ACTA's Must-Reads
« September 2008 | Main | November 2008 »
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer echoes ACTA
In light of yesterday's post about the economy and tuition hikes, this editorial from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer makes many similar points about the necessity of prioritizing and controlling costs in the face of budget shortfalls.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 31, 2008 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tufts University's "support" of ROTC
Tufts University's Board of Trustees recently replied to a letter from ACTA by forwarding a response from Tufts president Larry Bacow claiming that Tufts does support ROTC. In fact, as students rightly note in an article in yesterday's Tufts Daily, Bacow is being disingenuous since Tufts refuses to offer credit to students who take ROTC classes at MIT. The Daily's editorial staff and ACTA agree: It's time to make it easier for students to participate in ROTC at Tufts. More importantly, it's time that the board looked into the policies itself -- rather than simply taking President Bacow's word for it.
Leaders at Tufts might also take a cue from the administrators at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. According to a story in the Chronicle of Higher Education today, UMBC leaders are going out of their way to make ROTC opportunities available to students. And they should also take note of the military's stated desire to bump up recruiting -- a fact that surely undercuts Tufts' claims to the contrary.
Posted by Michael Schilling on October 30, 2008 at 01:45 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The economy shrinks but the tuition bubble keeps expanding
With reports of negative economic growth, stories about imminent college tuition hikes are also appearing in our major newspapers today. But it does not have to be that way.
In a recent survey by Public Agenda, nearly half of the respondents believed that public higher education needed to be "fundamentally overhauled" and similar numbers believed that they were not getting their money's worth for investment in higher education. Study after study reveal significant knowledge gaps among college students in basic fields like literature, history, math, and science, and many employers complain that recent graduates need remedial instruction in basic writing and problem-solving. Clearly, the ever-expanding price of tuition has not brought a corresponding expansion in student learning; if anything, there seems to be an inverse relationship. In these uncertain economic times, families cannot afford to accumulate another mountain of debt to pay for what is increasingly being seen as an inferior "product."
However, there is hope that a university, with an active and engaged governing board, can re-focus its attention on student learning -- without having to raise costs. In ACTA's most recent publication, Show Me, we document how state appropriations cuts can actually be a positive spur for change. The University of Missouri in 2006 identified $20 million worth of savings in administrative expenditures after the state government announced budget cuts for higher education. This streamlining puts the emphasis back on teaching and learning -- where it belongs. Perhaps, starting with the trustees, other universities can follow Missouri's example.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 30, 2008 at 01:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Broadening our history horizons
From Inside Higher Ed comes news of a recent report from the National History Center funded by the Teagle Foundation on the topic of history and its role in promoting a liberal education. Among other things, the report addresses the question of giving undergraduates, both majors and non-majors, a broad and coherent curriculum in history that will enhance their overall education. This is surely an important call to action since ACTA's studies show that most colleges today fail to require any history at all. The report also encourages graduate programs to train students as future teachers -- an excellent suggestion given the fact that most graduates will not become researchers in the academy.
The National History Center deserves kudos for promoting historical and analytical thinking necessary for an educated citizenry. Since history is such an integral part of a liberal education, it is important that students are given the proper tools to assess different sources and viewpoints. While it celebrates the emergence of social history as a field, the report also rightly acknowledges that the comparative decline of categories such as intellectual and political history threatens the "loss of a synthetic understanding of the past."
One must take issue, however, with the report's approval of "deprivileging" American and Western history -- at a time when most studies show students are woefully ignorant of their own history, with little ability to put it in a broader context. That is one blind spot in an otherwise thought-provoking and pertinent publication.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 28, 2008 at 11:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Meeting in Missouri
Normally, this blog features "must-reads," but today we have a "must-listen." As we speak, the University of Missouri Board of Curators is meeting. It is ACTA's understanding that the Board will be discussing our new report card, Show Me. Given that the Curatorsreceived a "P" for transparency, it's probably no surprise that you can listen to their meetings live online. To listen in on today's, including their discussion of our report card, follow this link.
Posted by Charles Mitchell on October 24, 2008 at 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
ACTA releases Missouri report card
ACTA released this morning our newest report, Show Me: A Report Card on Public Higher Education in Missouri. The schools ACTA studied receive millions in taxpayer dollars, and the public has the right to know how that money is being spent. Unfortunately, ACTA found that both the University of Missouri System and Missouri State University deserve "F"s for cost and effectiveness. Grades were mixed in the areas of general education, intellectual diversity, and governance. The report should serve as a helpful guide for trustees and administrators interested in addressing student needs in these critical areas, and we understand it will be a major focus of upcoming trustee meetings in Missouri. All of the grades can be found in the Executive Summary. For the reasoning behind the grades, consult the full report.
Posted by Noah Mamis on October 22, 2008 at 01:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Alaska's ten-year finesse
Those who are familiar with the problems and challenges of higher education today know that one of the most disturbing indicators of this decline is the distressingly high percentage of first-time, full-time students who fail to complete their undergraduate degrees within six years. This has serious ramifications both for the students who take on heavy loan debts, and for taxpayers who potentially shoulder the costs of students who do not finish their degrees. However, ACTA does realize that there are several factors that influence the federal graduation rate -- attending different schools and transferring credits can cause students to have to take an extra semester or even an extra year to graduate.
But the University of Alaska at Anchorage is trying to finesse the real issue by redefining the graduation rate measure to reflect its largely "nontraditional student body," and differences on the question of "what counts as success" -- even to the point of extending the time frame to ten years. While it could be argued that the federal graduation rate measurements could use some clarification, Anchorage's approach obscures rather than tackles this important issue. Whether the blame lies in unprepared students, difficulty in transferring coursework, or a lack of an engaging intellectual atmosphere, it's time for trustees to ensure that students successfully earn their college degrees in a timely manner.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 22, 2008 at 01:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Derek Bok urges improvement in teaching
Harvard president emeritus Derek Bok, speaking on Friday at a Teagle Foundation conference, encouraged faculty to apply the creativity and innovation of their scholarly pursuits towards student intellectual development. Acknowledging that graduate school does not necessarily teach professors to be good teachers, Bok urged new approaches, such as a Harvard program that provides grants for professors willing to use new teaching methods, so long as they evaluate student learning outcomes. This continues a theme that Bok has been advocating for some time; in a 2005 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, he expounded on the need for trustees to take a more active role in assuring student learning, including encouraging special funding for faculty to experiment with different teaching techniques.
Bok deserves credit for encouraging schools to take the initiative in improving their accountability and learning standards. College administrators and trustees ought to heed his advice.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 13, 2008 at 02:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Measuring value added at the University of Colorado
The Boulder Daily Camera reports that, at their October 6-7 meeting, the University of Colorado Board of Regents approved a program that will begin testing samples of freshmen and seniors by the 2009-10 school year. In an attempt to assess the educational value of students' time spent at CU, the tests will measure critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. This is an important example of trustees putting student learning first and making a solid effort to make sure their institution is teaching the next generation the skills and knowledge that are essential. Other boards should follow CU's lead.
Posted by Michael Schilling on October 08, 2008 at 03:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Alumni-endowed lecture series wows Harvard students
Last week, as the Harvard Crimson reports, Harvard Law School inaugurated its Herbert W. Vaughan Lecture Series, which brings in speakers to expound on the "founding principles and core doctrines" of the U.S. Constitution. The first speaker was Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Class of 1960, whose lecture on "Originalism and the Constitution" drew rave reviews from students of all ideological stripes. The Vaughan Lecture, endowed by and named for a longtime ACTA member, is a perfect example of how savvy donors can make a genuine contribution to the intellectual experience of students--a topic we explore in our publication The Intelligent Donor's Guide to College Giving, to which Mr. Vaughan contributed. We applaud the Vaughan Lecture series and congratulate its generous namesake.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 08, 2008 at 10:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More from Yale
ACTA research fellow Erin O'Connor notes on her blog that the Yale Daily News also editorialized in favor of ROTC today. The editorial is worth quoting at some length:
Although Yale boasts the motto "For God, For Country and For Yale," it does not, in 2008, live up to that second vow. As the YPU concluded in its debate last night, the time is right for the University to resurrect ROTC.In bringing the program back to campus, however, the University must not abandon its opposition to Congress' discriminatory policy that prevents openly gay Americans from enlisting. In fact, it should seize such a moment to reinvigorate the debate.
As it stands, Yale's strategy to combat "don't ask, don't tell" is, practically speaking, ineffective....We, like so many in the Yale community, believe "don't ask, don't tell" is wrong. The next president should call for its overhaul. But not allowing ROTC won't achieve a thing.
Trustees who are tempted to believe that opposition to "don't ask, don't tell" requires banning ROTC should heed the students' words.
Posted by Charles Mitchell on October 07, 2008 at 05:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Yale students call for return of ROTC
It seems that the tide may be turning against Ivy League universities' refusal to allow ROTC on campus, at least among the student body. According to today's Yale Daily News, the Yale Political Union -- whose members span the ideological spectrum -- affirmed a resolution calling for the return of ROTC. Hearteningly, many of the students who debated the issue correctly asserted that "don't ask, don't tell" is not the only question here; they also considered the importance of national service, and the constructive role ROTC can play in a liberal education.
This comes just after ACTA sent letters to the boards of seven major universities, including Yale, calling on the trustees to guarantee students' right to explore military careers through ROTC. In Yale's case, the students have acted; will the trustees?
Posted by Noah Mamis on October 07, 2008 at 11:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The taxman cometh
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the IRS is sending a questionnaire to about 400 schools in hopes that the results will shed some light as to what exactly these institutions do with their billions of dollars in tuition money, alumni gifts, and federal grants. Dubbed the College and University Compliance Project, the federal agency will examine expenditures such as the salaries and fringe benefits of presidents and top administrators, the management and spending of endowment monies, and whether institutions are abiding by the tax laws.
We here at ACTA will be very interested to read the report resulting from this study. Tuition-paying parents, generous alumni, and taxpayers rightly expect that their money is being used to benefit the education of students not to pay for lavish or inappropriate expenditures--and trustees need to act accordingly to make sure that their institutions are responsible stewards.
Posted by Sandra E. Czelusniak on October 01, 2008 at 05:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack