From Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed:
1) Take a critical look at so-called across-the-board state budget cuts to higher education. The schools in the public system share the state budget, but each type of school has a radically different share. So flagship universities, for example, have a lot more flexibility on tuition than the community colleges. Even if states make proportional cuts, are the cuts really fair?
2) Question the assumption that tuition freezes are a good thing. A number of governors and President Obama have suggested tuition freezes or low tuition hikes are a good idea. Scott says enrollment will go up at many public institutions – but money will go down. With less money, universities will make concessions like cutting sections and increasing class size. Scott predicts these things will disproportionately affect the ability of low income students to succeed – especially their ability to graduate in four years rather than 6.
3) Watch what the economy means for liberal arts disciplines. Scott says a lot of community colleges and urban publics are gutting liberal arts. He suggests watching for programs that get protected in its place – like allied health or business.
4) Look at what happens to second tier private colleges when the admissions numbers come out. Scott says small reductions in enrollments at these colleges can make a big difference for tuition-dependent schools.
5) Follow the Pell entitlement debate. Although this is a Washington-based story, Scott suggests looking for local angles. Not all colleges are rallying around the idea that Pell Grants should be an entitlement, as President Obama’s suggested. The student aid association is lobbying against it. So what are your local college presidents and financial directors saying about the plan?
6) Report on outsourcing academics. Schools are starting to outsource classes, not unlike outsourcing a school bookstore to Barnes and Noble or food services to Marriott. Higher Ed Holdings in Texas is providing schools with exam graders. Another company, Straighter Line, offers general education courses for $99 a pop. The company negotiates with colleges and universities to take transfer credit for these courses. The controversy? Outsourcing raises questions about efficiency, quality and what it means to say you have a college degree.
7) Watch for shifting ideas in the testing movement. The SAT-optional trend is growing. Schools like NYU and Colby College have made the SAT I test optional if students take SAT II, those subject matter exams in topics like biology, physics and French. This is a shift in the anti-test debate. Before it was all about getting rid of tests altogether; now there's discussion about simply limiting the kinds of tests applicants must take.
8) Track remedial education at community colleges. Huge numbers of entering students need to catch up with remedial ed. But how much they need to catch up depends on the institution, where standards (known as “cut scores”) vary. So applicants have started to shop for schools based on whether they can avoid remedial ed. This has prompted a debate over the standardization of cut scores.
9) Report on campus race issues. Scott says there was a flurry of racial incidents on college campuses recently, right around Election Day. Ten schools have a new student group called Youth for Western Civilization, and it's bringing anti-immigration advocate Tom Tancredo to college campuses.
10) Take a look at university anti-bias rules. Scott suspects this issue might come up at the Supreme Court soon. Public universities sometimes go beyond state and federal law when it comes to anti bias rules. But some religious groups on campus have been refusing to comply, saying admitting homosexual members, for example, could conflict with their first amendment rights. Scott says to look to the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund for leads.
11) Research whether the Israeli-Palestinian debate is heating up at your local colleges and universities. Since the Gaza invasion, the political left has been more vocal about this issue on campus. Scott cites movements to cut off academic ties to Israeli universities and academic freedom cases where tenure is delayed for professors critical of Israel.
12) Watch for the unionization of graduate students. Currently it’s illegal for private university graduate students to unionize, but Scott says this may be about to change. If it does, universities are in a bad position to negotiate on pay and benefits for TAs, since finances are already tight.
13) Investigate the rise of certificate programs. President Obama has talked a lot about Americans getting at least one year of post-secondary education. This call should bring people into the higher ed system who weren’t there before. Certificate programs take just one year, compared to associates degrees over two years and bachelors over four years. Scott says this is a shift in education, that a degree isn't all that matters.
During the discussion following his presentation, Scott suggested angles on college and university sports. If a school cuts sports, he says to watch whether a school gets challenged on Title IX. He suggests skepticism when groups connect sports cutbacks to a drop in giving, unless the school’s a big sports hub. There was also some talk about schools adding sports – like Georgia State’s new football team. Scott says this move is usually due to a school trying to change its image – to increase male enrollment, for example. Georgia State is transforming from a commuter college to one with a resident body, so that factors in as well. But Scott says, sports are rarely a moneymaker for a school.
To close out, Scott suggested some community college stories: Reverse transfer trends from 4-year to 2-year colleges; accelerated Associates Degrees; undocumented students landing at community colleges. North Carolina is the focal point, but there’s a big case in California as well; four-day week and one-day week; schools experimenting having students on campus fewer days; the community college inability to keep up with demand in health fields. Nursing and allied health programs are highly competitive. Look for how many qualified applicants nursing schools say no to.
-- Kristina Tabor
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