The Innovative University

Chapter 18Lowering Cost

At his inauguration, Kim Clark had shared a vision of reducing costs and increasing access to the university. He began by noting that the year-round academic calendar, with its three-track system for admitting students, was a major step in this direction. However, he stated the imperative to do more, referring specifically to information technology and innovative teaching techniques. He spoke of “breaking down the barriers of time and space” and of finding “new ways of learning and teaching that will yield a higher quality experience while requiring relatively fewer resources per student.”¹

Clark's point man in this effort to reduce cost and expand access through technology was a former HBS colleague, Clark Gilbert, ...