How Higher Education Dies Reading Answers

Mar 19, 2025

How Higher Education Dies is an IELTS Reading Answer which contains 13 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. This reading answer also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. How Higher Education Dies consists of questions like: Write no more than three words, choose the correct letter, and do the following statements agree with the information in the text. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, How Higher Education Dies Reading Answers chats about the decline of higher education in the modern world. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Topic:

How Higher Education Dies

Maybe higher education has reached its peak. Not the Harvards and Yales of the world, but the institutions that make up the rest of the industry-the regional public schools who saw decades of growth and are now facing major budget cuts and the smaller, less- selective private colleges that have exorbitant sticker prices while the number of students enrolling in them declines. Higher ed is often described as a bubble-and much like the housing market in 2008, the thought goes, it will ultimately burst. But what if it's less of a sudden pop and more of a long, slow slide, and we are already on the way down?

Bryan Alexander started grappling with the idea of "peak higher education" in 2013- inspired by the notion of "peak car," "peak oil," and other so-called "peaks." At the time, there were signs that the industry was already struggling. The number of students enrolled in higher education had dropped by a little over 450,000 after years of booming growth, the proportion of part-time faculty—more commonly referred to as adjuncts- had steadily become a more significant part of the professorship, and there was a general skepticism about the skyrocketing costs of college and concerns over whether a degree was worth it. Taken individually, he said, each sign was troubling enough. But when looked at together, they represented the outlines of a bleak future for higher education. Alexander, a self-described higher-education futurist and a former English professor, came to the conclusion that after nearly a half century of growth, higher education might be as big as it could get. It would, he reasoned, only get smaller from there.

Now, five years on, he says the "depressing" hypothesis is playing out. In the spring of 2013, there were 19,105,651 students enrolled in higher ed; this spring, there were 17,839,330, according to recently released data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

That represents a roughly 7-percent decrease-and is driven largely by declining enrollments in the for-profit and community-college sectors, as well as stagnant enrollments among four-year non-profit public and private institutions. And the trend of declining enrollment in higher education is likely to continue, he argues, for a couple of reasons, but most notably, a declining birth rate means that there will be fewer 18-year-olds entering academe, and there are fewer international and immigrant students to fill those seats.

Why is the dip in enrollment such a big deal? Well, quite plainly, the business model for a lot of colleges is dependent on enrollment. If enrollments decline, revenues decline, and colleges have less money for facilities, faculty, and programs. That creates a sort of death spiral in which colleges are getting rid of programs, which in turn makes it harder to attract students, and so on. For non-selective private liberal-arts colleges, this could mean mergers or closures something that's already happening in quite a few places, such as at Marylhurst University in Oregon, Wheelock College in Massachusetts, and St. Gregory's University in Oklahoma. And for other institutions, Alexander told me in a recent interview, it could mean a shifting of institutional priorities-particularly in the students they recruit and teach, moving away from a primary focus on 18-to-22-year-olds towards more adult learners, as administrators at the University of Memphis have done in Tennessee. Declining enrollments could also mean the decline of research faculty, increased workloads, and more rapid adjunctification.

And given how colleges have treated adjunct faculty, Alexander says, "it would be a humanitarian disaster"-one of higher education's own doing. "We've done it to ourselves with open eyes since the 1990s. And we know about it, it's kind of an open secret," he says. "The Research I universities keep pumping out Ph.D.s, and they haven't slowed down at all. And they know exactly what that means, you know, that the majority of these Ph.D.s are either going to leave academia or end up with horrible labor conditions."

It's not a difficult future to imagine-largely because most of it is already happening. Some institutions will be shielded from the decline—most obviously the major players and media darlings such as Ivy League institutions and major public institutions like the University of Texas at Austin. But most colleges will not be so fortunate, he says. They will either have to adapt or die out. Perhaps this is just a blip driven by declines in the for-profit sector that will correct itself, or the consequence of a growing economy in which more people choose jobs over school. More optimistically, maybe higher education as an enterprise finds a way out of this problem. State legislatures could reverse course and shift more funding to higher education. Maybe colleges will wind up taking a proactive approach and innovate their way out, shifting, as some have already, to serve more adult students alongside recent high-school graduates, and moving more of their coursework and programs online to serve a wider audience of students and reduce campus costs.

It's ironic, he says, that "we are living through the greatest time in history to be a learner," with the availability of so many high-quality materials online. But at the same time, the institutions most affiliated with knowledge and learning are facing a crisis.

Questions 14 - 20

Do the following statements agree with the information in the text? Write:

TRUE: if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE: if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN: if there is no information on this

14. Many educational institutions, such as regional public schools and less selective private colleges, are experiencing decreases in enrolments due to high tuition fees.

Answer: True

Supporting statement: "The number of students enrolled in higher education had dropped by a little over 450,000 after years of booming growth... and there was a general skepticism about the skyrocketing costs of college and concerns over whether a degree was worth it."

Keywords: higher education, students

Keyword Location: para 2, line 5-7

Explanation: The passage mentions that the decrease in enrollment is linked to high tuition costs and doubts about the value of a degree, particularly for non-selective private colleges.

15. According to Bryan Alexander, the year 2013 marked the end of a long period of development in the higher education industry.

Answer: True

Supporting statement: "Alexander, a self-described higher-education futurist and a former English professor, came to the conclusion that after nearly a half century of growth, higher education might be as big as it could get."

Keywords: higher education, Alexander

Keyword Location: para 2, line 10-12

Explanation: Bryan Alexander believed that after decades of expansion, higher education had reached its peak in 2013 and would shrink afterward.

