Why public higher education should be free : how to decrease cost and increase quality at American universities
Record details
- ISBN: 9780813561240 (hardcover : alk. paper)
- ISBN: 0813561248 (hardcover : alk. paper)
- ISBN: 9780813561233 (pbk. : alk. paper)
- ISBN: 081356123X (pbk. : alk. paper)
- ISBN: 9780813561257 (e-book)
- ISBN: 0813561256 (e-book)
- ISBN: 9780813561257 (e-book)
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Physical Description:
print
ix, 178 pages ; 24 cm - Publisher: New Brunswick, New Jersey ; London : Rutgers University Press, 2013.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 167-176) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Why tuition goes up and quality goes down at American research University -- Where the money goes in research universities -- Shortchanging instruction at research universities, and why students don't complain -- The role of faculty and graduate students in changing universities -- The rise of the administrative class -- The university as hedge fund -- The high cost of research -- Technology to the rescue? -- Making all public higher education free -- Educating students for a multicultural democracy. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Universities and colleges United States Finance Educational accountability United States |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Kirtland Community College.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kirtland Community College Library | LB 2342 .S26 2013 | 30775305463870 | General Collection | Available | - |
Library Journal Review
Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free : How to Decrease Cost and Increase Quality at American Universities
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Adding his voice to a growing chorus of critiques of the state of higher education (William J. Bennett & David Wilezol's Is College Worth It?; Jeffrey J. Selingo's College (Un)Bound), Samuels (president, Univ. Council-American Federation of Teachers; New Media, Cultural Studies, and Critical Theory After Postmodernism), a prolific blogger on the subject of higher education, seeks to convince his readers of the disconnect between the cost of tuition and the quality of instruction and, furthermore, that a high-quality combination of research and instruction could be maintained without the need for tuition at all. He explains how a large portion of tuition dollars go toward administration costs, research, noneducational programs (e.g., athletics, recreational extras, etc., and technology.) Samuels also points out that many universities are making risky investments and borrowing large sums to fund construction of new facilities that do not necessarily enhance learning and to increase compensation to already highly paid faculty and administrators. He argues that if current government funding to higher education were used more effectively, public institutions could be tuition free. Verdict Samuels presents a thought-provoking case for reform, and his book will appeal to anyone concerned with the current and/or future state of higher education in the United States.-Sara Holder, McGill Univ. Libs., Montreal (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free : How to Decrease Cost and Increase Quality at American Universities
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Samuels (Writing Prejudices), president of the University Council-American Federation of Teachers union and lecturer at U.C.L.A. and U.C. Santa Barbara, outlines the pricing problem American colleges create for undergraduates. As he explains, universities are often run like corporations, and research and graduate programs come at a cost to undergraduate education. Graduate students provide cheap labor for research projects, but are less prepared for teaching. The creation of online courses diminishes the educational experience for undergrads, and incorporating new technology in the classroom is costly. Further, universities' risky investments can shrink their endowments, leaving less money for financial aid. Budget cuts cause class sizes to swell and the quality of education to shrink. The solution, Samuels argues, is making public higher education free, which would eliminate the burden of student loans for high-achieving but less affluent students, by rerouting government assistance that goes to for-profit institutions or tax breaks for the wealthy. By restructuring how education is financed, the emphasis could be shifted from prestigious researchers toward quality undergraduate education. While the book would have benefited from a plan of action to bring about this reform, Samuels's argument is a persuasive and informative introduction to the higher education industry. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.