Crisis in Higher Education

The book identifies actions that improve higher education outcomes including lower tuition costs, better access for student from low and middle income homes, faster throughput, fewer dropouts, and better job opportunities for graduates. It links a real and implementable solution to the underlying problems and their root causes.

TOC Chapter 1: The Higher Education Conundrum Cope with two important demand-supply relations: Students to universities and universities to companies that hire graduates Address the needs of multiple customers Face accreditation by independent agencies that attempt to ensure high standards Have a tri-partite mission of research, teaching, and service Amass and manage key resources Allocate resources among administration, faculty, and facilities Chapter 2: Identifying the Underlying Problems Costs are too high - rising much faster than the rate of inflation Quality while good can be improved Access is limited by high costs and poor preparation Low graduation rates Imbalance between supply of graduates and demand from companies in some programs Chapter 3: Understanding the Root Causes Reductions in state government support for public universities Increases in the percent of university budgets spent on administration Expanding student expectations increase costs General fund budgets are sometimes used to subsidize ancillary services such as sports. Funding finesse: The use of student fees as surrogates for tuition increases Unclear understanding of who is the customer. Learning mechanism are largely unchanged for hundreds of years Universities have no or limited responsibility to ensure that programs they offer lead to jobs Standards are more and more difficult to maintain Chapter 4: A Customer-Focused, Resource Management Resolution Understanding the customer: The demand-side Understanding the resources: The supply-side Chapter 5: Focusing on the Ultimate Customer Chapter 6: Becoming Student-Centered Chapter 7: Determining Government's Role in Higher Education Chapter 8: Redesigning Curriculum and Pedagogy Chapter 9: Reshaping the Faculty Structure and Role Chapter 10: Creating High Technology Teaching Materials Chapter 11: Reforming Administration and Management Chapter 12: Revamping Relationships among High Schools, Community and Technical Colleges, and Universities Chapter 13: Framing and Implementing a Practical Solution Why and how is higher education different? The need for an integrated and comprehensive solution Implementing a customer-focused resource management solution