Adrian College President Docking testifies before U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce
Posted Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Author: Mickey Alvarado
Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking testified Tuesday, Nov. 18, before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce during a hearing titled “The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs” at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
The full committee called on four witnesses to testify about the innovative approaches they believe will best lower student debt and improve outcomes for those pursuing higher education that leads to gainful, long-term employment.
House Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) thanked the witnesses for examining how innovation in higher education can expand opportunity, improve student outcomes and make college more affordable.
“Too many students invest time and money and effort in higher education without ever seeing the return they deserve,” he said.
Docking told the committee he was happy to share one of the most exciting innovations he has seen during his 37 years in higher education. He said that 10 years ago, he concluded that the higher education business model was terribly broken.
“College is too expensive, students are taking on too much debt, large increases in federal student aid programs are unlikely, and state-level support is leveling off,” Docking said.
He added that there is a second problem: Colleges need to do a better job preparing students for the rapidly changing modern economy.
“Society is changing so quickly, especially in the areas of technology, health sciences, and business, that we need to offer new majors that students desperately want and our nation desperately needs,” Docking said. “But because it is so expensive to start new majors, it simply doesn’t happen.”
Docking cited what he termed “critical majors” that are needed, including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data science, neuroscience, and supply chain management.
“I’m pleased to tell you that I believe we have figured out the solution to solve most of these problems,” Docking said. “The solution… relies on colleges working together in a partnership in a way that they’ve never done before to bring massive efficiency to our system.”
Docking noted that the “innovative solution” is not theoretical; it is already operating on 140 campuses nationwide, serving more than 10,000 students each year.
He said inefficiency is the root cause of higher education's problems and that colleges need to work together, especially in teaching and learning, to become more efficient.
“We can do this by leveraging technology that makes it possible for colleges to share classes in a more cost-effective way,” Docking said. “The biggest reason why colleges have not shared classes in the past is that there wasn’t a platform for them to do so. A platform that colleges can tap into seamlessly to give students great classes from great professors on other campuses.”
Because there was no such platform, Docking created one with the help of two Harvard graduates, Kevin Harrington and Connor McCarthy. That platform is RIZE.
“We built a platform that makes sharing classes seamless for everybody involved,” Docking said. “We can now offer new classes and start new majors for only a fraction of the cost.”
Docking said it could easily cost $500,000 to start a new major the traditional way, but with RIZE, the cost is reduced to about $10,000 to $15,000 with a subscription. There is also a per-pupil fee of $500 per student. Through the RIZE consortium, 140 colleges have added 785 new academic programs. Adrian College has introduced 36 of those programs over the past five years without hiring a single professor.
“This platform and shared classes represent what I believe is the college of the future,” Docking said. “Institutions in partnership with each other to lower costs that can eventually be passed on to students and their families.”
When asked by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) whether the RIZE model can be replicated and adopted across the country, Docking said it will be.
“I will be surprised if in 10 years from now just about every school in the country isn’t sharing classes in some form or fashion,” Docking said.
To watch the full hearing, visit the House Committee on Education and Workforce website at dworkforce.house.gov or its YouTube page at youtube.com/@EdWorkforceCmte.
To learn more about Adrian College, visit adrian.edu.
