A very good historian, NYU’s Tom Bender, chaired a panel at the American Historical Association conference last week entitled “The Crisis In Public Higher Education.” Joining Professor Bender were Robert Berdahl of the Association of American Universities, Roger Geiger of Pennsylvania State University, Douglas Greenberg of Rutgers-New Brunswick, Carla Hesse of Berkeley, and Terrence McDonald…
Category: Deanspeak
Posts about the wide realm of higher education from a deanly perspective
Graduate Education – Growing Again
Is the MA the new baccalaureate? Is a graduate degree critical to professional success? Many seem to think so, but the big picture is more complicated, and interesting, than one might imagine. Each year the Council of Graduate Studies and the folks who bring us the GRE do a survey of graduate schools, asking questions…
How Much For That Higher Education in the Window?
Part of the Jossey-Bass Wiley Series, Selling Higher Education: Marketing and Advertising America’s College and Universities by Eric J. Anctil is an unusual publication. A monograph with a valuable perspective on a key part of higher education, the book is neither as critical nor as prescriptive as one might expect. Lisa Wolf-Wendel, the series editor,…
Higher Education Accreditation and The States
Federalism protects us from the tyranny of faction. It minimizes the damage that a democracy’s majority, giddy with certainty, might inflict upon a minority. It encourages local experimentation, with each state seeking its own best path towards meeting the needs of its citizens. And when it comes to accreditation and oversight of higher education, it…
It’s Broken – Have We Noticed?
We are awash in educational data. Reports emerge from agencies, foundations, corporations and institutions, and for those with the time and an inclination, further opportunities about. There are mysteries in educations, to be sure, but their essence and appeal has shifted from search to analysis. This seems to be particularly true when it comes to…
Accreditation and Trust
One of the most important aims of higher education accreditation is accountability to the public, an affirmation of an institution’s value, worth and commitment. Institutions are not “regulated.” Instead, they are accredited. Accreditation provides a seal of approval. Or at least that is what many of us within academia respond with when asked about standards.…
Accreditation and the Public
Regional accreditation matters a great deal to us within the higher education sector but is little known or understood outside of the quad. Within academia, most faculty members approach the self-study and accreditation process with scant enthusiasm. It is work, plain and simple, often above and beyond current tasks. The stronger, more elite institutions view…