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Riding the Fifth Wave in Higher Education: A Survival Guide for the New Normal charts the dimensions of the Fifth Wave challenge and offers numerous general and specific suggestions for surfing the wave and surviving its tsunami-like impact.

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The Fifth Wave in higher education is breaking on American shores. Unlike the four waves that preceded it from colonial times through the post-WWII mega-versity expansion, this wave is disrupting all sectors of the higher education industry. It will sweep away those institutions-be they public, private non-profit, or for-profit-that fail to recognize and meet the threat. Harvard professor Clay Christensen, the father of "disruptive innovation," predicts that as many as half of all American universities will close or go bankrupt within the next 10 to 15 years (See Inside Higher Ed , April 28, 2017).

Riding the Fifth Wave in Higher Education: A Survival Guide for the New Normal charts the dimensions of the Fifth Wave challenge and offers numerous general and specific suggestions for surfing the wave and surviving its tsunami-like impact. Part One of this concise handbook explains why our industry is in treacherous waters and outlines the impact of the Fifth Wave to date on all three major sectors of American higher ed. Part Two offers a range of practical responses, including ways we might break out of the tuition-discount "death spiral" and the facilities "arms race," as well as identifying our prospects for removing the albatross of onerous federal regulations from around our necks before it drags us under. If you have time to read only one book about today´s crisis in American higher education, Riding the Fifth Wave in Higher Education is the right choice. If you plan to research the topic in depth, Riding the Fifth Wave in Higher Education is the perfect place to start.

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Introduction - The Five Great Waves: An Overview - The Fifth Wave: A Deeper Dive - The Decline and Partial Resurrection of Public Higher Education - The Decline and Crippling of For-Profit Higher Education - The Decline of Not-for-Profit Higher Education - Addressing the Cost of Instruction - Addressing the Facilities "Arms Race" - Capitalizing on a Potential Window of Regulatory Relief - Some Real-World Solutions.

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"As a counselor to colleges and universities on some of their most pressing legal issues for approximately 20 years, I have a dedicated place on my desk for Riding the Fifth Wave in Higher Education. An invaluable resource on higher education, James Ottavio Castagnera approaches each problem through a combination of legal training and more than 30 years of university administrator experience. The results are solutions that are fundamentally sound, easy to grasp, and highly practical. For an understanding of current issues from someone on the front lines, this is the book you should turn to first."-Angelo A. Stio III, Partner at Pepper Hamilton

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