Re: [xmca] The national context for education funding in the US

[Mike Cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>]

My answer to your last question, Jay.

Make participation in real world settings, linked to relevant academic work
including reading and writing, mandatory for all students attending any
college or
university. Use money to do this mainly to support grad student supervisors
who themselves are gathered into groups supervised by senior professors as
one
of their courses.

All evidence is that such practices improve student commitment to more
serious study at the university, increase the intellectual and social
capital of those with whom
they work, and increase understanding of social justice issues among more
privileged students, e.g., those who can afford to attend a university.

mike

On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 8:44 AM, Jay Lemke <jaylemke@umich.edu> wrote:

> What? Mike, you mean Bigger isn't always Better?? !!
> :-)  [insert Irony emoticon icon here!]
>
> According to standard evolutionary theory (which may not be the last word
> in such matters, but ...) a period of contraction may be good for
> ecosystems, less resources, more (alas?) "competition", and some excesses
> get weeded out. A blessing in disguise for ASU and other ambitiously bloated
> multiversities? Of course what gets weeded out may not be what helps make
> for better education and research in the longer term. But at the next scale
> up, in the competition among universities, those that make better internal
> cutback decisions may fare better.
>
> But again it depends on how the (still) larger scale systems we belong to
> define "better" in terms of effective incentives. So, for example, Obama's
> instant stimulus plan is dumping funds on NSF and other indirect university
> funding agencies with a Spend Now mandate. That means that whoever put in
> the most proposals last year is likely to get new funding. And the odds that
> that correlates highly with whoever put the highest priority on good
> teaching (at any level from faculty member, to research group, to
> department, to campus) are small.
>
> What is "better" for research funding has in the last 8 years, by general
> agreement among people I know in Education and many social science areas,
> been determined by a bizarre effort by the Bush administration to somehow
> correlate research initiatives with their ideological agenda. The net effect
> has only been to put the US further behind the EU (which may not be apparent
> because too many US researchers don't know or cite european research in
> their own fields anyway). An interesting example of how centralized
> decision-making amplifies the boom-or-bust feature of "punctuated" evolution
> -- one wrong decision for the whole system, and Bust! Since most decisions,
> like most mutations, are "wrong", it's a lot safer to diversity decision
> making and hope that at least somebody will get it right. (Rational
> decision-making is not that different from random mutation, given that the
> longer-term consequences of any policy, relative to a complex and changing
> environment, are essentially unpredictable.)
>
> We are increasingly committed in the US, and to a lesser extent still in
> the world as a whole, to educational and research "monocultures". Not much
> difference in education between UCSD, ASU, Michigan, or Columbia; and even
> less in research. So all our eggs sit in one basket. We call this "standards
> for quality". History will call it "recipe for irrelevance". We are more
> worried that somebody might do a bad job, waste the taxpayers' money,
> embarrass a politician, or maybe come up with something new and
> unpredictable, than we are with whether we've got enough new ideas being
> tried out that a few of them might really produce significant benefits.
>
> How could we "incentivize" diversification in higher education in a period
> of contracting resources?
>
> JAY.
>
> Jay Lemke
> Professor
> Educational Studies
> University of Michigan
> Ann Arbor, MI 48109
> www.umich.edu/~jaylemke <http://www.umich.edu/%7Ejaylemke>
>
>
>
>
> On Mar 22, 2009, at 4:12 PM, Mike Cole wrote:
>
> Important for all of us to consider, thanks Peter. Away from home, I did
> not
> see the story.
>
> There is a comment I think worth attending to among all the realistic doom
> and gloom: The idea of a 100,000 student "research university" is indeed
> very problematic. The quality of higher education, in my view, has been
> sinking for years, and the forms of instruction and interaction that
> routinely take place in my much
> smaller research university verge on the scandalous.
>
> mike
>
> On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 2:01 AM, Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu> wrote:
>
>
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/us/17university.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2
>
>
> State Colleges Also Face Cuts in Ambitions
>
>
> By TAMAR LEWIN
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/tamar_lewin/in
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> dex.html?inline=nyt-per<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/tamar_lewin/in%0Adex.html?inline=nyt-per
> >
>
>
>
> Published: March 16, 2009
>
>
>
> <
>
> http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/03/17/us/17university.ht
>
> ml<
> http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/03/17/us/17university.ht%0Aml
> >>
