This reflection was originally published onĀ November 13, 2012.Ā Some circumstances have changed regarding veterans, but the thrust of treating learners correctly continues to have value considering debt and underemployment of college graduates are both at record highs as we startā¦
This reflection was originally published on December 15, 2008.Ā It is worth a second look. Christmas memories are personal, deep and important for me. My familyās New York Christmases with the strong, first generational, influence of Western Europe; Cajun Christmasesā¦
Seventh in a series on university struggles University leadership often genuflects toward personal and institutional survival tolerating the push and pull of āspecial interestsā and cronyism. Putting anything ahead of academic purpose undermines effectiveness and consequently causes universities toā¦
Sixth Ā in a series on university struggles Study value. In universities, all should speak the truth to one another in spite of political and university leadership relentlessly peddling the idea that any university degree has value. It is clear byā¦
Fifth in a series on university struggles Forward focus is essential.Ā Over the past four decades, many faculty and university leaders have begun to believe that research and scholarly activity are more important than teaching.Ā Graduate assistants, adjunct, and non-tenure-trackā¦
Fourth in a series on university struggles Students should work hard, study, and accept responsibility for results.Ā Too many are not prepared. While this is true regarding critical thinking skills, basic mathematical abilities, and reading comprehension, these deficiencies are notā¦
Ā Third in a series on university struggles American universities are all different.Ā All, accordingly, struggle differently. For complex bureaucratic and political reasons, it becomes easy to treat all public universities similarly. Ā Ā Apples to apples comparison is the only sensibleā¦
Second in a series on university struggles American universities are struggling. Many U.S. universities, public and private, are built on a faulty financial footing. Nearly 50% of U.S. universities are in danger of insolvency without dramatic changes to how theyā¦
American universities are struggling. Rethinking purpose, attention to mission, and refreshed understanding of value are required.Ā Ā Ten forces at work on higher education will be addressed in the coming months. One ā A foolish man builds his house on aā¦
Organizations train leaders, for better or worse. Various enterprises are hotbeds for positive leadership training: manufacturing, public service, retail, professional services, and universities provide examples. Effective leadership causes people to change their perspective, to do what they otherwise wouldnāt orā¦
This commentary was published five years ago. Current discussions regarding standardized tests make it worth a second look. It has been tuned up. ACT: For many, these three letters spell something that happens in front of an audience or televisionā¦
Ā Free community college, whether completely free or only low-cost, is a powerful way for students to reduce the price of a bachelorās degree or expedite entry into the workforce. Governor Bill Haslamās Tennessee Promise has created an enrollment surgeā¦
Ā These three disparate items have a common characteristic. They are all produced by people to create profit.Ā If production is halted by a strike corporate profit is diminished.Ā In addition, strikers withholding sweat, and therefore product, may evenā¦
The strike and campus closure by faculty at Rock Valley College last week emphasizes the incongruous nature of faculty unions. A contract is a binding agreement between two people or organizations that, when signed, is enforceable by law according toā¦
The doom and gloom of Steven Strahlerās predictions regarding Illinoisā public universities in Crainās is real. Universities in Illinois must change. Politicians, unions, campus leaders, faculty and boards have watched a precipitous decline in effectiveness as they cling to theā¦
College costs and student debt burdens are on the rise.Ā Ā The cost effectiveness of all post secondary education is being scrutinized. President Obama’s plan for free community college is a politically tempting, fiscally irresponsible overreaction to that scrutiny and theā¦
Richard Wagner and Paul Lingenfelter are distinguished educational leaders, with a view towards better addressing the needs of higher education in Illinois. Recently they presented a case for a statewide model of higher education that is clear and rational. Aā¦
Student life on university campuses should be challenging and rewarding. The honing of the student mind into a unique and individually tailored instrument of thought is a noble aim. That result helps create educated human beings who enhance personal andā¦
As another school year starts, the flow of resources into universities in support of educational opportunities for students deserves careful assessment. The shuttering of for-profit universities — witness Corinthian Colleges and Anthem Education; the staggering $1.2 trillion in student debt;ā¦
Clinton’s āNew College Compactā a ten-year, $350 billion federal commitment to higher education is appealing to people in universities. It is a detailed plan with many moving parts. To Clintonās credit itās a big picture approach, to solve a bigā¦
Significant challenges face public higher education and corrective actions are not easy to see. The Republican primary debate last week revealed a few concerns and fewer solutions. Five pieces of the puzzle were evidenced. One — Senator Marco Rubio remindedā¦
University reputation determines whether or not students want to study there. The Independent of the United Kingdom conducted a survey of college graduates in Europe, and 62% said it was important for a university to be well-known to create betterā¦
Leadership in any organization implies and requires transformation. Change in purposeful groups of people, large and small, creates discomfort. Organizational discomfort sometimes matures into a labyrinth of processes that stymie evolution in every corner of the hierarchy. Numerous excusesā¦
National economic growth requires education beyond high school. College in the conventional sense is not always the answer to a stronger economy. Neither the traditional 20th century view of higher education from the student and family vantage point (outside lookingā¦
Last week the staff of the Federal Reserve Board of New York published a report, āCredit Supply and the Rise in College Tuition,ā tracing the relationship between a cheap, seemingly never-ending, supply of cash and the interminable increases in collegeā¦
