LANHAM, Md. and WASHINGTON, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's U.S. college and university deans are under enormous pressure to find imaginative solutions to a range of emerging challenges in higher education. To assess their sentiment on innovation in higher education, 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU), partnered with the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership (a partnership between Arizona State University and Georgetown University) and surveyed more than 100 deans across the country. The results of the survey can be found in the report "The State of Innovation in Higher Education."

"The deans are confident about the future of the U.S. higher education system but less so about the ability of traditional institutions to adapt to what's coming," said Jeffrey J. Selingo, founding director of the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership and author of the study. "They don't think their institutions are moving quickly enough to change their business model and their teaching practices to relate to a new generation of students."

Sentiment on Change and Global Competitiveness in Higher Education

Deans feel confident in the U.S. higher education system and its standing in the world, and most feel confident in its ability to maintain a leadership position over time. They also feel that their institutions will be different in the future.

• 83 percent of deans surveyed believe that the U.S. higher education system today is the best or one of the best in the world.
• 61 percent of deans surveyed believe that the U.S. higher education system will be the best or one of the best in the world in 10 years.
• More than two-thirds of deans surveyed say that a decade from now, the U.S. higher education system will be much different than it is today.

Sentiment on Innovation in Higher Education
Overall, deans believe universities are capable of and fostering innovations but are concerned about the direction of U.S. higher education and their own ability to respond to change. Nearly all deans believe there will be an increase in online education programs.

• 78 percent of deans surveyed believe U.S. colleges and universities are doing a good, very good or excellent job of fostering academic innovation.
• Yet, only one in four deans surveyed think the U.S. higher education system is heading in the right direction.
• And more than a third of deans surveyed describe the pace of change at their own institutions as "too slow." Deans surveyed cite lack of money being the biggest hurdle to change.
• 91 percent of deans surveyed expect the number of online programs at their institution to increase in the next decade.

"We also found that, amid rising tuition prices and student debt, most deans still believe that higher education is a good return on the investment," said Selingo.

Methodology
These findings are from the responses of 109 deans of four-year colleges and universities in March and April 2017. Of these respondents, 61 percent were from public universities and 60 percent have been in their jobs at least five years.

The full survey results are available here: twou.co/DeansSurvey2017.

About 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU)
2U partners with great colleges and universities to build what we believe is the world's best digital education. Our platform provides a comprehensive fusion of technology, services and data architecture to transform high-quality and rigorous campus-based universities into the best digital versions of themselves. 2U's No Back Row® approach allows qualified students and working professionals around the world to experience a first-rate university education and successful outcomes. To learn more, visit 2U.com.

About the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership
The Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership, a partnership between Arizona State University and Georgetown University, is the premier training ground for those who aspire to senior leadership positions in higher education, and those who want to lead organizational change at colleges and universities in the future. To learn more, visit georgetown.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Shirley Chow, 2U, Inc.
schow@2U.com

Jeffrey J. Selingo, Arizona State University
jeffrey.selingo@asu.edu

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/survey-reports-more-than-two-thirds-of-college-deans-believe-their-institutions-will-be-much-different-in-ten-years-300480106.html

SOURCE 2U, Inc.