16. The rising significance of part-time faculty showed that higher education was facing a crisis.

Answer: True

Supporting statement: "The proportion of part-time faculty—more commonly referred to as adjuncts—had steadily become a more significant part of the professorship."

Keywords: higher education, Alexander

Keyword Location: para 2, line 6-7

Explanation: The increasing reliance on adjunct faculty is presented as a sign of crisis in higher education.

17. The overall decline in enrolments in higher education was the main reason why there was widespread doubt about the value of university degrees.

Answer: False

Supporting statement: "But when looked at together, they represented the outlines of a bleak future for higher education."

Keywords: higher education, bleak future

Keyword Location: para 2, line 8-9

Explanation: While the passage mentions doubts about higher education, it does not link these doubts directly to declining enrollments.

18. Bryan claimed that although there might be room for development, the higher education industry would only shrink.

Answer: False

Supporting statement: "It would, he reasoned, only get smaller from there."

Keywords: higher education, Bryan

Keyword Location: para 2, line 12

Explanation: Bryan Alexander argued that while higher education might have room for improvement, it was unlikely to grow and would instead shrink.

19. The total number of students who pursued higher education fell by approximately 7% in half a decade.

Answer: False

Supporting statement: "In the spring of 2013, there were 19,105,651 students enrolled in higher ed; this spring, there were 17,839,330... That represents a roughly 7-percent decrease."

Keywords: higher education, students

Keyword Location: para 3, line 2-4

Explanation: The passage states that higher education enrollment declined by approximately 7% over five years.

20. Bryan argues that the decline in higher education enrollments is associated with a falling birth rate and can be dealt with by increasing the number of overseas students.

Answer: Not Given

Supporting statement: -

Keywords: -

Keyword Location: -

Explanation: While the passage states that declining birth rates and fewer international students contribute to enrollment declines, it does not mention increasing international students as a solution.

Question 21

Choose the correct letter.

21. Why does the author mention Marylhurst University in Oregon, Wheelock College in Massachusetts, and St. Gregory's University in Oklahoma?

A. To give evidence that many institutions are experiencing declines in enrolments.

B. To exemplify the point that some private colleges are merged or shut down due to enrolments decline.

C. To give examples of "non-selective private liberal-arts colleges"

D. To prove that some colleges are having trouble attracting students.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: "For non-selective private liberal-arts colleges, this could mean mergers or closures—something that's already happening in quite a few places, such as at Marylhurst University in Oregon, Wheelock College in Massachusetts, and St. Gregory's University in Oklahoma."

Keywords: private college, non-selective

Keyword Location: para 4, line 5-7

Explanation: This directly supports Option B, as the universities mentioned are given as examples of institutions that have merged or closed due to declining enrollments.

Questions 22 - 23

Choose the correct letter.

22. What is Bryan Alexander's view on the rapid development of part-time faculty?

A. It was first offered to students in the 1990s.

B. It is a way to deal with decreased revenues that are caused by enrolments decline.

C. It causes deleterious effects.

D. It forces Ph.D.s to work in unfavorable labor environments.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: "The Research I universities keep pumping out Ph.D.s, and they haven't slowed down at all. And they know exactly what that means, you know, that the majority of these Ph.D.s are either going to leave academia or end up with horrible labor conditions."

Keywords: Ph.D.s, universities

Keyword Location: para 6, line 6-8

Explanation: This directly supports Option D, as it emphasizes that Ph.D.s are forced into unfavorable working conditions due to the shift toward adjunct faculty.

23. What point does Bryan Alexander make in the seventh paragraph?

A. We can envisage that prestigious institutions will not be subject to any negative trend in higher education while other colleges will have to suffer.

B. The future looks bleak for the higher education industry.

C. Colleges that are endorsed by the media will be able to avoid declining.

D. The foreseeable future of higher education is that most colleges will face eventual closures.

Answer: A

Supporting statement: "Some institutions will be shielded from the decline—most obviously the major players and media darlings such as Ivy League institutions and major public institutions like the University of Texas at Austin. But most colleges will not be so fortunate, he says. They will either have to adapt or die out."

Keywords: Ivy League institutions, institutions

Keyword Location: para 7, line 1-4

Explanation: This supports Option A, as it suggests that elite institutions will remain stable while others will suffer from enrollment declines.

Questions 24-26

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

24. Higher education is declining in consequence of an increasing number of people favoring…..

Answer: jobs over school

Supporting statement: "or the consequence of a growing economy in which more people choose jobs over school."

Keywords: economy, jobs over school

Keyword Location: para 7, line 6

Explanation: The passage suggests that one of the reasons for declining higher education enrollment is that people are opting for employment instead of pursuing further studies.

25. Colleges will probably offer a wider range of…….. in order to benefit a greater number of students and lower the costs incurred in running campuses.

Answer: online programs

Supporting statement: "Maybe colleges will wind up taking a proactive approach and innovate their way out... moving more of their coursework and programs online to serve a wider audience of students and reduce campus costs."

Keywords: programs online, colleges

Keyword Location: para 7, line 7-9

Explanation: The text indicates that colleges may expand their online offerings to attract more students and cut operational expenses.

26. While ……….. are conveniently accessible from the Internet, we are still struggling with our learning and higher education is in growing crisis.

Answer: high-quality materials

Supporting statement: "It's ironic, he says, that 'we are living through the greatest time in history to be a learner,' with the availability of so many high-quality materials online."

Keywords: learner, high-quality materials

Keyword Location: para 8, line 1-2

Explanation: The passage highlights the contradiction that, despite the easy access to educational resources online, the higher education sector is still facing a crisis.

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