PURPOSE

CURRICULUM

1    Liberal Arts Take Another Bad Turn The Association of American Colleges & Universities and the American Association of University Professors recently released a joint statement defending the liberal arts. While concerns about the value of a liberal arts degree have been around for decades, the percentage of students getting bachelor’s degrees in the humanities remained pretty stable for 40 years: 17.1 percent in 1970–71 vs. 17.6 percent in 2005–06, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. A low point came in the mid-1980s when the number fell to 13.5 percent. The liberal arts managed to recover back then, but the question is: Can they bounce back this time? In the last 10 years, many schools have seen “alarmingly steep” declines in the number of humanities majors—e.g., falling by 40 percent across all disciplines between 2010 and 2015 at Pennsylvania State University. 
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A myriad of reasons have been cited: the economic crisis of 2007–08, the push for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) majors, and the rise of social media. Others point to identity politics. (How many 20-year-olds really want to study with English professors who list their subspecialties as racial/sexual identities and injustices?) Most liberal arts colleges and departments simply have not made a good case for themselves with students, parents, or policymakers. Recent studies have found that 40 percent of liberal arts grads say they would pick a different major if they had to do it over again; over a third see no relationship between their jobs and what they learned in college; and many high-achieving low-income students don’t even know what “liberal arts” means. Schools are finally fighting back. Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts at Purdue University is a 15-credit-hour certificate program designed for all Purdue undergraduates, but especially STEM majors. Rather than viewing the humanities “as a box to check on the way to courses that really matter,” students take thematically linked liberal arts courses connected to their professional aspirations. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine advocates integrating the study of STEMM (the second M is for medicine) with the arts and humanities. At Harvard Medical School, med students can elect to engage in observation activities at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to improve their diagnostic skills.  to the top

2    Multiculturalism’s Effect on the Hard Sciences  Identity politics has greatly affected many departments on campuses all over the country,  but only recently has  STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—felt the IP sting from diversity. “Identity politics is now altering the standards for scientific competence and the way future scientists are trained,” writes the Manhattan Institute’s Heather MacDonald in City Journal. This, she predicts, “will be disastrous for scientific innovation and for American competitiveness.” First-Year Experience (FYE) programs were intended to help students navigate the transition from high school to college, (seldom easy for even the best of students) and have now spread to 90 percent of American college campuses. “Today’s FYE programs, however—largely designed by left-wing college administrators, not professors—sermonize about subjects like social justice, environmental sustainability, gender pronouns, and microaggressions,” writes City Journal contributing editor John Tierney. “Multiculturalism” is a buzzword for common-read programs, “but their version of it doesn’t include past cultures or foreign authors. Virtually all colleges choose books by current American writers, mostly from the past decade,” he continues. The programs are not “introducing students to great literature, but then, that’s not the point.”  to the top
 

COMMUNITY

3    Beta Theta Pshaw!  College administrations are beginning to crack down on misconduct, which has become all too prevalent among fraternities. Many members have been accused of sexual assault, hazing, and excessive alcohol consumption. For example, at Penn State, 18 members of a fraternity were charged with the alcohol-related death of a pledge. Five fraternities were banned from West Virginia University for drug and alcohol abuse and sexual assault. And a group of schools have initiated a scorecard methodology to track violations of fraternity rules and record suspensions in order to monitor whether rules and regulations were being observed.  to the top
 

4    Multiculturalism’s Effect on the Hard Sciences  Identity politics has greatly affected many departments on campuses all over the country,  but only recently has  STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—felt the IP sting from diversity. “Identity politics is now altering the standards for scientific competence and the way future scientists are trained,” writes the Manhattan Institute’s Heather MacDonald in City Journal. This, she predicts, “will be disastrous for scientific innovation and for American competitiveness.” First-Year Experience (FYE) programs were intended to help students navigate the transition from high school to college, (seldom easy for even the best of students) and have now spread to 90 percent of American college campuses. “Today’s FYE programs, however—largely designed by left-wing college administrators, not professors—sermonize about subjects like social justice, environmental sustainability, gender pronouns, and microaggressions,” writes City Journal contributing editor John Tierney. “Multiculturalism” is a buzzword for common-read programs, “but their version of it doesn’t include past cultures or foreign authors. Virtually all colleges choose books by current American writers, mostly from the past decade,” he continues. The programs are not “introducing students to great literature, but then, that’s not the point.”    to the top
 

