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…
Talking About Which Generation?
Historians and paleontologists talk about “eras” and “periods.” Today, driven by marketers and psychologist, we focus on “generations.” The chronology is a bit contested but for all of us 21st century blogging American it runs as follows: Tom Brokaw’s “greatest generation” was followed by the Baby Boomers, who gave way to Generation X, followed by…
Academia’s Publication Gap
What is the premier magazine of higher education today? Is it Change, which is published six times a year and “is intended to stimulate and inform reflective practitioners in colleges, universities, corporations, government, and elsewhere.” Or is it Liberal Education or Peer Review, two quarterlies from the AAC&U? “Liberal Education expresses the voices of educators,…
A Thorough Look Under the Learning Hood
Many of us have read more than our fair share of books about teaching, and I would wager that the general themes are familiar. We have first person accounts, which often fall into one of two categories: the successful exhorting or the pedagogically challenged who, through some journey and development, have become successful exhorting. There…
But What About Me?
Christine Hassler wants to be the go-to author for the twenty-year-old generation. Her latest, the 20 Something Manifesto: Quarter-Lifers Speak Out about Who They Are, What They Want, and How to Get It builds off an earlier work, 20 Something, 20 Everything and is probably found in your local bookstore’s self-help section. “You are not…
The Appointment
Herta Muller’s The Appointment (Picador, 1997) is a short novel told in the first person by a woman living in Ceausescu’s Romania. The narrator tells of her life, her history and her crime while riding the bus to her appointment with the police, an interrogator. The language is not so much stream of consciousness as…