Why Is the Future of the University Never a University?

In August 2014, Graeme Wood wrote an article for The Atlantic titled “The Future of College?” The tease under the headline is: “A brash tech entrepreneur thinks he can reinvent higher education by stripping it down to its essence, eliminating lectures and tenure along with football games, ivy-covered buildings, and research libraries. What if he’s…

In Delaware, Dramatically Different Conceptions of the Current State and the Future Prospects of Higher Education

Earlier this month, Dr. Patrick T. Harker, President of the University of Delaware, wrote an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer expressing his views of the American university and the faculty of the University of Delaware. His op-ed is available at: http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/inquirer/20150205_Universities_must_adapt_to_meet_student_needs.html After an open meeting of the membership of the University of Delaware chapter of AAUP,…

Student Debt as a Percentage of Total Household Debt, Q4-2014

The following chart shows total household debt in the United States, broken down into its major components, in the fourth quarter of 2014: In effect, although total household debt increased from $11.71 trillion to $11.83 trillion from the third to the fourth quarters of last year, student-loan debt remained a relatively flat percentage of that…

Why Inside Higher Ed Faces a Dubious Future

On January 19, David Halperin published a piece with the Huffington Post on the purchase of a controlling interest in Inside Higher Ed by the private-equity firm Quad Partners, which has invested heavily in for-profit colleges and educational consulting firms. Here are the opening paragraphs of Halperin’s article: “Quad Partners, a New York private equity…

It Is Time for Some Real Accountability

In a feature article for University Business, Ioanna Opidee provides an overview of the major trends related to postsecondary teaching that we might expect in 2015. Opidee focuses on what she asserts will be four increasing areas of emphasis: 1. Academic Return on Investment 2. Competencies at the Core 3. Flipped Classrooms and Evolving MOOCs…

The Ideal of the American University: A Primer

At its idealistic best, the traditional vision of American higher education was one of beauty, dynamism and diversity. With undergraduate students able to take courses from as many as 40 different professors, with requirements designed to give as broad a taste of intellectual pursuits as possible, with “shared governance” assuring that corporate-style top-down influence is…

Undermining Affordability and Access to Higher Education

An “On the Issues” Post from the Campaign for the Future of Higher Education [http://futureofhighered.org] _______________ A recent report from the New America Foundation highlights one important way access to higher education is closing down for low-income students. Even after Pell grants are factored in, the net cost of college for many of these students is still…