Professor Mankiw very eloquently defends the need for economics as part and parcel of a good general education -- and not because of any bias as an economist; he rightly argues that basic economic education is crucial to being productive members and informed citizens of our society. The need could not be more urgent; our own survey found that only 25 out of 714 institutions we evaluated -- 3.5 percent of the total -- require students to take an economics course. With all the fashionable talk these days about a new "knowledge economy," shouldn't it be time for our institutions of higher learning to actually give students some basic knowledge about the economy?

Constant tuition hikes that far surpass the rate of inflation; an overemphasis on research to the detriment of teaching; the abandonment of core subjects; administrative bloat, and a focus on lavish lounges and dorms rather than on a solid education -- these are all part of the larger problem with colleges and universities in America. And this is not a right or left issue -- it is a right or wrong issue, evident from increasing calls for reform from all sides of the political spectrum. Parents, students, trustees, alumni, administrators and other stakeholders must work together to reform higher ed -- we owe as much to future generations.

ACTA's research for WhatWillTheyLearn.com reveals there is generally an inverse relationship between the cost of tuition and a college or university's commitment to ensuring all students cover foundational subjects. Excluding the (tuition-free) service academies, the average annual tuition and fees for schools whose general education core rated an "A" is about $15,000. By contrast, the 103 schools that earn an "F" charge over $28,000 a year. Only 20 of those 103 schools required a class in writing. Only three -- three out of 103 colleges enrolling over a half-million undergraduates -- required a college-level math class.

And it's not just parent's money being spent this way: 32 states have at least one state-supported institution that receives a "D" or an "F" for their core curriculum. That's taxpayer money going to fund schools that don't think it's important to require Freshman Composition or college-level math.

The job market of the 21st century demands workers who are flexible enough to learn new skills and change career paths as needed. Students, parents and taxpayers are paying a high price to skip the fundamentals now -- and they'll pay an even higher price in the years to come.

And why do we find this weakness in higher education? ACTA's survey of core curricula at 714 colleges and universities (www.whatwilltheylearn.com) revealed that nearly 40% of the institutions did not require a single college level class in mathematics of their students. Even as basic and indispensable a course as English composition was often shortchanged, with nearly 45% of the private institutions failing to require systematic study of grammar, syntax and style. The quality problems that the Chronicle's "Measuring Stick" entry identified find much of their cause right here, in the absence of core requirements. With graduates facing limited employment prospects and the near certainty of many job changes, the absence of a strong collegiate core is a terrible disservice to students and to the nation.

The remedies are not necessarily expensive, but they require a cultural change. Faculty AND administrators will have to cooperate and even make some sacrifices to ensure that students get the rigorous general education they need. Faculty need to view their obligations to general education as highly as their obligations to the department and the major, and the faculty reward system must be aligned with these priorities.

After evaluating hundreds of public colleges and universities in all 50 states, WhatWillTheyLearn.com ranks Wisconsin's state higher education system dead last at requiring foundational college courses. Of the seven courses we identify as crucial to a well-rounded liberal arts education, Wisconsin's state-supported institutions require only 1.9. The national average for public schools is 3.3.

Of the 12 University of Wisconsin schools evaluated (UW-Stout was not included as it is primarily a technical college), only four require a college-level math class, only six require a college writing class of all students, and not a single one required either a US History survey or a basic class in economics.

Only one campus (Madison), receives credit for requiring a foreign language; the reason for that reveals something about the way some schools try to preserve the appearance of high standards while actually giving students an easy way out.

Traditionally, the B.S. degree has been for majors such as Physics or Chemistry, while B.A. degrees were granted for humanities majors like History or English. Some schools only require students pursuing the B.A. to take foreign language classes. While ACTA believes all students should become competent in a foreign language, we have nonetheless given credit to schools who only require intermediate foreign-language skills from B.A. students.

However, a number of schools have created a loophole. They require a foreign language of their B.A. students, but then offer a B.S. degree alternative, even to majors that are not remotely science-based. Thus, as contradictory as it sounds, UW-Eau Claire will let you earn a Bachelor's of Science in ... Art. Similar systems are in place at UW campuses at Oshkosh, Stevens Point, and River Falls, which offer a B.S. option for all but a handful of majors.

Defenders will no doubt point out that the B.S. option often requires students to take another science or math class, but that misses the point: schools are taking an essential and making it a mere option, inviting students choose whichever door is easiest.

As any dairyman will tell you, that's no way to run a farm.

There is no question that abuses occur in for-profit schools; students can be exploited, drop out and receive a shoddy education. As the Washington Monthly points out, though, there are dozens of public and non-profit private schools that are also dropout factories, enrolling thousands of students and graduating only a fraction -- sometimes less than one in ten. These schools are all over the country, urban and rural, large and small, religious and secular, and they deserve to be "named and shamed" every bit as much as ineffective for-profits.

