John Katzman, Founder and CEO of Noodle, joined Richard Forman, Chair of Penn Engineering’s Board for Online Engineering Education, for the second installment of Penn Engineering’s Office of Academic Innovation Speaker Series to discuss the future of higher education. Their conversation explored strategies to sustain academic excellence, lower administrative costs, expand institutional reach, and restore public trust amid political pressures, shifting demographics, rising costs, and evolving workforce demands.
Reflecting on the challenges facing institutions today, Katzman emphasized, “You can’t go it alone and that’s why we are where we are. The answer is collaboration at scale. The answer is a federated network.” While many are familiar with the consortium model of shared agreements, purchasing, and advocacy, Katzman highlighted that consortia alone do not solve the problems institutions face now. Federated networks, by contrast, focus on shared capability, enabling institutions to complement each other’s strengths, reduce duplication, and create new opportunities for students that no single institution could provide.
