given recently and what he had to say about the state of higher education.
America is losing her way with regard to higher education. We seem to have forgotten the real value of higher education – both to our economy and to our society. We have become too focused on metrics, return on investment and job preparation. I am not suggesting these are unimportant. Rather, I would remind us that higher education offers many other – and I contend greater – benefits to our nation and its citizens and communities.
Universities have long been known and respected as places of ideas and debate, of big discoveries and bigger dreams. It is within our universities that we have tackled some of our most perplexing problems and found solutions to them. It is on our campuses that generations of students have learned how to think for themselves and how to work collaboratively with others. Our universities have been places where ideas and dreams are converted to life-changing discoveries, and where our leaders of tomorrow are developed. Since the dawn of our nation, our universities have been at the center of our civil society and our search for excellence.
We increasingly view our colleges and universities as nothing more than factories that must demonstrate an immediate return on investment for consumers. Places that only train people for the workforce. We hear constant calls to drive out costs and produce more product at less cost. There is far less talk about academic quality and excellence and more about operational efficiency. We seem to measure the value of education to our students only in immediate post-graduation earnings. Again, I am all for accountability and efficiency, but if that is our sole focus, we may fail to provide the return on investment that is perhaps most valuable for our students – the ability to think, reason and communicate more effectively.
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Other nations are making sizable investments to build new academic facilities, hire new faculty and raise the educational attainment of their citizens. Meanwhile, the rankings of our own institutions are falling, and our premier status as the place to be educated is fading. Growing numbers of American students can’t afford to attend college at all, and too many of those who do are burdened by significant debt. This is a dangerous trend. And it is reflective of the serious challenges facing the higher education community today.
http://www.progressncaction.org/news/tom-ross-we-need-to-focus-on-the-real-value-of-higher-education#skip
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