Showing papers by "Philip G. Altbach published in 1994"

NAFTA and Higher Education

Abstract: (1994). NAFTA and Higher Education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 48-49.

Reforming Higher Education: A Modest Proposal.

Abstract: In the past several years, American colleges and universities have been widely criticized for a variety of ills. There have been a few scandals, such as the misappropriation of government research funds to purchase flowers and bed sheets for the President’s house at Stanford University. There have also been a few well-publicized cases of scientific fraud. The United States Justice Department has forced the Ivy League to desist from collectively deciding amounts of scholarship aid. But by far the most fundamental complaint has been that teaching has been de-emphasized in American higher education and especially at research-oriented institutions. Further, critics have pointed to a lack of professorial accountability. The faculty, it is claimed, has arrogated to itself control over how professors spend their time. Worse, this is done on an individual basis, with each faculty member deciding on the ways he or she will spend on work time. Beyond stipulating broad minima for teaching, there are few guidelines or regulations to determine professorial responsibility. The tenure system, originated to protect academic freedom, now provides virtual lifetime jobs to faculty.