5    Free Speech Pushback and Accommodation  The result of sometimes effusive guardrails, controls, and sanctions on campus speech have certainly dampened free speech. Groups like Students for Life of America complain of having difficulty receiving permission to protest publicly on behalf of their anti-abortion position. When professors “decided to host a protest teach-in,” what would you do? a group of educators were asked during a recent panel discussion at the annual conference of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.  As the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Sarah Brown reported in a follow-up story, at Governors State University in Illinois the school’s administration answered that question by changing its hiring process to ensure that only those who agreed with its mission were retained Many have perceived a leftward tilt emerging in the current speech-dampening era, leaving some  professors worrying about their academic freedom, while the Trump administration is stepping into the debate, offering “statements of interest” in court filings that challenge speech bias rules. The nonprofit Speech First sued University of Michigan’s Bias Response Team, claiming an infringement on First Amendment rights, a claim denied by a federal judge, who stated that the BRT was only a support system for victims of verbal bias and abuse. In the end, perhaps the Project on Civil Discourse at American University’s School of Public Affairs will win the day with old-fashioned moderated debate and discussion  to the top

6  Vindication for Professor in Free Speech Episode The University of Nebraska at Lincoln isn’t exactly Berkeley, but it became the center of a free speech debate in the summer of 2017 when a 46-year-old graduate student lecturer confronted a 19-year-old student recruiting for the conservative group Turning Point USA. The lecturer, sixth-year doctoral student Courtney Lawton, says she was aware of the group because of  Professor Watchlist, which names professors who have said things that are offensive to its values—e.g., sniping at Republicans or teaching about white privilege. A cellphone video, which circulated on social media, showed Lawton making obscene gestures at the sophomore and holding a sign that read, “Just say NO! to Neo-Fascism.” The incident lasted about 20 minutes and barely caused a stir on campus—at least initially. But thanks to the “cellphone video, a web-savvy political organization and a group of suggestible lawmakers, it soon sent shock waves” across mostly red rural Nebraska. Within weeks, the university had suspended Lawton and later barred her from teaching there. The American Association of University Professors issued a report criticizing the university for bowing to political pressure and not providing due process to Lawton.  to the top

7  Sexual Assault In the #MeToo Era  For years, colleges and universities chose to handle sexual harassment and assault complaints outside the court system. Tenured faculty members were advised: “Keep your office door open. Don’t mentor any women. No coffees or dinners with students.” Other  incidents were swept under the rug through “hush payments.” The Wall Street Journal reveals that over the last two years, schools from within the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC athletic conferences paid out more than $10.5 million in sexual harassment settlements. These include settlements for allegations by or against students, faculty, and staff. But now with the #MeToo movement, schools are revamping their policies. The University of Wisconsin system is moving forward with a plan to disclose misconduct findings against employees to their potential future employers. Personnel information will automatically be shared with other system campuses and other state agencies, perhaps starting as soon as January 2019.

According to a new 311-page report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, about half of women in science experience some form of harassment, ironically, at a time when “so much energy and money is being invested in efforts to attract and retain women in science, engineering, and medical fields.” The report criticizes institutions for being too focused on “symbolic compliance with current law and avoiding liability and not on preventing sexual harassment.” It offers 15 detailed recommendations, some that go against long-entrenched academic practices—like overhauling academic advising systems “so students and junior researchers are not dependent on one senior researcher for advancement and access to grants.”  to the top

GOVERNANCE

TRUSTEESHIP

8 Sex Assault: Administrative Fallout By all appearances, Max Nikias, the head of the University of Southern California, had an “extraordinarily successful presidency.” Since 2010, he had raised over $6 billion in a capital campaign, housing for students had doubled, classroom space had increased by a third, and the student body had become a model for diversity. But Nikias’s eight-year tenure was tainted by a series of scandals that had gone under the radar until brought to light by The Los Angeles Times this summer: a gynecologist who remained on staff despite decades of complaints about inappropriate behavior was now accused of consorting with prostitutes and abusing drugs. It was the straw that broke the Nikias camel’s back, and suddenly he was out. One can only guess that either “a huge decline in reputation (already achieved) or a drop in fundraising (on the way)” caused the board to act so quickly.

Meanwhile, in East Lansing, Michigan State University Interim President John Engler, a former governor of the state, agreed to pay more than $500 million to 300-plus girls and young women who were abused by former university sports doctor Larry Nassar. The settlement, one of the largest ever for victims of abuse, will be funded with a bond offering. But the future path of the university remains unclear; its board has decided to retain Engler despite calls for his resignation. Some say that with his aggressive style and lack of empathy toward the victims, Engler may already have squandered the chance for healing.  to the top

9  Time to Tax Endowments (Again)? Flagship state colleges and universities are ramping up their fundraising efforts as students in a majority of states are now paying more in tuition than the government contributes. The University of Michigan just became the first public university to raise $5 billion—the most successful fundraising campaign for a public university ever. And other schools are not far behind. The University of Washington is in the midst of its own $5 billion campaign; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is trying to raise $4.25 billion; the University of Florida, $3 billion; and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, $2.25 billion.

