In 2014 Michael Staton detailed how the university experience is a bundle of many things rolled up together (see image below), and suggested that many components could be disaggregated, or… | Jonathan Boymal
In 2014 Michael Staton detailed how the university experience is a bundle of many things rolled up together (see image below), and suggested that many components could be disaggregated, or “unbundled” and provided in alternative ways.
He drew on this framework in his “The Degree is Doomed” piece in the Harvard Business Review in 2014. https://lnkd.in/gYdkhCb
In 2025, Shannon McKeen, writing in Forbes, considers where we are now https://lnkd.in/gYir-XDe:
“Most college students now use AI tools for academic work, yet employers consistently report that new graduates lack the critical thinking and decision-making skills needed in an AI-augmented workplace. This disconnect signals the beginning of higher education's great unbundling.
For decades, universities have operated on a bundled model: combining information delivery, skill development, credentialing, and social networking into a premium package. AI is now attacking the most profitable part of that bundle—information transfer—while employers increasingly value what machines cannot replicate: human judgment under uncertainty.
Higher education represents a massive market built largely on controlling access to specialized knowledge. Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment.
This is classic disruption theory in action. The incumbent model optimized for information scarcity while a new technology makes that core offering abundant. Universities that continue competing with AI on content delivery are fighting the wrong battle.
The real value is migrating from information transfer to judgment development, from transactional learning to transformational learning. In an AI saturated world, premium skills are distinctly human: verification of sources, contextual decision-making, ethical reasoning under ambiguity, and accountability for real-world outcomes.
This shift mirrors what happened to other information-based industries. When Google made basic research free, management consulting pivoted to implementation and change management. When smartphones made maps ubiquitous, GPS companies focused on real-time optimization and personalized routing. Higher education must make the same transition…
The great unbundling of higher education is underway. Information delivery is becoming commoditized while judgment development becomes premium. Institutions that recognize this shift early will capture disproportionate value in the new market structure.”
H/t Sinclair Davidson