Lots of Action (or, at least news) About Student Loans
How to Cut Ph.D. Time to Degree
Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed writes, in the context of a focus on time-to-degree lately, about a Harvard program to shorten time-to-Ph.D.: A series of new policies in the humanities and the social sciences at Harvard University are premised on the idea that professors need the ticking clock, too. For the last two years, the university has announced that for every five graduate students in years eight or higher of a Ph.D. program, the department would lose one admissions slot for a new doctoral student. The results were immediate: In numerous departments that had for years had large clusters of Ph.D. students taking eight or more years to finish, professors reached out to students and doctorates were completed. No exceptions were made, and Harvard officials believe that their shift shows that there is no reason for a decade-long humanities Ph.D. ***
Harvard’s new approach also includes other features, such as full financing for a year of dissertation writing, and a rule that students in the dissertation writing year cannot be assigned or accept teaching assistant positions. But Skocpol said that she believes the potential lost admissions slot is key. And at a time that many groups are focusing on time-to-degree issues, the fact that this was a policy change and not just another instance of Harvard spending some of its billions may make the shift something others could follow.
Let the ‘Starchitects’ Work All the Angles
Writing in The New York Times, Nicolai Ouroussoff notes that he perceives that the term "starchitect" has become "an object of ridicule": Often the attacks are a rehash of the old clichés. Cost overruns and leaky roofs are held up as evidence of yet another egomaniacal artist with little concern for the needs of us, the little people. (As a rule, if a roof leaks in a Frank Gehry building it’s headline news; if the building was designed by a hack commercial architect, the leak is ignored, at least as news.) John Silber, the former president of Boston University, has gotten into the game with “Architecture of the Absurd,” a glib little book that eviscerates contemporary architects for the extravagance of their designs. The more serious criticism comes from those inside the profession who see a move into the mainstream as a sellout. The pact between high architects and developers, to them, is a Faustian bargain in which the architect is nothing more than a marketing tool, there to provide a cultural veneer for the big, bad developers whose only interest is in wringing as much profit as possible from their projects.
So How Do We Get to Berkeley? Spend Big on SUNY, Panel Says
Karen W. Arenson, writing in The New York Times about an early copy of a report of the New York State Commission on Higher Education, says that the report calls for an additional 2,000 faculty in the SUNY System, as well as a $3B "innovation fund for research grants in fields that can fuel economic development." May require registration and log-in for access. This report, which we will link to in the SCUP Links Blog as soon as it is public, may be the biggest statement yet of a future that relies on universities and colleges as major economic forces. Here is a link to the commission's website, where PDFs of much of the public testimony are available. Robert G. Shibley, a Buffalo architecture and planning professor who is advising the president, described the Amherst campus as “a monument to blank walls” and said, “Building soul back into the campus is a major mission of mine.”All this takes money. Dr. Simpson’s plan for growth does not carry dollar amounts. But a memorandum for the governor’s office said that implementing the blueprint over 13 years would require a one-time investment of $1.6 billion for new faculty members, new residence halls and other capital improvements, and infusions of $226 million a year for additional faculty members. Mr. Constantine said that the numbers may seem large if seen as only for higher education, but that they are “more realistic” if also viewed as investments in economic development, work force development, urban revitalization and the future of western New York. Labels: economic development, SUNY, university system
Got Questions About Green Buildings? Go to Harvard!
How Should We Be Thinking About Urbanization? A Freakonomics Quorum
A benchmark was passed in 2007: Now, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas. Enjoy this thought-provoking exchange from The New York Times: We gathered a quorum of smart thinkers on this subject — James Howard Kunstler, Edward Glaeser, Robert Bruegmann, Dolores Hayden, and Alan Berube — and posed to them the following questions: This year marked the first time in human history that more people lived in cities than in rural areas. What problems and opportunities does this present? What effects has it had on our local and global culture? Economy? Health?
Thanks to all of them for participating. I found their answers extremely interesting, ranging from the apocalyptic (Kunstler, natch) to the appreciative (Glaeser). It is not fair that Glaeser is so smart and also writes so well. Consider this beautiful kicker to Glaeser’s piece: “Humans are a social species, and our greatest achievements are all collaborative. Cities are machines for making collaboration easier. Thus, I am delighted that our planet has become increasingly urban.”
Civic Engagement at Research Universities
A new report from Campus Compact and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University conveys that "research universities' exceptional faculty, students, financial resources, and research facilities position them to contribute to community change relatively quickly and in ways that will ensure deeper and longer-lasting commitment to civic engagement across higher education." The group's rationale and recommendations are contained in its first report, New Times Demand New Scholarship: Research Universities and Civic Engagement — A Leadership Agenda  2.8MB, published by Tufts University in 2006. In 2007 the group expanded, creating a research universities and civic engagement network, and convened for a second meeting at the University of California, Los Angeles, to further the conversation. The newly formed network's second report, New Times Demand New Scholarship II: Research Universities and Civic Engagement — Opportunities and Challenges  3.8MB, focuses on opportunities and challenges in four areas critical to expanding and institutionalizing civic engagement within research universities: - Engaged scholarship (research in any field that partners university scholarly resources with those in the public and private sectors to enrich knowledge, address and help solve critical societal issues, and contribute to the public good).