>
> Read All Comments (43) >
>
>
> TEMPE, Ariz. - When Michael Crow became president of
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/arizona
>
> _state_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/arizona%0A_state_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> Arizona State University seven
>
> years ago, he promised to make it "The New American University," with
>
> 100,000 students by 2020. It would break down the musty old boundaries
>
> between disciplines, encourage advanced research and entrepreneurship to
>
> drive the new economy, and draw in students from underserved sectors of the
>
> state.
>
>
> He quickly made a name for himself, increasing enrollment by nearly a third
>
> to 67,000 students, luring big-name professors and starting
>
> interdisciplinary schools in areas like sustainability, projects with
>
> partners like the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/mayo_cl
>
> inic/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/mayo_cl%0Ainic/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> Mayo Clinic and Sichuan University in China,
>
> and dozens of new degree programs
>
>
> But this year, Mr. Crow's plans have crashed into new budget realities,
>
> raising questions about how many public research universities the nation
>
> needs and whether universities like Arizona State, in their drive to become
>
> prominent research institutions, have lost focus on their public mission to
>
> provide solid undergraduate education for state residents.
>
>
> These days, the headlines about Arizona State describe its enormous cuts.
>
>
> The university has eliminated more than 500 jobs, including deans,
>
> department chairmen and hundreds of teaching assistants. Last month, Mr.
>
> Crow announced that the university would close 48 programs, cap enrollment
>
> and move up the freshman application deadline by five months. Every
>
> employee, from Mr. Crow down, will have 10 to 15 unpaid furlough days this
>
> spring.
>
>
> "The New American University has died; welcome to the Neutered American
>
> University," the student newspaper editorialized last month the morning
>
> after the latest cuts were announced.
>
>
> While Arizona State's economic problems have been particularly dramatic,
>
> layoffs and salary freezes are becoming common at public universities
>
> across
>
> the nation; the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers
>
> ity_of_florida/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers%0Aity_of_florida/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> University of Florida recently
>
> eliminated 430 faculty and staff positions, the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers
>
> ity_of_nevada/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers%0Aity_of_nevada/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
>
> laid off about 100 employees, and the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers
>
> ity_of_vermont/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers%0Aity_of_vermont/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> University of Vermont froze some
>
> administrative staff salaries, left open 22 faculty positions and laid off
>
> 16 workers.
>
>
> "What's happening, everywhere, is what's happening to Michael Crow," said
>
> Jane Wellman, executive director of the Delta Project on Postsecondary
>
> Costs, Productivity and Accountability, an organization that studies
>
> spending by colleges and universities. "The trend line is states
>
> disinvesting in higher education."
>
>
> The picture varies by state. Dozens of states, hit hard by the recession,
>
> made midyear cuts in their financing for higher education. And yet, budgets
>
> are largely intact at some leading research universities, like the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers
>
> ity_of_michigan/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers%0Aity_of_michigan/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> University of Michigan.
>
>
> Public universities everywhere are bracing for deep cuts in next year's
>
> budgets, but the federal stimulus package, providing billions for education
>
> and billions more for research, should ease the problem somewhat.
>
>
> Despite the cuts, Mr. Crow said he was sticking to his priorities,
>
> protecting his new programs and his tenured and tenure-track faculty
>
> members. And he is hoping to expand research, with, for example,
>
> renewable-energy money from the stimulus package.
>
>
> "I don't retreat very easily," he said. "The economy is shifting faster
>
> than
>
> the university can adjust, but we're trying to protect students from the
>
> hurricane. We're protecting the core of the core."
>
>
> But not everyone is convinced that the Arizona State model makes sense.
>
>
> "It may be that the idea of a 100,000-student research university was never
>
> very sustainable," said Patrick M. Callan, president of the National Center
>
> for Public Policy and Higher Education, which promotes access to higher
>
> education. "In this economy, the places that have been trying to claw their
>
> way up the ladder, the ones whose aspirations have exceeded their financial
>
> vision, are going to have the toughest time. They can't be all things to
>
> all
>
> people."
>
>
> But Mr. Crow thinks he can simultaneously broaden access for Arizonans,
>
> improve academic quality and increase research.
>
>
