BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Many college leaders readily agree that the liberal arts have been under attack politically, socially, and culturally for well over a generation. They earnestly argue that a liberal arts education creates productive citizens to ensure a robust democracy. These officials point to the heightened polarization within American society and a growing…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL In our new book – How to Run a College: A Practical Guide for Trustees, Faculty, Administrators and Policymakers – Dr. Joey King and I lay out the case for revitalizing the shared governance structure under which higher education institutions operate. We see governance, especially at the trustee level, as a significant…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL The failure to grow net tuition revenue is an existential threat to America’s colleges and universities. Most are overwhelmingly dependent upon tuition, fees, and room and board to support the educational program that they offer. Colleges operate with fixed costs in labor, benefits, land, state and federal reporting requirements, and debt…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL One of the central themes of the new book – How to Run a College: A Practical Guide for Trustees, Faculty, Administrators, and Policymakers — that my co-author, Dr. W. Joseph King, and I touch upon repeatedly is that American colleges and universities operate with an unsustainable financial model. Colleges’ Comprehensive…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Many public research universities face a dilemma: how to balance a commitment to educate in-state students with the value that out-of-state applicants contribute to the university. As Nick Anderson illustrates recently in the Washington Post, the facts are clear. Public (and private) research universities contribute mightily to a state’s economy, providing a…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL American higher education is a complex, decentralized, and interlocking network of institutions that provide education to a disparate group of learners. Historically, many of the fundamentals build around an applicant cohort of 18- to 22-year olds. The demographics of the 21st century predict that this group will not be able to…
BY KEVIN MAHONEY In the morning session of APSCUF’s Legislative Assembly meeting, faculty delegates received the unvarnished news about the state of negotiations from the union’s chief negotiator Stuart Davidson. Davidson emphasized that PASSHE’s behavior at the bargaining table indicates that they are not really serious about reaching an agreement. “Do you remember the tapes…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL On September 13, a House subcommittee holds a hearing that, according to Janet Lorin in Bloomberg , “is set to look at how colleges, through their tax exempt endowments, are trying to reduce tuition.” The subcommittee hearing features testimony from policy experts and college officials. It’s an interesting time to examine college endowments. As Ms.…
BY MICHAEL DECESARE On Thursday, I posted Michael Bérubé’s and Jennifer Ruth’s rejoinder to Maria Maisto’s and Seth Kahn’s review of their book The Humanities, Higher Education, and Academic Freedom: Three Necessary Arguments (Academe, May-June 2016, 47-50). Below is Maisto’s and Kahn’s response to Bérubé’s and Ruth’s rejoinder. Please continue this important conversation in the Comments section at the bottom of the page.…
BY MICHAEL DECESARE The May-June issue of Academe included Maria Maisto’s and Seth Kahn’s review of Michael Bérubé’s and Jennifer Ruth’s 2015 book The Humanities, Higher Education, and Academic Freedom: Three Necessary Arguments. What follows is a rejoinder from Bérubé and Ruth. A response from Maisto and Kahn will be published on this blog shortly. We are…