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The William G. Bowen Series
Lesson Plan: An Agenda for Change in American Higher Education
Why and how American colleges and universities need to change in order to meet the nation's pressing needs
American higher education faces some serious problems--but they are not the ones most people think. In this brief and accessible book, two leading experts show that many so-called crises--from the idea that typical students are drowning in debt to the belief that tuition increases are being driven by administrative bloat--are exaggerated or simply false. At the same time, many real problems--from the high dropout rate to inefficient faculty staffing--have received far too little attention. In response, William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson provide a frank assessment of the biggest challenges confronting higher education and propose a bold agenda for reengineering essential elements of the system to meet them. The result promises to help shape the debate about higher education for years to come.
Lesson Plan shows that, for all of its accomplishments, higher education today is falling short when it comes to vital national needs. Too many undergraduates are dropping out or taking too long to graduate; minorities and the poor fare worse than their peers, reinforcing inequality; and college is unaffordable for too many. But these problems could be greatly reduced by making significant changes, including targeting federal and state funding more efficiently; allocating less money for "merit aid" and more to match financial need; creating a respected "teaching corps" that would include nontenure faculty; improving basic courses in fields such as math by combining adaptive learning and face-to-face teaching; strengthening leadership; and encouraging more risk taking.
It won't be easy for faculty, administrators, trustees, and legislators to make such sweeping changes, but only by doing so will they make it possible for our colleges and universities to meet the nation's demands tomorrow and into the future.
American higher education faces some serious problems--but they are not the ones most people think. In this brief and accessible book, two leading experts show that many so-called crises--from the idea that typical students are drowning in debt to the belief that tuition increases are being driven by administrative bloat--are exaggerated or simply false. At the same time, many real problems--from the high dropout rate to inefficient faculty staffing--have received far too little attention. In response, William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson provide a frank assessment of the biggest challenges confronting higher education and propose a bold agenda for reengineering essential elements of the system to meet them. The result promises to help shape the debate about higher education for years to come.
Lesson Plan shows that, for all of its accomplishments, higher education today is falling short when it comes to vital national needs. Too many undergraduates are dropping out or taking too long to graduate; minorities and the poor fare worse than their peers, reinforcing inequality; and college is unaffordable for too many. But these problems could be greatly reduced by making significant changes, including targeting federal and state funding more efficiently; allocating less money for "merit aid" and more to match financial need; creating a respected "teaching corps" that would include nontenure faculty; improving basic courses in fields such as math by combining adaptive learning and face-to-face teaching; strengthening leadership; and encouraging more risk taking.
It won't be easy for faculty, administrators, trustees, and legislators to make such sweeping changes, but only by doing so will they make it possible for our colleges and universities to meet the nation's demands tomorrow and into the future.
- GenresEducationNonfiction
184 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 2016
7 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
William G. Bowen
41 books4 followersPresident emeritus of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Princeton University. He is the author or coauthor of many books, including the acclaimed bestseller The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions, Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities, and Lessons Learned: Reflections of a University President (all Princeton).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 31, 2016
Helpful info, but not super-exciting as an agenda for change. Actually, that is not quite fair: The authors say that taming the monster of sports spending is essential, so if anyone had the nerve to try that, it would be amazing. But who would dare? That they cannot say, but at least they point out the need, in no uncertain terms.
They are also good on several other points, but those are more familiar, if still tough to solve:
Stop over-producing PhDs
Create and support a teaching faculty
Respect and reward non-tenure-track faculty
Spend student aid on those who need it, instead of using it to recruit the already-affluent
And so on.
They even have a more reasonable attitude toward tech than most books in this genre. But like most books in this genre, it is long on what should be done, and short on how it might actually get done. Since I work on books that are about what to do, perhaps it is natural that I notice when that part gets left out. At least this was short, and to-the-point (especially if you ignore the footnotes, because the type is too small), and pretty open about some real problems.
They are also good on several other points, but those are more familiar, if still tough to solve:
Stop over-producing PhDs
Create and support a teaching faculty
Respect and reward non-tenure-track faculty
Spend student aid on those who need it, instead of using it to recruit the already-affluent
And so on.
They even have a more reasonable attitude toward tech than most books in this genre. But like most books in this genre, it is long on what should be done, and short on how it might actually get done. Since I work on books that are about what to do, perhaps it is natural that I notice when that part gets left out. At least this was short, and to-the-point (especially if you ignore the footnotes, because the type is too small), and pretty open about some real problems.
December 13, 2016
THere's a lot to like in this book. The authors use plenty of data to justify sustainable changes for higher Ed that wouldn't destroy its best virtues. But their U President background means that they sometimes ignore likely obstacles to some of their ideas.
July 23, 2018
Another detailed higher education read. This book covered the gamete of topics and it made me think about policy and what that means for higher education. An interesting read.
August 4, 2016
Mixed Emotions
There is much I like about this book, and much I agree with. However, many of the ideas they espouse require widespread societal change that the skeptic in me is unsure we can ever achieve. Well worth reading, though, if you are in any way involved in higher ed.
There is much I like about this book, and much I agree with. However, many of the ideas they espouse require widespread societal change that the skeptic in me is unsure we can ever achieve. Well worth reading, though, if you are in any way involved in higher ed.
November 8, 2016
I loved this book! Bowen and McPherson have great, smart, innovative and reachable ideas of how Higher Education needs to change. A great and easy read.
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February 10, 2019Facile recitation of well known data about costs, debt, completion rates, tuition, and state support. That takes up 2/3 of the book. The “agenda” then proposed again offers no real hope of substantive change. The Federal government should re-direct funds from financial aid only to give more directly to universities. Free tuition doesn’t work. Change the teaching model. Stronger leadership. Not a single fresh or challenging idea in the batch. Well written with copious references to data and research. It checks a box in the literature about the issues but I remain disappointed in the lack of new ideas, from these authors or any other supposed experts in higher education.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews