The Growing Gap between Public needs and the Reality of Higher Education (2006/11/21)
In The Future of Higher Education by Frank Newman, Lara Couturier, and Jamie Scurry
I. Reasons for the gap:
1. The changing nature of American Society (1). Diverse society
(2). from industrial society to postindustrial (knowledge-based / new) society --there is a public need for a larger share of the population with ever greater knowledge and skills (dealing with several issues such as global warming/ in-vitro fertilization/ media/ communication)
(3) The advance of technology
(4) Steady progress of globalization (new customers and competitors and how to compete with them)
2. The changing nature of higher education and the competition for prestige (1) college rankings (U.S. News Report, Princeton Review/ Financial Times/ the
Wall Street Journal/ Business Week/ Kiplinger’s)
(2) they lead to some distortions (submissions of false data by institutions/ don’t measure the actual learning experience)
(3) Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University
“Contribute to a steadily rising level of competitiveness and anxiety among young people about getting into the right college”.
(4) be directed at research university—turned away their own mission (5) teacher colleges became state colleges, then research university (6) Liberal arts colleges became research colleges.
(7) Federal grant in the 1950s and 1960s
(8) Value system (favor publications) / research is superior to teaching
(9) The development of low quality and unneeded Ph. D. programs at the 4-year universities.
3. the lack of institutional response to society’s need for a more effective teaching 4. Student’s degrees were useful in getting them jobs but didn’t provide them with
the skills they need to succeed in the workplace.
II. the need to reduce conflict of interest
1. Full disclosure of all financial interest held by the researchers and institutions, and universities must maintain control over publications and review rights.
2. The volume of research has grown, but the risk to its integrity has grown as well.
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(p.62, 63)
III. The need to serve as Society’s critic
--viewed as a principal source of criticism about social and political trends.
--if presidents avoid offending potential donors --search processes (look for a political leader)
IV. The need to rebuild political involvement to sustain democracy.
helping students understand their roles as citizens and community members
-less participation of students in the process of democracy on campus and in the country.
For-profit universities and colleges don’t see civic education as their responsibilities
V. The growing gap between rhetoric and reality 1. Call for service/ improving rankings
2. call for broader access to higher education/ need-based financial programs are declining
3. the market force becomes a growing power in the era of globalization.
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