Without trappings, the ultimate purpose of a university education is to enhance human potential. While wrapping up a high school visit in Amarillo, Texas, I asked the audience of students and parents if anyone had any questions. A young man…
Photo: Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences WTAMU This reflection was originally published on April 10, 2016. I believe it is worth a second look, and it appears here with only a few modest updates. WVW American universities are the…
With the growing pervasiveness of online and distance education opportunities (Clicks), future students will have transcripts peppered with courses from different modes of instructional delivery at different institutions. At West Texas A&M University, rarely will a student’s academic record come…
Originally published on November 30, 2015. As we begin this season of reflection, “Teaching First” is worthy of another look as we focus on the first purpose of the university and the importance of staying true to our roots. Forward…
In 1783, New York Governor George Clinton, proposed that in every state at least one public college should train people for entry into military service. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Act that said in part…
As the cost of college attendance continues to escalate, private support through both need- and merit-based scholarships is more important than ever. The sources for private giving available to students continue to multiply. Last year, in federal grant money alone,…
When colleges are confronted regarding low six-year graduation rates (52% in Texas) and low persistence rates—the rate at which freshman continue into the second year of college (about 73% nationally), the immediate response of too many in leadership positions is…
Last week Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney reported that student debt now exceeds $1.53 trillion—a burden that millennial’s carry. There are no silver bullets. Hope for many lies in loan forgiveness. In all likelihood,…
There is a shifting public perception regarding the value of universities both to society in general as a public good, and to individuals as a private good, according to a recent Gallop study. It is sad for me. I have…
Contrary to predispositions, some rural kids do very well in universities. A recent Opportunity Insights study reports that rural students from many areas of the country are as upwardly mobile as their contemporaries from urban or suburban communities. However,…
All universities have economic impact on the regions and communities in which they are located. Changing views of higher education have affected the role of the university as an economic development engine. A university education is a combined public and…
The roots of higher education in the United States are knotted into purpose and place. From a functional standpoint, all universities, public and private, existed for producing ministers. At Harvard, three in four graduates in the seventeenth century became working…
The birthrate in America has been on the decline. In 2016, with slightly less than 60 births per 1000 women, a historic low was realized. This marks universities. Those most affected by decreasing birthrates will be regional campuses like West…
An effective leader must do everything within his or her power to create a strong organizational culture. Teamwork, knowledge of process, values shared by all workers, a clear understanding of organizational purpose, and a shared goal of attaining that purpose…
Funding for higher education is down over 20% in a few decades and continues to decrease. Institutional philanthropy designed to add dimensions of excellence to university life in support of students or simply to sustain steady quality is required. Impact…
Photo Credit: In Texas 52.2% of the college students initially enrolled in 2009 had graduated with a bachelor’s degree by the year 2015, according to the most recent data available at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems…
In Texas 52.2% of the college students initially enrolled in 2009 had graduated with a bachelor’s degree by the year 2015, according to the most recent data available at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Information Center. I bet…
West Texas A&M University had its summer graduation last week, as did many universities around the nation. People are always willing to give advice to recent graduates, and I am no exception. Hold on to your hat. Don’t delay paying…
There are multiple views of the university and its purpose. Uncle Johnny remembers fraternity parties, the “gentleman’s C” and leisurely student life as the be-all and end-all. Aunt Susie reminisces of working 40 or 50 hours a week on top…
One of the challenges for students and parents trying to select a place of study is that no two postsecondary institutions are the same. If for no other reason, the laws of physics assert that two things cannot occupy the…
For universities job one is serving students one at a time, but they are not customers. Patients maybe, clients perhaps, hopefully subscribers, but there is no fixed product or performance guarantee. Only hope, and servicing hope requires several basic understandings.…
Universities have lost the public trust. Pew, Gallop, and a number of other assemblers of public opinion have studied and reported findings that suggest public trust in Higher Education is eroding. University of Oregon president Michael Schill in a University…
The principles laid out in Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (commonly referred to as simply “The Wealth of Nations”) provide valuable insights regarding public universities. While useful in any university setting,…
This was originally posted March 20, 2016. It is the last summer rerun… The changing student demographics and accompanying changes in expectation from higher education come with no “gentle rapping.” Rather a thunderous pounding that is wished away by many…
This series of six reflections on corporate culture was originally published in October and November 2013. I am on summer break but I think these still have some value. WVW. Sixth and final reflection on corporate culture… Nurturing a strong…
This series of six reflections on corporate culture was originally published in October and November 2013. I am on summer break but I think these still have some value. WVW. Fifth in a series on Corporate Culture… Where we work…
This series of six reflections on corporate culture was originally published in October and November 2013. I am on summer break but I think these still have some value. WVW. Fourth in a series on Corporate Culture… Rules without relationships guide…
This series of six reflections on corporate culture was originally published in October and November 2013. I am on summer break but I think these still have some value. WVW. Third in a series on Corporate Culture… A culture is…
This series of six reflections on corporate culture was originally published in October and November 2013. I am on summer break but I think these still have some value. WVW. Second in a series of reflections on corporate culture Any…
This series of six reflections on corporate culture was originally published in October and November 2013. I am on summer break but I think these still have some value. WVW. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. This is the first in a series of reflections on corporate…
Graduates – In a few months, millions of people like you, full of hope and anticipation, will transition from high school to college. Privilege may have provided engaged deliberative parenting and quality primary and secondary educational opportunities, and you may have…
I am begging your pardon for a somber reflection amidst the joy of accomplishment—not to be a wet rag on the festivities of high school graduation, but a bright light on the realities of post-secondary education. If your GPA is…
A Continued reflection on citizenship from last week. There are significant relationships between education and citizenship. I am, before anything else, a professor—a teacher. I work to provide students the opportunity to learn. For me, this relationship between opportunity as…
What follows is, in part, from a speech I gave at the invitation of the Honorable Judge Phil Gilbert on March 26, 2004. At a naturalization ceremony, the polyglot of peoples that sat before me holding American flags were…
Student satisfaction and customer satisfaction are not equal. Students are not customers except when they spend a night in their dorm room or buy a meal in the cafeteria, a book at the bookstore or a shirt with the school…
America’s universities are the best in the world. This is so for many reasons, but primary among them is that we live in a free and open society. Two and one-half centuries of freedom and individual independence have allowed and…
On the very best days, the very best universities treat each student distinctively. Universities are in the business of creating, developing and nurturing human capital. This is true when faculty and staff are hired for their unique skill sets to…
Organizations succeed or fail based on their willingness to focus and concentrate. Because of the explosion of data, and therefore the ability to compare, organizations and individuals spend an inordinate amount of time concentrating on “others.” Bobby Jones, probably the…
Americans are becoming more insular. Universities value international exchanges and study experiences for the benefit to students. IES Abroad and other study-abroad organizations encourage learning abroad because of the many identified, positive outcomes. A lack of understanding between different people…
If five people go into the same Ford dealership and buy an F150, each will pay a different price. The cost of the new vehicle will be determined by the buyer’s ability to negotiate, the salesperson, color, options, trade-in, interest…
Originally published March 26, 2013. Slightly updated and worth a second look. Real leadership liberates, never limits: it unleashes people to work with passion. Effective universities recognize that strength in academic programs exists on the ground, with engaged faculty,…
That’s what they used to call it: on-the-job training. In the professional discipline of architecture, it was common for people to become architects by being an apprentice in an architectural office. After 12 years of apprenticeship, a candidate could…
I daily take in and reflect on student expectations of our university. I speak with parents and guardians less frequently, though I owe them a great deal. While the step-out-of-the-nest for the student is a “big deal,” it is also…
Dual credit or concurrent course credit allows high school students to take courses to earn a high school diploma and college credit simultaneously. Strong opinions abound on both sides of dual-credit discussions. This approach especially helps poor and first-generation students.…
How often at night where the heavens are bright With the light of the glittering stars Have I stood there amazed and asked as I gazed If their glory exceeds that of ours…From “From my Western Home,” 1872, Brewster Martin…
A recent commentary in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a trade publication for university personnel, says that a “tyranny of metrics” undermines higher education. The thought has enough truth in it to command attention. Yes, a metric focused environment might…
We create false dichotomies. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece,” from the Book of Proverbs. At 14 years old in 1964, I heard, “Idle hands…
In the United States, a significant number of undergraduates continue their education to obtain graduate degrees. Of the 1.8 million undergraduates in 2014, 750,000 pursued and earned master’s degrees and over 50,000 earned PhDs (not including professional doctorates such as…
pinterest.com cdfd802216040079fc70c1e3cb899f3a–young-frankenstein-mad-scientists Every high school and college student, every working professional engaged in continuing education and every educational leader and faculty member will address this question every day: “What is the correct mix of face-to-face and online instruction?” According to…
Student debt for college is a twisted labyrinth of complexities. Clarity is hard to find. In 2015, two of three student loan balances were less than $25,000. That sounds bearable. The chillingly high debt loads of $100,000 occur in only…
“The American Dream … is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they…