- Scholarship focused on civic and community engagement (research focused on civic participation in public life, including participation by engaged scholars, and on the impact of this work on all constituencies).
- Educating students for civic and community engagement (what students need to know and be able to do as active, effective citizens of a diverse democracy).
- Advancing civic engagement within and across research universities (challenges to and effective strategies for institutionalizing civic engagement within a research university context).
This second report also includes models from a range of participating research universities. Other institutions are invited to add their own models for dissemination via this website. Please see the report for more information. If you have a model you'd like share, please e-mail it to the web master in Word, text, or pdf format.
On College Costs, Be Careful What You Wish For
China to Replace US as Global Higher Education Top Superpower?
Here's a BBC article from Mike Baker, who believes that current trends indicate that China will knock the US out of the global higher education top "superpower" spot: Consider some of the facts. China is now the largest higher education system in the world: it awards more university degrees than the US and India combined. Of course, this is partly a matter of the sheer size of its population. But it is not just that. The rate of university expansion has been beyond anything anyone in the West can easily imagine. University enrolments in China have reportedly risen from under 10% of young people in 1999 to over 21% in 2006, a phenomenally fast expansion. And here is a collection of PowerPoint presentations from the 2nd International Conference in World-Class Universities (Shanghai), which we believe is the conference that Baker is referencing in his article.
The Military and Higher Education
Just Add Cash: The Great Expanding American University
This brief article from The Economist notes the ongoing capital expansion of universities: In 2006 a Standard & Poor's report described the university construction boom as an “arms race”—implying that it was expensive and ultimately tangential to their educational mission. Indeed, Daniel Greenberg, a Washington journalist, has argued that universities are overbuilding, and are ending up with underused lab space as the NIH budget flattens out. Meanwhile, according to the Department of Education, the average annual cost of a standard four-year course at an American university has trebled since the 1985-86 school year. Ohio University increased its tuition fees by 2% to pay for its student centre, which contains a 250-seat theatre, a food court and a five-storey atrium. In addition, universities are increasingly being forced to rely on debt. The article cites the 2007 College Planning & Management Construction Report (PDF), related data at the National Center for Education Statistics 2006 Digest, and a 2005 National Science Foundation report on university research space.
Buildings & Grounds Blog Update
Noting first that you may enter new building projects into the Chronicle's database (upper right-hand corner on this page) at any time, we'll share with you a representative sample of some of the more recent posts on The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Buildings & Grounds" Blog: And, there's more, of course.
Deconstructing Faculty Work
One commenter labeled this article in Inside Higher Ed by John V. Lombardi, a "smart and chilling piece": This transformation is still in process, elite private liberal arts colleges feel it the least while mid to lower level public and private institutions feel it the most. Major research universities experience all of this to one degree or another simply because they are large and complex and the deconstructed faculty member is often the most effective individual for a particular purpose. The continuing development of accountability metrics that attempt to measure exactly what each faculty member does in research, or teaching, or service and how those activities produce particular measurable outcomes will accelerate the deconstruction of the faculty. While we will surely never completely lose the role of those tenured full-time faculty who constitute the permanent core of significant academic institutions, the demand for high levels of student access, high productivity demonstrated through measurable output, and low cost will drive more and more institutions to reduce the tenured core to a minimum and increase the deconstructed elements of faculty work to the maximum.
Leadership for the Long Haul: Develop Your High-Performing Staff
This article is by Apryl Motley, from Business Officer: Institutions in Florida, Iowa, and Georgia, for example, are home to future-focused initiatives. The goal: to promote internal leadership development on their campuses by investing resources in formalized programs for staff and faculty. Faculty and employees at Daytona Beach Community College, Florida, have been able to take advantage of participation in its Leadership Development Institute for the past five years. Similarly, at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, attention to the business value behind leadership development led to the launch of UI LEAD (leadership education, assessment, and development), a comprehensive leadership competency program for faculty and staff. Earlier this year, Emory University, Atlanta, enrolled its second class of participants in Excellence Through Leadership. Here’s a closer look at the three programs and at the visions, processes, and lessons that they bring to shaping campus leadership that lasts.
Must-Read (Or Scan): 56 Smart Business Ideas
There is something for everyone in this compilation, which is divided up into enough categories that there are some which will be meaningful for every SCUPer. When University Business editors interview senior higher ed administrators, one of the questions we like to ask is, "What was your smartest business decision?" Over the years that question has yielded a wide range of responses, from the seemingly trivial (such as not delivering junk mail to campus mailboxes) to the far-reaching (energy studies to maximize facility use). What follows are 30 Smart Business Ideas culled from conversations with higher ed leaders that can easily be adopted at most any institution. You'll find 26 more suggestions in the online version of this article here. And if you'd like to submit your institution's own smart business idea, drop us a line at editorial@universitybusiness.com, with "Smart Business Idea" as the subject line.
