Higher Ed in the U.S. is increasingly under scrutiny
and attack. And the latest fuel on the fire is a book called Academically Adrift, by Richard Arum,
professor of sociology and education at New York
University, and Josipa Roksa,
assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia.
Arum and Roksa’s study suggests that college students aren’t
much better at critical thinking by the time they graduate with a four-year
degree, than they were as college fresh-persons.
I admit I haven’t read the book. I’ve only read excerpts and
second-hand articles about the book, many of which cite the study’s most
shocking statistics. The book appears to put most of the blame on academe for having
low expectations of students and for not being “rigorous” enough.
As a college instructor of mostly first- and second-year
undergrads, I’m wondering if Arum and Roksa factored in the following:
1. The New Business
Model – Most public higher ed institutions are under the budget knife. And
students in seats = $$$. This means that for many instructors, department
chairs, administrators, etc., the pressure’s on to ensure student recruiting
and retention. And the unspoken maxim is that a “happy” student (aka a “customer/consumer,” one
who isn’t asked to do too much, one for whom instructors bend over backwards
and do loads of hand-holding, one whose grades are, perhaps, a wee bit inflated)
is more likely to stick around.
2. The Time Crunch
– Instructors (and administrators) in this era of budget cutting and “accountability”
are increasingly being asked to do more and more with less and less. For
example, in addition to my normal fairly heavy teaching load (four classes this
semester requiring lesson plans, in-class teaching time, grading), I now manage
a student organization (my service requirement), manage three on-line “tools” associated
with my classes (tools that need constant updating), manage my e-gradebooks
(more updates), document everything I do in an online faculty evaluation “tool”
(more updates), and complete a monthly online “time sheet.” Don’t get me wrong—I love the actual teaching part of my job. But teaching + the additional
demands = no ttime to improve my teaching skills, to do the research
that would make my classes more interesting/fulfilling (or more rigorous), or
to do my own writing/research. And, at most institutions, class caps creep up year
after year (more grading, more documenting, more measuring).
3. The Student
Contribution – This is the big one for me…where does student accountability
and responsibility fit into this picture? Arum and Roksa’s study appears to be
based on student surveys and transcripts. If students aren’t finding classes “rigorous,”
perhaps it’s because they aren’t taking the rigorous classes. Perhaps they’re
not making much of an effort. Perhaps they aren’t going to class. Perhaps they’re
texting in class instead of paying attention. Perhaps the rigorous teachers are
discouraged by a growing emphasis on student evaluations, which tend to bash rigorous
classes as “too complicated” or “too demanding”, while bashing rigorous
teachers as “uncaring” or “too hard” (comments I’ve seen on my own student
evals). It’s as if students and budget-conscious Boards of Regents share this misconception:
that an instructor’s job is to flip the lid on a student’s head and—quickly and
measurably—dump in a bunch of knowledge. But learning, and even critical
thinking in college, is a collaborative process between students and teachers—both
have to participate.
My feeling is that higher ed will
continue to decline (and I do agree with Arum and Roksa that we’re in real
trouble) as long as we keep shifting away from a belief in intrinsic value of liberal
arts learning and ever more toward a business model of job-market preparedness—the
student-as-consumer and instructor-as-service-provider model. It's all about SEATS & SATISFACTION surveys. And if the burgeoning number of
online “college” degree programs is any indication, I’m pretty sure drive-up
window diplomas are next.
Check out Arum & Roksa’s book: http://www.amazon.com/Academically-Adrift-Limited-Learning-Campuses/dp/0226028569
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