Whatever steps the government takes, they should address both for-profit and non-profit institutions. It's dead wrong for corporations to leave students with debt in return for half a degree; it's just as wrong when it's done by State U.

Unfortunately, when ACTA looked at the catalogs of over 120 colleges and universities in the Great Lakes region -- Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota -- we found that not a single one requires its students to take an introductory course in economics.

There is, of course, no guarantee that ensuring all students understand the fundamental laws of markets will lead to economic renewal -- but it is imperative citizens be able to understand the economic challenges their states are facing.

Author Jay P. Greene and his colleagues at the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas have given trustees an important tool and powerful motivation in these hard economic times to ensure that they put student learning first at their institutions. Trustees will also find helpful the suggestions in ACTA's new guide on cost cutting as the new college year begins.

We'll let The Onion answer that.

No state did better than Texas in ACTA's expansion of WhatWillTheyLearn.com. The state is home to six "A" schools -- Baylor, Midwestern State, Lamar, the University of Dallas, and two Texas A&M campuses, College Station and Corpus Christi. No other state had more than two. Texas A&M-College Station teaches that excellent core curriculum while maintaining a very good graduation rate of 78%.

The commitment to general education was widespread: of the 38 Texas institutions included in the study, only seven got less than a "B," and only two less than a "C." Texas colleges and universities required an average 4.5 of the seven requirements we looked at, well above the national average of 3.0. Its public schools were even better, averaging 4.7.

It seems some things really are bigger in Texas -- commitment to quality curriculum being one of them.

Vanderbilt is the state's big-name, big-money institution, enjoying a stellar reputation and attracting outstanding students from across the country. Alas, those students can avoid many important subjects once they arrive on campus: They don't have to take a math class if they don't want to; they aren't expected to take any foreign language beyond what they had in high school; and staples of higher education such as history or literature surveys are replaced by "distribution requirements" that allow students to select any class they like from a very long list. Thus, students may take "American Art 1865 to 1945" as their sole history class, and in place of a broad survey of literature they may choose "Almost Human: Robots and Cyborgs in German Fiction and Film."

However, less than two miles away from Vanderbilt -- literally on the other side of the train tracks -- lies Tennessee State University. TSU is an unheralded, historically black state school, whose students' SAT scores are well below those at Vanderbilt. Yet it is Tennessee State, not Vanderbilt, that requires their students to study a foreign language beyond the elementary level. It is Tennessee State, not Vanderbilt, that requires a college-level math class of all students, as well as survey classes in literature and US history. Thus, it is Tennessee State, not Vanderbilt, that gets an "A" grade in our report.

Credit for that "A" goes to the Tennessee State faculty and administration for holding their students to high standards. A big assist, though, goes to the State's Board of Regents. The Board created core curriculum standards that apply to all of the schools they govern. The result: the five Board of Regents schools (East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, Memphis and Austin Peay are the others) earn two "A"s and three "B"s. Of the seven requirements ACTA looked for in the study, the Tennessee Board of Regents schools required an average of 5.4, compared to 3.3 at Tennessee's other institutions.

Furthermore, since the Board of Regents requires a similar general education core at the thirteen community colleges it oversees, they have streamlined transfers between the system's two- and-four year schools. Effective, efficient core curricula improve educational quality while lowering cost of instruction. The basic general education core that every student needs can be delivered much more cost effectively than the array of boutique courses so often offered in lieu of a well-defined core.

As Charles Manning, Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents System, explained to us: "I have worked hard, along with my colleagues, to ensure every graduate of our universities receives a solid general education. A strong core curriculum has been important in every generation, but in today's environment of global competition, it has never been more vital."

We couldn't agree more.

While most Cal State schools earn a "B," none of the ten UC schools earn higher than a "C" -- and five earn an "F." Every CSU school requires a college-level science class, and 75% require college-level work in math. In contrast, only four of the ten UC schools require science and only two require math.

Most stunning of all: in spite of California state law requiring that all public universities teach a class in United States History or Government, not a single University of California campus received credit for that subject in ACTA's study (17 of 20 CSU schools did). Instead, UC schools allow students to get out of the requirement by taking classes in high school or by posting mediocre SAT scores. Failing that, students can take niche classes like "The Golden Age of Piracy," "History of Sexuality in the United States," "Recent U.S. Foreign Policy," or even "Radicalism in Contemporary Life" in place of standard history surveys.

All told, the 20 CSU schools (Cal Poly and Cal Maritime were not studied as they are primarily technical schools) required an average of 3.7 of the seven core subjects, compared to only 1.9 at the UC schools.

The economy of the last few years has encouraged a lot of consumers to bypass expensive brand names in favor of cheaper, but just as good, generics. The customers of California's higher education might want to join that trend.