Higher Education?
How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids---and What We Can Do About It
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3.7 • 14 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
What's gone wrong at our colleges and universities—and how to get American higher education back on track
A quarter of a million dollars. It's the going tab for four years at most top-tier universities. Why does it cost so much and is it worth it?
Renowned sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus make an incisive case that the American way of higher education, now a $420 billion-per-year business, has lost sight of its primary mission: the education of young adults. Going behind the myths and mantras, they probe the true performance of the Ivy League, the baleful influence of tenure, an unhealthy reliance on part-time teachers, and the supersized bureaucracies which now have a life of their own.
As Hacker and Dreifus call for a thorough overhaul of a self-indulgent system, they take readers on a road trip from Princeton to Evergreen State to Florida Gulf Coast University, revealing those faculties and institutions that are getting it right and proving that teaching and learning can be achieved—and at a much more reasonable price.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hacker, author of Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal, and Dreifus, who teaches in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, scathingly discuss the current state of American colleges and universities and argue that tenure and sabbaticals are outdated institutions that cost too much and serve poorly. The authors also claim that the cost of some schools and programs (medicine; sports) far outweighs the gain; teaching is a low priority, they say, blaming administration, committees, and amenities for the spiraling costs of Bachelor's degrees. Though they fail to mention how employment trends might affects students' choices, they do provide some suggestions for cost-cutting: reduce sports and travel of teams, kill tenure and reduce sabbaticals and research, and make medical schools and research centers independent institutions. While some good ideas can be pulled from the polemic, readers will be left waiting for a cool-headed, logical examination of our major institutions of learning.
Customer Reviews
Rambling truth
It is no lie that there are issues with our edjukation system. This book did a great job at exploring the reason for these problems and explaining where our money is going. The book however is drawn out, and in some ways targeted at fellow staff and not the students or parents.
Good recommendation Colbert Bump!
Poorly written
The authors consistently use archaic vocabulary, and numerous typos throughout the book suggest a lack of editing. At times the authors seem to arbitrarily start new paragraphs mid-concept. There are numerous sentences and paragraphs that start with prepositions.
Here are a few sample sentences from the book:
"Through self-governance, the interests of one class of employees, the tenured professors, predominate."
"So, no matter how good your record--high SATs, editor of the newspaper--the odds are still against you." (this sentence might have made since if the paragraph had anything to do with news papers or editors....)
"These remarks rankled." (this was an opening sentence in a paragraph)
"...parents who in vested in Groton..."
"Still, there's a catchment of Americans--we won't hazard how many--who, above everything, want their children to be successful."
Great Read
Very easy to read, sharp points, and agreeable stand points. Definitely a must have for iPad readers.