Universities impact regional economies. In rural areas where economic diversity is scant, the impact is greatest.Ā Economic growth follows four forces. A Labor Force Universities require workers of every stripe, and the jobs needed are one aspect of economic development.ā¦
McDonald’s is closing hundreds of restaurants this year, according to Fortune. Gallup claims America now ranks 12th on the planet in new businesses. Startups exceeded closures by 100,000 in 2008, and in 2014 closures exceeded startups by 70,000.Ā Ā Cause forā¦
Ā Tenth and final reflection in a series on public/private higher education Public universities are a reflection of the state in which they exist.Ā State Senator Bradyās idea for private non-profit university boards would influence the relationship between faculty unionsā¦
Ninth in a series on public/private higher education Senator Bill Brady’s legislation, SB1565 for changing the nature of higher education boards in Illinois, will be difficult to endorse:Ā Large government organizations loathe change. George Will observed it’s not soā¦
Eighth in a series on public/private higher education Too many public organizations gravitate towards performance at the lowest common denominator.Ā Private organizations do too, but mediocrityās poison is more prevalent in public settings.Ā Illinois State Senator Bill Brady might beā¦
Seventh in a series on public/private higher education Illinois Sen. Bill Brady’s SB 1565 proposes creating nonprofit boards to guide public universities.Ā It will impact transfer students. The 21 million students enrolled in post-secondary education in the United States areā¦
Sixth in a series on public/private higher education. A private nonprofit structure for higher education in Illinois as proposed by State Sen. Bill Brady, in SB1565, is appealing because it might provide more choices for students.Ā Vanilla offerings aboundā¦
Fifth in a series on public/private higher education. Too many universities accept unprepared students. Regardless of status — public, private nonprofit or for-profit — motivation is suspect and results debilitating.Ā Institutions know it, but bureaucracies need to be fed.Ā ā¦
Fourth in a series on public/private higher education. A common fear regarding Illinois Senator Bradyās idea (SB1565) for transitioning from public to private higher education in Illinois is that it will drive universities to elitism and homogeneity.Ā Wrong on bothā¦
Illinois state Senator Bradyās suggestion for making public universities private (Illinois SB 1565) hinges on a transfer of power away from politically appointed boards.Ā The bill posits a nonprofit board structure, not to be confused with that of profit drivenā¦
The proposal by Illinois State Senator Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, to convert state universities into private non-profit corporations run by a board of directors addresses a basic question: “What is a public university?” As politicians frequently reflect, if you want toā¦
Illinois State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, started a discussion with SB1565 that could return the prestige of the higher education enterprise to one of the best in the nation. The not-ready-for-prime-time proposal calls for a conversion of universities to aā¦
The crust of the biscuit, the place where the rubber hits the road, the lick log in learning, is the exercise of free will that breeds personal responsibility.Ā Ā And nurturing responsibility in its manifold dimensions is the purpose of aā¦
The German polytechnic universities of the 19th century were the model and the genesis for the power and explosion of the U.S. land-grant universities in the 20th. What’s required of universities in the 21st century will be as markedly differentā¦
Overwhelmingly, the 7400 state lawmakers nationwide attended and graduated from public universities. Again overwhelmingly, these elected officials attended schools in their home states. All but four of the 535 members of the United States Congress have a post-secondary education.Ā Ā Aā¦
President Obama recently proposed Americaās College Promise, free community college to qualified students.Ā Great marketing, even greater mythmaking. I recently reviewed the 2015 budget for John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois; a similar budget would be at found atā¦
This was originally posted on February 18, 2011. The importance of effective 2+2 transfer agreements grows.Ā This is a worthwhile reflection although Ā 4 years old. Sixth in a series on who our students are and how they perform. Quality transferā¦
Last week at UCLA, a student government committee disturbingly attempted to bar a student from a spot on the Judicial Board.Ā Her transgression?Ā She is a Jew, which might create a conflict of interest.Ā The Daily Bruin got it right:Ā ā¦
According to M. Jagger that is. From every corner of the universe of universities, dissatisfaction with campus climate abounds. The costs, the social climate, the impact, the value, and nearly every other aspect of university life are maligned by oneā¦
According to the higher education leaders, many elected officials, faculty, students, staff and the general public, higher education budget cuts will send universities, and therefore their states, into decline. Ā Wisconsinās Governor Scott Walker’s budget proposal last week included a decreaseā¦
“Students from high-income families are considerably more likely than students from low income families to earn a college degree.”Ā So says a Higher Education Equity report. That’s not my bias, but an incontrovertible fact.Ā My bias is that crime andā¦
Ā In loco parentis, āin the place of a parent,ā suggests that an organization or institution should or can act toward the benefit of a child in the absence of his/her mother or father. Ā This ancient contract was embedded inā¦
An old friend of mine asked me the other day, āWhat portion of the accumulated student debt was for educational endeavors?ā Ā He worked on a campus for a long time, not as a faculty or administrator but as a publicā¦
Recent reports give some interesting examples of politicians who have made a leap of faith into leadership roles in the academic community. Some are cataloged nicely in a recent Politico piece. Bob Gates, President Emeritus of Texas A&M University andā¦
Distance Education (DE) offerings by community colleges and universities increase in spite of reports indicating an end to a period of unsustainable U.S. growth.Ā In Australia, India, China, Eastern Europe, Russia, Africa and Latin American growth rates range from 14%ā¦
A Christmas Eve review of a student petition for readmission to my program gave me pause.Ā This student earned a freshman GPA below 1.0:Ā an average of less than a āDā; and a high school GPA of 2.5: roughly aā¦
