September-October 2006

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Federal Panel Approves Report

By Wendi Maloney

Members of the U.S. Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education have approved a final draft of a report calling for dramatic change in U.S. higher education. Some of the commission’s recommendations—such as the expansion of need-based financial aid—are laudable, says AAUP general secretary Roger Bowen, who notes that the AAUP has long supported wider access to higher education. He cautions, however, that the fundamental approach advocated by the commission is worrisome. “We plan to work closely with our members to respond to the proposals that arise from the commission’s recommendations,” he says. The final report will be released early in the 2006–07 academic year.

Headed by Texas investor Charles Miller, the nineteen-member commission spent most of the past year reviewing position papers and holding hearings around the country with an eye toward developing a comprehensive national strategy for postsecondary education. All but one of the commissioners approved the draft report. David Ward, president of the American Council of Education, declined to sign on, citing the inclination of the report to recommend policies based on a one-size-fits-all approach to higher education and to blame problems arising from multiple factors, such as escalating costs, solely on colleges and universities.

Bowen notes that the AAUP was not invited to participate in the  commission’s work, nor were other faculty groups. “The few commissioners who are faculty members,” he says, “do not represent faculty organizations.” He thinks a stronger faculty presence may have tempered the commission’s emphasis on higher education as a consumer product. “Yes, most students hope their degrees will help them launch careers, but being an educated person has traditionally meant much more than just getting a job,” he says. “Although the draft report extols the benefits of high-quality education, it doesn’t even discuss what is gained from studying the liberal arts, and it barely mentions the importance of a solid scientific education.”

Bowen says he is not surprised, given its limited vision of higher education, that the report fails to address the continuing shift toward full- and part-time appointments off the tenure track. Such contingent positions now make up two-thirds of all faculty appointments. “Faculty ensure the quality of student learning by designing challenging curricula and guiding students through material in and outside the classroom. Contingent faculty are typically not encouraged or permitted to engage in discussions about curricula—nor do most have sufficient time to help students outside the classroom.”

The report neglects research and graduate and professional education. In addition, although the commission softened calls for mandated testing proposed during its deliberations, Bowen fears that the report’s continued advocacy of “consumer-friendly” accountability measures will lead to a narrow focus on quantifiable “learning outcomes.” Assessing learning in higher education, Bowen points out, “involves not only determining what students know, but also how they can use their new knowledge. At the university level, students learn to deal with the fact that a question may have more than one answer. Standardized or multiple-choice tests aren’t typically designed to measure the complexity of student learning in higher education.”