4. An Online Course Production System
      5. Graduation Delays
      6. The Creeping Major
      7. Innovative Responses to the Creeping Major Problem
      8. A University Report Card
    5. Chapter 19: Serving More Students
      1. High-Fidelity Higher Education
      2. Enrollment Expansion I and the Fishbone
      3. Enrollment Expansion II: From Rexburg to Manhattan
      4. Customized Higher Education Pathways
      5. The Next Steps
      6. A Tremendous Cost Savings
      7. Reciprocal Benefits
      8. International Pathways
      9. Realizing the Benefits of the New DNA
  12. Part Five: Genetic Reengineering
    1. Chapter 20: New Models
      1. Transcending the Dichotomy
      2. Vital Jobs to Be Done
      3. What Universities Do Best
      4. Unique Assets
      5. The Efficiency Imperative
      6. “Work That the World Wants Done”
      7. Suicide by Imitation
      8. Making Choices
    2. Chapter 21: Students and Subjects
      1. A Focused Choice of Students
      2. The Student as Primary Constituent
      3. Helping Students “Achieve the Dream”
      4. Subject Matter Focus
      5. Beyond the Rational Curriculum and the Formal Classroom
    3. Chapter 22: Scholarship
      1. A Scholarship Model Inherited from a Golden Age
      2. The Scholarship Challenge for Modern-Day A. Lawrence Lowells
      3. The Growing Challenge of Discovery Research
      4. A Broader Definition of Scholarship
      5. The Need for New Scholarship Incentives
      6. The Tenure Debate
      7. The Right Kind of Tenure
      8. The Scholar's Out-of-Class Activities
    4. Chapter 23: New DNA
      1. Assessing Capabilities and Making Choices
      2. Prerequisites for Successful Conversations about Tradeoffs
      3. Different Types of Tradeoffs
      4. General Genetic Recommendations
      5. The Benefits of Growth and an Emphasis on Quality
      6. You Get What You Measure
      7. Meaningful Success Measures
    5. Chapter 24: Change and the Indispensable University
      1. Enhanced Freedom and Usefulness
      2. Our Cautious Optimism
      3. Pruning and Focusing
  13. Notes
    1. Preface
    2. Introduction
    3. Part I
    4. Chapter 1: The Educational Innovator's Dilemma: Threat of Danger, Reasons for Hope
    5. Part II
    6. Chapter 2: Puritan College:
    7. Chapter 3: Charles Eliot, Father of American Higher Education:
    8. Chapter 4: Pioneer Academy:
    9. Chapter 5: Revitalizing Harvard College:
    10. Chapter 6: Struggling College
    11. Chapter 7: The Drive for Excellence:
    12. Chapter 8: Four-Year Aspirations in Rexburg:
    13. Chapter 9: Harvard's Growing Power and Profile:
    14. Chapter 10: Staying Rooted:
    15. Part III
    16. Chapter 11: The Weight of the DNA
    17. Chapter 12: Even at Harvard:
    18. Chapter 13: Vulnerable Institutions:
    19. Chapter 14: Disruptive Competition:
    20. Part IV
    21. Chapter 15: A Unique University Design:
    22. Chapter 16: Getting Started:
    23. Chapter 17: Raising Quality:
    24. Chapter 18: Lowering Cost:
    25. Chapter 19: Serving More Students:
    26. Part V
    27. Chapter 20: New Models:
    28. Chapter 21: Students and Subjects:
    29. Chapter 22: Scholarship:
    30. Chapter 23: New DNA:
    31. Chapter 24: Change and the Indispensable University:
  14. The Authors
  15. Innosight Institute
  16. Index
  17. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Innovative University
  • Author(s): Clayton M. Christensen, Henry J. Eyring
  • Release date: July 2011
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9781118063484