Campus-Based Hospitality (think exec ed, conferences) Centers
Another excellent, insightful article by Alana Klein, from University Business. She provides a variety of examples of centers that are residential, or not, and that are executive or student-based: There are a few key points to consider when planning conference center facilities. Before breaking ground, campus leaders must ask themselves two critical questions about the facilities, says Debra Lein, a vice president at Sodexho Conferencing, the management company that runs the inn and conference center at DePauw University (Ind.). "Do they need to make a profit? Or can they be a subsidized operation that will bring other benefits to the school?" In other words, "What do they want to be when they grow up?" If a conference center does want to make a profit or break even, the way it's designed and marketed matters. "If you market it externally, you then have to compete with other centers in the marketplace and price your services competitively," Lein says.
Commons 2.0: Library Spaces Designed for Collaborative Learning
This article is from EDUCAUSE Review and written by Brian Sinclair: The information commons is a natural extension of the library's traditional mission in a wired world. The information commons itself must adapt and evolve to meet changing expectations and technological capabilities. How well do these environments currently support social learning and promote collaborative work? To what extent do they employ flexible design and take advantage of wireless technology? Do they encourage creativity and discovery and inspire users? Do they offer services and features that students don't already have in campus residence halls and computer labs? The "Commons 2.0" brings together a wide range of elements to foster student learning in new and creative ways. The author further links to three additional, potentially useful references: 1. For images of Googleplex workspaces, see J. Chang, "Behind the Glass Curtain," Metropolis, June 19, 2006, http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=2123 (retrieved July 27, 2007). 2. N. Van Note Chism, "Challenging Traditional Assumptions and Rethinking Learning Spaces," in Learning Spaces, D. G. Oblinger, ed. (Boulder, Colo.: EDUCAUSE, 2006), p. 2.7, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB7102b.pdf. 3. M. Brown and P. Long, "Trends in Learning Space Design," in Learning Spaces, D. G. Oblinger, ed. (Boulder, Colo.: EDUCAUSE, 2006), p. 9.1–9.2, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/PUB7102i.pdf.
2007 Global Education Digest
 This 208-page annual report, free PDF download, contains numerous potentially useful statistics. The quote is from the Scout Report, where we found the link: The UNESCO Institute for Statistics publishes numerous technical guides and strategy papers every year, and this particular document is both timely and important. The Global Education Digest 2007 offers a comparative look at education statistics and spending across the world, and there are a number of findings that are particularly revealing within its pages. One such finding is that governments in sub-Saharan African spend only 2.4% of the world's public education resources, yet about 15% of the school-age population lives in these countries. Readers can compare education statistics from over 200 countries, and the report also contains a number of useful appendices with additional data. Currently, the report is available in English, French, and Spanish, and soon it will also be available in Arabic and Russian. [KMG] Copyright 2007 Internet Scout Project - http://scout.wisc.edu
Sustainability for Arizona: The Issue of Our Age
 This 84-page report - which includes a special contribution by Arizona State University president Michael M. Crow, a presenter on the next SCUP/New York Times Knowledge Network webcast on December 12 - is self-described in this way: The 6th edition of Arizona Policy Choices, Sustainability for Arizona describes sustainability as a defining issue and organizing principle for the 21st century. The report provides real-life examples of sustainability in practice as well as advice and insights of 28 policy leaders and thinkers from the public and private sectors. With essays from civic leaders, ranchers, developers, educators, business leaders, scholars, and others, the topics span a range that includes water resources, education, historic preservation, innovation, health care, green building, and urban planning. It is interesting to see generic sustainability issues juxtaposed with the very specific regional and climate challenges Arizona faces as a habitat that is only useable by large numbers of humans with complicated mitigating technology like air conditioning and long-distance water transportation. The report is available for free as a PDF, in whole or in parts. There is a method to request a printed copy.
New Book - The Formation of Scholars: Rethinking Doctoral Education for the Twenty-First Century
Recommended reading: Scott Jaschik, in Inside Higher Ed, reports on a new book, The Formation of Scholars: Rethinking Doctoral Education for the Twenty-First Century, which can be purchased here.Qualifying exams: Given that departments could develop shared visions on such issues, why don’t they? The surveys and interviews conducted for the study found that it’s largely a matter of conflict avoidance. Professors know that they don’t all agree, and consider it preferable to ignore those disagreements (even if that leaves graduate students hanging) than to actually talk about them. “The greatest obstacle to serious, substantive deliberation about purpose, as a number of department leaders told us, is that some differences are better not discussed,” the book says. “Not talking about purposes, that is, helps maintain a precarious peace.” Dissertations: Here again, it finds dissatisfaction among both Ph.D. students and the professors who lead their committees. “Standards by which dissertations are judged are unclear to students, and faculty members complain privately that poorly written, poorly conceptualized, and poorly executed dissertations are often passed to appease a colleague or to simply get a student out the door.” Apprenticeship relationship: The current system works well sometimes, the book says, but only sometimes. “When the relationship is bad, it can be horrid,” the book says. “At its worst, it has contributed to murder and suicide, but more common problems are student attrition and the demise of passion and love for the field.” Other problems include the system’s emphasis on the “reproductive model of mentoring,” in which students learn how one scholar thinks more than how to think for themselves.
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