BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” This adage, or some version of it, is widely attributed to Benjamin Franklin or Winston Churchill or 1970s self-help author Alan Lakein. Regardless of origin, the wisdom is applicable to many U.S. colleges and universities today. As institutions continue to face uphill challenges in their…
BY EMILY M.S. HOUH An investigation by the AAUP released today found unacceptable conditions for academic governance at Vermont Law School (VLS). The investigation was launched in response to the VLS administration’s action to “restructure” the faculty in order to address financial challenges. The “restructuring” included lowering salaries, radically reducing the number of full-time positions…
BY NERISSA NELSON My campus, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has had a tumultuous year of dealing with a budget deficit of $8 million over the next three years. It started as an announced administrative “document/plan” to cut 13 liberal arts majors, followed by a “reduced plan” to cut six majors and tenured faculty, and…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL It’s no secret that American colleges and universities are under stress from a variety of challenges. Unfortunately, most try to tackle these challenges individually rather than strategically, a practice that rarely results in long-term solutions. The demographic crisis confronting institutions, most acutely those that are tuition-dependent, is laid out clearly in…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Walkouts Held at 3 Seattle Community Colleges to Protest Funding Crisis Faculty, staff and students at South Seattle College, Seattle Central College and North Seattle College participated in walkouts on their campuses from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday [April 16]. They say state funding has dropped, causing tuition to rise to…
POSTED BY MARTIN KICH Last Thursday, April 11, OCAAUP President John McNay testified to the Ohio House Finance Subcommittee on Higher Education on House Bill 166, the biennial state budget bill. In his testimony, McNay advocated for greater State Share of Instruction funding, encouraging the committee members to seek new revenue, if need be, in…
BY CHRISTOPHER NEWFIELD The following is reposted with permission from the Remaking the University blog. Christopher Newfield is professor of literature and American Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. As it enters week 3, the promising new series Operation Varsity Blues is running out of gas. The story of wealthy white folks…
BY WJU FACULTY Below is the text of a statement issued by Wheeling Jesuit University faculty on March 18. In response to Wheeling Jesuit University’s recent declaration of financial exigency, on Friday, March 15, 2019, the WJU faculty passed a Resolution requesting that the administration prioritize and commit publicly to providing for the educational needs…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL If you live in New England, you’ve likely heard a great deal about the imminent demise of small private colleges. Just this week, Southern Vermont College announced it would close. Boston Magazine led with a cover story headline last month: “The End? Boston’s Small Colleges are Expensive, In Debt, and on…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Last week, Melissa Korn reported in the Wall Street Journal that Oberlin, the University of Chicago, George Washington University, Washington University, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, among others, have extended their January application deadlines. She notes, “Some offered the extra time only to seniors who began but didn’t submit applications. Others sent broad…