Student Demand and the Supply of College Courses

2023-10-25-JMP-Draft.pdf

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Abstract: In an era of rapid technological and social change, do universities adapt enough to

play their important role in creating knowledge? To examine university adaptation, I

extracted the information contained in the course catalogs of over 450 US universities

spanning two decades (2000-2022). When there are changes in student demand, uni-

versities respond inelastically, both in terms of course quantity and content. Supply

inelasticity is especially pronounced in fields experiencing declining demand and is more

pronounced at public universities. Using Natural Language Processing, I further show

that while the content of existing courses remains largely unchanged, newly-created

courses incorporate topics related to current events and job skills. Notably, at selective

institutions, new content focuses on societal issues, while at less selective institutions,

new content emphasizes job-relevant skills. This study contributes uniquely to our un-

derstanding of the supply-side factors that affect how universities adapt to the rapidly evolving landscape.

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Ryan Watkins

Professor at George Washington University

I am a Professor with Human-Technology Collaboration and Educational Technology programs at George Washington University in Washington DC. I have written 12 books and more than 100 articles, and I co-host of the Parsing Science podcast where scientists tell the stories behind their research. I am also the developer of the WeShareScience.com online platform for sharing research videos, and SciencePods.com where researchers can create free podcasts about their science. My research interests include human interactions with intelligent machines, needs, needs assessments, and instructional design.