Lesson Plan
An Agenda for Change in American Higher Education
Published on 31. October 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
184 pages
978-0-691-17845-5 (ISBN)
Description
American higher education faces some serious problems--but they are not the ones most people think. In this brief and accessible book, two leading experts show that many so-called crises--from the idea that typical students are drowning in debt to the belief that tuition increases are being driven by administrative bloat--are exaggerated or simply false. At the same time, many real problems--from the high dropout rate to inefficient faculty staffing--have received far too little attention. In response, William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson provide a frank assessment of the biggest challenges confronting higher education and propose a bold agenda for reengineering essential elements of the system to meet them. The result promises to help shape the debate about higher education for years to come. Lesson Plan shows that, for all of its accomplishments, higher education today is falling short when it comes to vital national needs. Too many undergraduates are dropping out or taking too long to graduate; minorities and the poor fare worse than their peers, reinforcing inequality; and college is unaffordable for too many.
But these problems could be greatly reduced by making significant changes, including targeting federal and state funding more efficiently; allocating less money for "merit aid" and more to match financial need; creating a respected "teaching corps" that would include nontenure faculty; improving basic courses in fields such as math by combining adaptive learning and face-to-face teaching; strengthening leadership; and encouraging more risk taking. It won't be easy for faculty, administrators, trustees, and legislators to make such sweeping changes, but only by doing so will they make it possible for our colleges and universities to meet the nation's demands tomorrow and into the future.
But these problems could be greatly reduced by making significant changes, including targeting federal and state funding more efficiently; allocating less money for "merit aid" and more to match financial need; creating a respected "teaching corps" that would include nontenure faculty; improving basic courses in fields such as math by combining adaptive learning and face-to-face teaching; strengthening leadership; and encouraging more risk taking. It won't be easy for faculty, administrators, trustees, and legislators to make such sweeping changes, but only by doing so will they make it possible for our colleges and universities to meet the nation's demands tomorrow and into the future.
Reviews / Votes
One of Bloomberg's Best Books of 2016 "Bachelor's degrees should be completed in three years. MOOCs should replace general education. Coding boot camps are the game changer. College should be free. Internships are more important than instruction. Eliminate administrative bloat and higher education will be prosperous. Pick your quick fix for higher education, but it won't be endorsed in Lesson Plan, a new book by William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson. They make clear early in the book that while higher education has serious problems, they find most punditry and political proposals for higher education to be wrong."--Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed "A masterly summary of the state of higher education... [Bowen and McPherson] bring together current research, broad conversations with experts, and their own perspective in a brilliant, coherent explanation of their conviction that academia continues to be a vital investment in human capital... A must-read for everyone concerned about price and quality in higher education."--Library Journal "Lesson Plan [is] a concise, compelling, and, at times, courageous analysis of the ways in which institutions of higher education are failing to provide equal opportunity and lay out an ambitious reform agenda."--Glenn Altschuler, Huffington Post "I recommend [this book] to anyone who wants a better understanding of the problems in higher education in the US, and especially to anyone who is working in higher education and wants to contribute to improving it."--Harry Brighouse, Crooked Timber "A short, yet disarmingly rich and precise, primer on higher-education policy and its compelling relevance for the future of our economy and democracy... [C]ombines the precision born of encyclopedic knowledge with the plain-spoken prose of experts for whom policy analysis is second nature."--Clayton Spencer, Harvard Magazine "A short and clearly written book about the problems facing higher education in the United States. It offers the reader a great deal of data and support for its claims, and it is comprehensive in its approach as its programme for change presents multiple proposals requiring action by federal and state governments as well as institutions."--Chris Mayer, Journal of Higher Education Policy and ManagementMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
7 b/w illus., 4 tables
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
249 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-17845-5 (9780691178455)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2016
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€79.95
Available for download
Persons
William G. Bowen (1933-2016) was president emeritus of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Princeton University and founding chairman of ITHAKA.. His many books included The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions (with Derek Bok) (Princeton). Michael S. McPherson is president of the Spencer Foundation, former president of Macalester College, and the author of many books. Bowen, McPherson, and Matthew M. Chingos are the authors of Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities (Princeton).
Content
Preface and Acknowledgments vii PART I: Prelude 1 PART II: Pressing National Needs 11 Achieving Higher Levels of Educational Attainment 11 Raising College Completion Rate in the United States 21 Reducing Time-to-Degree 31 Reducing Disparities in Outcomes by Socioeconomic Status and Race or Ethnicity 34 Achieving Affordability 46 Strengthening Leadership Capacities 61 PART III: An Agenda for Change 73 Governmental Funding-Apart from Student Aid 73 Payments by Individuals-and Student Aid (Including Loans) 87 Increasing Efficiency 106 Putting High-Profile College Sports in Proper Perspective 118 Rationalizing Staffing: Supporting the Development of a "Teaching Corps" 121 Improving Teaching through Technology: Adaptive Learning 126 Enabling Stronger Leadership 134 References 141 Index 153