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Higher ed straight talk
Straight talk on higher education is often hard to come by. ACTA tries to deliver. And so does our good friend Dr. Richard Vedder. In a recent post on the Center for College Affordability and Productivity's blog, Vedder looks at a new book by sociologist Jackson Toby and focuses, in his characteristically candid way, on some of its key findings. Most colleges today blame K-12 for their problems. But Vedder thinks that's not quite right: In fact, the problems are also due to the universities themselves. He quotes Toby: "Lax university standards have contributed to the dumbing down of our secondary education system."
Regrettably, this statement is all too true, and it seems particularly relevant in light of my recent trip to Louisiana to provide testimony to that state's Postsecondary Education Commission. Amidst major budget shortfalls, the Commission is trying to assess the state of higher ed in Louisiana in order to see if there are better ways of doing business. Believe me, there are. Fewer than 40 percent of the students who enroll in Louisiana's four-year colleges graduate in six years. That's one reason ACTA endorsed the proposal to raise admissions standards at the four-year colleges.
The proof will be in the pudding, and the Commission has not yet issued its final report. But it and the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors have already commendably signed on to the proposition of raising standards. It's ACTA's hope that the Governor will get behind this commonsense proposition as well.
In too many cases, higher education is the problem, not the solution. Richard Vedder deserves much credit for shining a light on this truth. And Louisiana has a chance to do something about its own higher ed troubles and to show the rest of the country that it is possible to bring real reform to public universities.
Posted by Anne D. Neal on December 18, 2009 at December 18, 2009 05:44 PM
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