Posted on 03/31/2021 5:17:54 AM PDT by karpov
The loss of public trust in universities that has risen to front page news did not suddenly emerge in 2020. In 2018 the non-partisan Gallup organization found that, for the first time, less than half of Americans have “a lot of confidence” in higher education. Even more pointedly, Gallup reported that “No other institution has shown a larger drop in confidence over the past three years than higher education.”
The loss of civic faith in higher education has been building for a while.
American liberal arts education has lost its moorings. A 2012 article in Inside Higher Ed crystallizes the debate into one between the “crisis in the humanities and…the task of making them relevant in the 21st century.” Should college be a professional trade school preparing students for white-collar vocations such as accounting, or is its purpose a purely academic exercise?
This foundational question has immediate budgetary repercussions as universities, having avoided dealing head-on with the reality of ongoing revenue shrinkage since 2008, are now facing a moment of fiscal reckoning. The Chronicle of Higher Education has projected there is a chance that universities may “lose 25 to 50 percent of their revenue in 2021.”
For a path forward, we need to look beyond the liberal university. The Harvard Business Review reminds us that solutions are often found in models outside of a particular industry. There is indeed a living, breathing, under-the-radar example of what our universities should be doing.
It is called conservatory.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
Because they are no longer liberal. And that was beginning to be the case even in my day about thirty years ago.
Ditch the Marxist BS. But that will never happen, chicks love it.
Yup, no longer liberal colleges, they are liberal indoctrination centers now. Used to be you were exposed to the classics, ethics and the humanities. Not so today, they have become indoctrination centers. Conservative economic and social behavior is verboten except to point of as the equal of Dante’s inferno.
I went to a technical school back in the 80's so I didn't have that issue then.
When I returned to complete an unfinished Bachelor's Degree in 2006 in my early to mid 40's I was shocked at what passed for "education" and the entitled attitude so many of these 20 something's had.
My classes were all in the evenings after I'd finished working and about 70% of the class were in their early 20's and the rest of us were in our 40's and early 50's. We figured out very quickly to form our own group for study and project work and to not let the twenty something's in. They displayed crappy attitudes, poor work ethics, felt "entitled" to better things without working for them, etc..
Some of that is reflected indirectly in the article posted. I found myself nodding in agreement to so much of it.
Being liberal, their standards went to idle power, stick full forward, and dive, dive dive.
I’ll venture a winnable bet that over half of today’s college students would not have been admitted into even a mediocre college of 1900.
There is no redeeming “higher education” in America.
L
Just because you CAN revive something....does it mean you should revive it?
"What can we do to get you more engaged with the University?"
My answer:
"Hire executives and professors who do NOT have a Hard Left political agenda."
" The whole “everyone gets a trophy” concept that has completely corrupted our society.
I am long out of the workforce, 75 now, and in my last position I was the “hiring” authority. I noticed a gradual shift in the attitudes of a greater number of candidates as the years went on. On the one hand, a good number were well advanced in the use of technology. On the other hand, their interpersonal skills seemed diminished. But one thing more and more of them had was an entrenched unwarranted self worth. I remember my first job interview when I was fresh out of college. The VP asked me: how do you see yourself making money for this firm? I never forgot that. I noted in the candidates I was seeing an almost undercurrent of becoming dependents not producers. Maybe that was on me but that is the way I saw it. I now attribute it to the everyone gets a trophy concept. I guess I should now add into that concept the notion that diversity is our strength.
Excellent article. I went to a university as an electrical engineering major. What attracted me to the school was its coop program. At the start of my sophomore year I was working alternate semesters in industry. This ranged from microwave to semiconductor. I found my home in the semiconductor industry.
LET. THEM. DIE.
Sorry, let the,liberal arts colleges die the death they deserve
It's really sad to see what the academic world I grew up in has turned into. My dad was a college professor.
Two reasons —— the replacement of liberal arts classes with leftwing indoctrination (which is anything but liberal). At the very least, this renders the once- interesting student campus experience boring as hell. Discovering interesting and potentially useful things about life society and history ( and ones’ self) are now cast aside for indoctrination about communism, materialism, and other false doctrines.
And.
Some students have awakened to the reality that — while honest liberal arts explorations can genuinely enhance one’s quality of life, they seldom enable a student to earn much of a living. And, that coming out of the academy as a complete idiot Commie woke nutcase filled up with false expectations, lies about people, society, and history, and a ridiculous attitude of “entitlement” — makes a person totally unemployable.
A great chunk of a four year degree is unnecessary. Does a pre-med student really need a dozen credit hours in courses that blame white males for everything evil?
Cut out the fat, teach only the core curriculum and graduate in 2-3 years.
There is no way to revive them. They must be completely deconstructed, razed, eliminated.
Their only chance at “revival” is to remove taxpayer funding. Even “private” universities feed at the trough of government grants. They also need to remove quotas on enrollment (which are usually tied to taxpayer funding anyway).
Oh my.
Train all students like classical musicians are trained.
Some interesting points that might have a place.
I don’t think you can compare Juilliard students to other students.
Much musical ability is inherent.
And what is the selection rate at Juilliard?
How many would like to go but will never be selected....no matter how much they practice.
I’m not convinced that “tasting” different departments at a university is a waste.
The purpose of training is to prepare you for a job.
The purpose of education is to improve you as a person and as a citizen.
The problem is with the teachers, not the disciplines.
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