2000 Conference: Selected Bibliography

Selected Bibliography on the topic of Emerging Issues for Higher Education

Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. (1999, April). Invitation to dialogue II: Proposed framework for a new model of accreditation. Alameda, CA: Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

This report follows up on Dialogue I: Principles to guide the development of new accrediting standards, which identified the challenges involved in designing a new model of accreditation. The proposed accreditation framework described in this report emphasizes issues of educational effectiveness, stressing that they be organized around core commitments. A 12-year sequential review cycle is recommended, including a "capacity review" at years 3-4, and an "educational review" at years 5-6. The Commission plans to produce and deliver to the Department of Education a Handbook of Accreditation detailing new accreditation standards by January, 2001; the proposed process and schedule for developing this handbook are outlined in this report.

American Council on Education. (1995). Educating Americans for a world in flux: Ten ground rules for inter-national higher education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

This document is the result of conversations among members of the ACE's Commission on International Education, and with other individuals and groups. Addressing multiple audiences, it calls for major changes in how colleges and universities educate their students about the rest of the world, with the goal of increased international competence. Ten "ground rules" frame a plan of action for increasing international programs and campuses. These ground rules include: requiring that all graduates demonstrate competence in at least one foreign language; revamping all curricula to reflect increased emphasis on understanding other cultures and global systems of various types; expanding international study and internship opportunities; focusing on faculty incentives for internationalized education efforts; making needed institutional-level re-organizations to facilitate these efforts; and joining forces with cooperating institutions at all levels of education, both locally and abroad.

Clark, B. R. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial universities: Organizational pathways of transformation. Issues in Higher Education series. Guildford, Surrey: IAU Press / Pergamon.

This text advocates that universities risking experimentation should be supported, in contrast to institutions content to maintain traditional form and content. The author reports on five European universities experimenting with entrepreneurial changes in their character. These programs implement various novel elements: central committees comprised of senior officers, faculty members, and lay members governing progress and monitor effectiveness; an emphasis on entrepreneurial spirit in teaching, research, decision-making, and administrative procedures; a University Management Group working in tandem with effective R&D outreach; use of a central controlling board through which all income flows; and a flexible decentralization of budgetary control which encourages departments to define their own means by which to achieve excellence. The author concludes that, given increased demand for entrepreneurial development, institutions of higher education will need to become more individualized.

Clark, B. R. (1997, May/June). The modern integration of research activities with teaching and learning. Journal of Higher Education, 68(3), 241-255.

This article considers the relationship between research and teaching in modern higher education, particularly the assumed oppositional nature of the relationship. A more effective relationship is proposed, in which research, teaching, and learning are closely linked under the umbrella of "inquiry." Inquiry is posited as both the means of teaching, and the way that students learn. Institutions of higher education must define themselves under this model primarily as places of inquiry. The envisioned research-teaching-study nexus highlights a fusion of these activities, with research proposed as the binding force. It is noted this model could also be applied effectively to K-12 learning.

Finn Jr., C. E. (1998, January 9). Today's academic market requires a new taxonomy of colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, B4-B5.

This article recommends replacing the Carnegie classifications with a new taxonomy for colleges. Rather than distinguish between research, comprehensive, liberal arts universities and community colleges, Finn proposes three categories: brand-name, mass-provider, and convenience institutions. Brand-names are selective, high-status institutions emphasizing faculty publications and primarily serving full-time students from traditional age groups. Mass-providers are less prestigious and enroll students of all ages, educational backgrounds, and career aspirations. Convenience institutions include most community colleges and technical institutes, and "virtual" universities.

Handy, C. (1998). A proper education. Change, 30(5), 13-19.

According to this article, colleges and universities train students to deal with closed, not open-ended problems and also to work individually rather than with a diverse group of colleagues. However, work outside academe requires a different set of attitudes and behaviors. Educational institutions must change to help students take responsibility for their lives, for their beliefs about the world, and for the others with whom they work or live or meet, as well as cultivate their imaginations. This article notes the importance of self-discovery, the deception of competition, and the value of reflection.

Hooker, M. (1997). The transformation of higher education. In D. Oblinger & S. C. Rush (Eds.), The learning revolution: The challenge of information technology in the academy (pp. 20-34). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.

The text posits that unless public universities take the information and management revolutions seriously, addressing the reallocation of taxpayer dollars, they will not retain current levels of autonomy. It suggests that educational institutions must manage internal resources differently and fund new priorities by reallocating dollars from programs of lower priority. Additionally, the article proposes that to break the paralysis of their inherited administrative structure, universities must re-examine traditional habits that no longer make sense in the information age. Finally the article claims that academe is at risk if nontraditional providers claim a large share of the market for undergraduate education, yet it is also at risk if so much focus is placed on preparing students to live in a knowledge-based economy that little is invested in enabling them to live meaningful lives.

Schon, D. A. (1995). The new scholarship requires a new epistemology. Change, 27(6), 27-45.

The author of this article argues that the new norms of scholarship championed by Ernest Boyer in "Scholarship Reconsidered" conflict with the norms of technical rationality, the fundamental epistemology of research universities, such that they cannot gain legitimacy in institutions exclusively dedicated to technical rationality. The new forms of scholarship imply action research, and new institutional epistemology must allow for the practitioner's reflection and action. An illustration of this kind of research is included with the epistemological, institutional, and political issues it raises.

Siegfried, J. J., Getz, M., & Anderson, K. H. (1995, May 19). The snail's pace of innovation in higher education. Chronicle of Higher Education, A56.

The article describes a study which revealed that universities adopt innovations very slowly. The average time between adoption of an innovation by the first institution and its adoption by half of the rest of the institutions was more than 25 years. Additionally, adoption seemed to occur almost randomly. The article concludes that to stimulate productivity, governing boards need to explicitly encourage institutions to be more progressive.

Triggle, D. J. (1997). The future ain't what it used to be, or the university as the Donner party. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 4, 207-213.

This article addresses issues facing higher education, summarized under the following broad headings: public and political challenges, issues outside academia, the impact of change on the university, and problems and solutions. A recent emphasis on increased efficiency in higher education is noted, along with the implication that faculty are not sufficiently productive, that degrees take too long to complete, and that higher education comes at too high a cost given the service/product received. The assumptions of academic professionals of the 1950's-1970's (e.g., that research is the dominant professional endeavor) are now mistaken, given the current economy; change in the face of these assumptions will be difficult. The author believes, however, that reshaping American higher education is both inevitable and desirable.

Wilbur, F. P., & Lambert, L. M. (1991). Linking America's schools and colleges: Guide to partnerships & national directory. Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.

This text provides over 300 summaries of joint-venture programs between secondary and post-secondary schools. The overall purpose of partnership programs is to improve the chances for "at risk" students to graduate from high school and to have a successful college experience This book has four main parts: programs and services for students; programs and services for educators; coordination, development, and assessment of curriculum and instruction; and programs to mobilize, direct, and promote sharing of educational resources.