Fundraising is also on the rise at elite private universities. Harvard just brought in $9.6 billion—more than $3 billion over its goal—making the richest university in America even richer. Jay Gonzalez, a long-shot Democratic candidate for Massachusetts governor, wants to tax some of that money and has unveiled a plan to levy a 1.6 percent annual tax on private, nonprofit colleges and universities with endowment funds exceeding $1 billion, estimating that the plan would raise $1 billion a year in new revenue for the state—with more than half ($563 million) coming from Harvard alone. “Maybe it made sense hundreds of years ago to exempt these institutions from paying taxes but no one envisioned endowments in the billions of dollars,” said Marc McGovern, the Democratic mayor of Cambridge. But critics argue that taxing endowments would undermine the brain power that is fueling the state’s high-tech boom.   to the top

10    What Happens When the Accused Is a Woman? When a woman is accused of sexual harassment, is it a blow to the credibility of the #MeToo movement? In September 2017, New York University launched a Title IX investigation into Avital Ronell, a 66-year-old professor of German and comparative literature—by all accounts, a brilliant scholar. Her accuser, Nimrod Reitman, 32 years her junior, alleges that she sexually harassed, assaulted, and stalked him over a period of years while she was his academic adviser. Their relationship was documented in numerous emails. Following an 11-month investigation, NYU found the claims against Ronell credible but cleared her of more serious charges. She was suspended without pay for a year. The case is especially problematic because “it contends with the power dynamics between graduate student and faculty adviser.” News of the sexual harassment complaint against Ronell surfaced earlier this summer after a group of prominent academics—including noted feminist scholars—sent a letter of support to NYU officials, rallying to Ronell’s defense. The letter was never meant to be public. Critics say the letter is hypocritical and a betrayal of graduate students. Ronell called the university’s action a sign of “sexual paranoia.”  to the top

11  The College Presidency Evolves—Slowly  Despite all the talk about the growing diversity on college campuses, the typical president of a small to midsize private college is a white married male, age 61, the Council of Independent Colleges says. About half intend to leave their current position within the next five years. It’s a good bet that many are planning to retire, but the increasing pressures of the job have caused the average tenure on the job to fall from 8.5 years in 2006 to 6.5 years today, the American Council on Education reports. Presidents say they are concerned about the growing racial divide on campus and the erosion of trust in higher education. More and more, boards are seeking nontraditional candidates from the outside to lead their academic institutions. Daniel Greenstein, a former executive at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (the philanthropic organization that has heavily influenced public education) is the new chancellor of Pennsylvania’s 14 state universities. The troubled university system is looking to redesign itself amid falling enrollment and tight finances.

On the other hand, Lawrence S. Bacow, who’s just been installed as president of Harvard University, is a lifelong educator and a former president of Tufts University. Bacow is known as a “pragmatic visionary” and his selection reflects Harvard’s need for a steady hand. In his installation address on October 5, he recognized that these are trying times for institutions of higher learning: “Higher education has not only supported our democracy, but in some sense it has created it —and we are nowhere near done…. There are both reassuring truths and unsettling truths, and great universities must embrace them both.”  to the top

12  A Name by Any Other Name Confederate statues, markers, and building names on university campuses, primarily in the South, are being removed or changed because of the histories of racism they represent. Protests have broken out contesting Confederate statues like the University of North Carolina’s “Silent Sam”—a monument to Civil War alumni who died—which was toppled by students this year. And the University of Florida at Tallahassee removed the statue of pro-slavery founder Francis Eppes VII. Washington and Lee University, whose student body is only 2 percent black, has renamed two buildings. But those on the political right oppose the removal of monuments because they believe they tell the history of the university and community. The issue is not confined to southern institutions, however. Even Ivy League schools, like Brown, have had to confront their connections to slavery and segregation. The Universities Studying Slavery consortium has been formed to examine the history of these ties, and dozens of schools have joined the organization in support of the initiative.  to the top

13    Are Colleges Responsible for Student Suicide?  In 2009, 25-year-old Han Nguyen killed himself by jumping off an MIT campus building, just moments after being harshly criticized by a professor. Nguyen’s father sued the university, as well as two professors and an administrator, asserting that they knew about his son’s fragile mental state. Although the court exculpated MIT in this specific case, colleges and universities aren’t entirely off the hook. The court also noted that because of the special relationship they have with students, schools can be held responsible in certain cases—e.g., if they know of a student’s stated plan to end his or her own life. While the unanimous decision does not apply outside the state, the case has been closely watched across the country. “MIT won the case, but the message to colleges is, you can’t simply look away,” said Peter F. Lake, a professor of higher-education law at Stetson University. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people, and an estimated 1,100 college students a year commit suicide. Most alarming, one in 20 college students created a suicide plan in the past year.  to the top