> His university, he said, is an inclusive institution where there are 7,000
>
> students with no family income at all and a growing population of American
>
> Indian students. Tuition in most programs is under $6,000 a year for state
>
> residents, in part because of a State Constitution provision that it be as
>
> "nearly free" as possible, which courts have interpreted to mean that its
>
> tuition must be in the bottom third of public universities nationwide.
>
>
> Mr. Crow's record for improving quality is impressive, too. He has hired
>
> more than 600 tenured or tenure-track faculty members, and last year, for
>
> the first time, won a spot on the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/nationa
>
> l_science_foundation/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/nationa%0Al_science_foundation/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> National Science
>
> Foundation's list of the top 20 research universities without a medical
>
> school, along with powerhouses like
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/massach
>
> usetts_institute_of_technology/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/m/massach%0Ausetts_institute_of_technology/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> M.I.T. and the
>
> University of California, Berkeley.
>
>
> But not every university can be in the top 20. And in a time of shrinking
>
> state budgets, undergraduates at public universities will most likely pay
>
> the price in higher tuition, larger classes and less interaction with
>
> tenured professors. So it is a real question how many public research
>
> universities the nation can afford, and what share of resources should go
>
> to
>
> less expensive forms of education, like community colleges.
>
>
> "Universities aspire to prestige," Ms. Wellman said, "and that is achieved
>
> by increasing selectivity, getting a research mission and having faculty do
>
> as little teaching as possible, not by teaching and learning, and taking
>
> students from Point A to Point B."
>
>
>
> <
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/us/17university.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2#se
>
> condParagraph> Skip to next paragraphMark G. Yudof, president of the
>
> University of California, laments that it has become an article of faith
>
> that every depressed area needs a research university.
>
>
> "Research universities are very expensive," Mr. Yudof said, "and you can't
>
> have one in every county and every state. Your first obligation as a public
>
> university is to treat the undergraduates right. That's going to need a
>
> national attitude adjustment from leadership and boards of regents."
>
>
> California's three-tier higher-education system, which serves 3.3 million
>
> students, almost 20 percent of the nation's college population, is among
>
> the
>
> hardest hit by the current recession. This year, with hundreds of millions
>
> of dollars removed from their budgets, both the
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/califor
>
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> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/califor%0Ania_state_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> California State University
>
> system and the University of California are being forced to shrink their
>
> enrollment.
>
>
> "We're trying as hard as we can to preserve the instructional program," Mr.
>
> Yudof said. "But with the economy shrinking, and less money allocated to
>
> public universities, can I guarantee that the class that would have been 40
>
> won't be 45? I can't."
>
>
> Finding the right balance between improving academic quality and serving
>
> state residents is not easy.
>
>
> Case in point: merit scholarships. Arizona State University recruits
>
> National Merit Scholars nationwide with a four-year $90,000 scholarship, a
>
> package so generous that Arizona State enrolls 600 National Merit Scholars,
>
> more than
>
> <
>
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/y/yale_un
>
> iversity/index.html?inline=nyt-org<
> http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/y/yale_un%0Aiversity/index.html?inline=nyt-org
> >>
>
> Yale or Stanford. Through the cuts, Mr.
>
> Crow has kept that program, even while proposing to cut a scholarship for
>
> Arizona residents with high scores on state tests, a proposal the state
>
> regents turned down.
>
>
> And even as his plans for expanding the university have slowed, Mr. Crow is
>
> trying to increase the enrollment of out-of-state students - who pay triple
>
> tuition - to as high as 40 percent next year.
>
>
> When the latest cuts were announced, many Arizona State students said they
>
> believed Mr. Crow was doing his best to protect them but that, ultimately,
>
> the quality of their education could suffer.
>
>
> "My African-American history professor said he thinks classes will be
>
> bigger
>
> next semester, and that's too bad," said Tierra Jenkins, a sophomore civil
>
> engineering student.
>
>
> Many blame the Legislature for short-sightedness in failing to support the
>
> university when it plays such a key role in the state's economy and
>
> residents' upward mobility.
>
>
> "It really takes a lot of wind out of the sails of this university," said
>
> Kyle Whitman, a senior and an economics major who works part-time in Mr.
>
> Crow's office. "It's been on such a strong trajectory."
>
>
>
>
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