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For the People
At a press conference this morning at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, we released our latest state report card. Published in conjunction with the Illinois Policy Institute, For the People surveys 10 public four-year universities that together educate more than 90 percent of students enrolled at such institutions in the Land of Lincoln. Our conclusion: Illinois' public universities find themselves on an unsustainable course, and now is the time for serious reform.
Tuition and fees have skyrocketed in recent years. With the exception of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduation rates remain woefully low. Crucial subjects like economics, American history or government, and college-level math are not required at most universities. And significant numbers of students report an intellectual climate that is not conducive to a robust exchange of ideas.
On the whole, the state gets all around failing grades (the executive summary contains a complete breakdown of the grades):
Cost & Effectiveness: F
Governance and Board Accomplishments: F
General Education: F
Intellectual Diversity: F
Our friends at the IPI published an op-ed in today's edition of the Springfield State Journal-Register calling on legislators to "look closely at what students and taxpayers are getting for their money." Here's to that and to trustees and administrators doing the same.
Posted by David Azerrad on October 29, 2009 at October 29, 2009 12:49 PM
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Comments
President Anne Neal's interview with the Daytona Beach News Journal pertaining to the course changes (i.e., erosion of the core curriculum) at Stetson University SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR EVERYONE IN HIGHER EDUCATION. I hope the misguided decision makers at that once fine school have received a copy.
Posted by: William Freebern at December 16, 2009 11:42 AM