14    Chicago Drops the SAT and ACT The University of Chicago has become the most selective universityto drop both the ACT and SAT, the prestigious high-stakes college entry exams and used by, up to now, the nation’s top schools. Chicago said it was part of  its new Empower Initiative to assist low-income and first-generation students attending college. The school joins hundreds of others in a growing test-optional movement in an attempt to make a college degree more accessible as college becomes imperative for joining the work force.  Since standardized testing does not always best reveal college readiness, administrators are beginning to try other means to determine eligibility. (See Story 20). Princeton and Stanford have already eliminated the essay requirement but have been criticized for this because the essay is the only way to assess writing ability. Also, some are skeptical of the motivation for the shift in test requirements, arguing that it is merely a way to promote a school’s profile and raise the number of applications. And according to Andrew Flagel, senior vice president of students and enrollment at Brandeis University, students who do not submit scores are still at a disadvantage in the admissions process.  to the top

15    Will Restorative Justice Work for Sexual Assault Cases? A small but growing number of colleges and universities are exploring alternatives such as restorative justice to address cases of sexual misconduct. Restorative justice is a form of victim-offender mediation in which the offender is required to take responsibility for his or her actions. Proponents say that alternative resolution agreements reduce costs and are fairer to the accused. But critics say that asking a victim to “sit down with an assailant and work out an agreement is not only unrealistic … but possibly retraumatizing.” The Association of Governing Boards recommends that boards “review their institution’s sexual assault policies and consider how new Education Department regulations might affect those strategies.” To assist them, the AGB has released its Advisory Statement on Sexual Misconduct.  to the top

16    Unconventional Reality: Men as Minority  The US Department of Education is looking into Yale University and the University of Southern California for alleged anti-male discrimination. Both investigations were prompted by complaints filed by a USC male doctoral student, who argued that on-campus women’s groups and scholarships for women “feel unfair” since women are the majority on college campuses. Men currently make up 42 percent of college students and have been the minority on campus since 1980. The complaints tap into a concern by some white men, according to The Wall Street Journal, that they are “being left behind by affirmative action and other programs aimed at helping minorities and women.” Don’t tell that to the “toxic masculinity” crowd at U of Texas.  to the top

17  A New Push for College Completion  Many institutions of higher learning are being called on to reevaluate their course structure and how they track student success to ensure a higher level of retention. Among 600 four-year colleges, for example, less than a third of students graduated within six years. Yet there is no uniform method of monitoring students’ academic progress so that college counselors know when to intervene. To achieve the economic benefits of a college degree, which include the ability to pay back loans, schools must find methods of attaining a higher graduation rate. Georgia State University has successfully implemented data-driven systems, but other schools, like Lycoming College, still rely on faculty members, who have to signal the alarm about a student’s progress. Some have called for a federal system requiring schools to provide data on students’ success, and legislation has been proposed which would require colleges to collect student data for such a system. Though supporters of the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act argue that it is a crucial method of finding out how many students drop out and why, it has been opposed by many college groups, including the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. to the top

18    The Big Hack  While universities are facing the routine challenge of  integrating Chinese students on their campuses, it turns out there’s another concern: possible spying by the Chinese government, which has been accused of intellectual-property theft at American institutions. Moreover, US authorities found that China was responsible for hacking the CIA and Department of Defense computer systems. Universities say academic freedom is being jeopardized because of China’s interference activities. The Trump administration recently suggested banning Chinese nationals from studying at US colleges. But the move would negatively impact enrollment at universities, especially small and medium-sized institutions, since one-third of all foreign students are from China. The Trump administration has decided not to crack down on Chinese visas, but had the US continued the initiative, some argue that the global outreach of higher education would have been hindered. to the top

19    Students Support Due Process  According to a major study conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), 98 percent of college students say it is “very important or important” for students to have due process rights in campus disciplinary hearings. The vast majority (85 percent) also support the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” This falls to 80 percent in cases involving sexual misconduct. Nine University of Minnesota football players involved in a 2016 sexual misconduct investigation are suing the university for racial and gender discrimination. The lawsuit claims that the school “willfully and maliciously” turned the players into scapegoats and conducted a biased investigation that deprived them of due process and equal protection rights. All players involved are African-American. In a lawsuit against the University of Michigan, a federal appeals court has ruled that universities must allow cross-examination in sexual assault cases. This is a major victory for those who believe that institutions of higher learning have trampled the rights of students accused of sexual assault.

The Trump administration is wrapping up Title IX gender-discrimination complaints against colleges and universities, which generally involve alleged sexual assaults, much faster than Obama officials, federal data show. Between 2010 and 2016, the average length of an open case was 150 days. In 2017, when President Trump took office, cases remained open an average of 88 days. Cases opened in the first four months of this year were resolved within an average of 39 days.   to the top

PUBLIC TRUST

politics