next »

[jonesey]

From Inside Higher Ed:

The Center for American Progress has impeccable credentials for the Obama era. In the same way that the right-leaning Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute had the attention of the Bush administration, the Center for American Progress, headed by the former Clinton confidante John Podesta, is the think tank for the current White House. Time magazine called the center "Obama's idea factory" after his election last year.

Which makes the center's new white paper on higher education all the more interesting -- and, perhaps, all the more concerning to some college leaders.

The document, "Putting the Customer First in College," calls on the U.S. Education Department to create an Office of Consumer Protection in Higher Education that would (1) pressure colleges to produce significantly better data on how well they serve students, (2) develop a system for making that data available for students to use in choosing a college, and (3) direct students unhappy with their colleges' educational practices to federal, state, or accrediting officials who can help them resolve their complaints.

"In most sectors of our economy, customer focus is paramount, as it should be in education, too," the author, Louis Soares, writes in the paper. "Customer focus could yield a more student-centric system through the development and dissemination of user-friendly 'truth-in-education' information that helps students make 'best-fit' choices regarding which education provider to select based on customer preferences such as: academic quality, price, convenience, learning style, beginning education level and the anticipated return on their investment in education."

I'm tired (like most of you) of all the "student = customer" attitude (especially from administrators), but this is a well thought out article (which, of course, makes it that much worse). 

I'm starting to feel like I'm on an island and the water is rising...

[mad_doctor]

This is so discouraging. 

I wonder if at some point the pendulum will swing back the other way?  How far must it swing to student = customer before the trends start moving back?  Will the trend-pendulum swing back at all, or will it just keep going until college = high school and stay there permanently?

I also wonder if some schools will see this as an opportunity to meet the market demand for a real education, and start rejecting the student = customer philosophy on their own?  Surely there are enough higher ed. people out there who see what's going wrong with the university system to staff a few hundred hundred universities that are willing to do things the right way?

[kedves]

It could be a way to get the word out about the low value of, say, University of Phoenix credits and courses.

[cgfunmathguy]

Jonesey, the proposal is only well-thought-out if you accept the premise that "student=customer". If you don't accept that premise, then the entire article is a bunch of hooey.

[jonesey]

Jonesey, the proposal is only well-thought-out if you accept the premise that "student=customer". If you don't accept that premise, then the entire article is a bunch of hooey.

I agree (and have never accepted the student=customer notion).  I supose it's not entirely surprising given the authors background in workforce development and training.  The problem is that these folks have the ear of Obama, so we'll see if Ed starts implementing any of their suggestions.

[svenc]

It's interesting to note that the entire report is actually just a six page memo, and isn't featured anywhere on CAP's front page.  

I am amazed not just at the strident adoption and promotion of the customer service model here from a supposedly progressive organization, but also that in the first paragraph of the memo the authors are so quick to dismiss the taxpayer's stake in public education:

The U.S. higher education marketplace is complex. It boasts multiple stakeholders, among
them taxpayers, parents, federal and state governments, colleges and universities and of
course the students. But there is only one real customer—the individual who chooses to
pursue an education.

[navydad]

Question: Is there a correlation between rising costs for higher education and acceptance of the view that students are customers?

[aandsdean]

Question: Is there a correlation between rising costs for higher education and acceptance of the view that students are customers?

Yes:

1.  Expensive residence halls w/attendant costs (a/c, for example)
2.  Expensive recreational facilities
3.  A wide array of (expensive) elective activities
4.  Expensive first-rate technology and support for it
5.  Expensive bandwidth
6.  Sports, especially at the D1 level
7.  Increased services in mental health, wellness, and co-curriculum
8.  Running course offerings for "convenience" of students (even traditional undergrads who are not all that constrained by external forces of work and family).  This leads to extra, often small, sections of courses to meet deman.
9.  Several other things that I'm sure I'll think of as soon as I hit "submit."

[daniel_von_flanagan]

It is there on their first page now.  It is not the first rather ignorant article I've seen by Louis Soares, who likes to make blanket statements as if there is evidence for it.  (In this one, I like the assertion that the status quo is there because traditional Universities have "the resources to sway elected officials".)

I am a minor but consistent contributor to CAP, but perhaps not this year. - DvF

[navydad]

Question: Is there a correlation between rising costs for higher education and acceptance of the view that students are customers?

One Answer:

Yes:

1.  Expensive residence halls w/attendant costs (a/c, for example)
2.  Expensive recreational facilities
3.  A wide array of (expensive) elective activities
4.  Expensive first-rate technology and support for it
5.  Expensive bandwidth
6.  Sports, especially at the D1 level
7.  Increased services in mental health, wellness, and co-curriculum
8.  Running course offerings for "convenience" of students (even traditional undergrads who are not all that constrained by external forces of work and family).  This leads to extra, often small, sections of courses to meet demand.
9.  Several other things that I'm sure I'll think of as soon as I hit "submit."


So if there is a correlation and we assume it is neither spurious nor caused by some third variable, then it seems to me that we have a positive feedback loop here.

Since it is highly unlikely that colleges will:

Shut down division 1 sports

Convert fancy rec centers into lecture halls and labs

Convert top notch residence halls into traditional dorms

Stop providing health, mental health, and career services

Lay off half of "administrative" staff

Shut down IT departments

Shut down Judicial Affairs and refer student discipline cases to academic deans

Etc.


How do we break the cycle?

[farm_boy]

Since when is "Left" synonymous with "consumerism?"

We need Gramsci.

[mad_doctor]

Since when is "Left" synonymous with "consumerism?"

We need Gramsci.

The source of the paper is a left-wing think-tank run by John Podesta.

[mad_doctor]

Since when is "Left" synonymous with "consumerism?"

We need Gramsci.

The source of the paper is a left-wing think-tank run by John Podesta.

It does seem odd that the left could support a policy that would do so much damage to the quality of our higher ed system.  Perhaps there's an ulterior motive for taking this position?

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Since when is "Left" synonymous with "consumerism?"

We need Gramsci.

The source of the paper is a left-wing think-tank run by John Podesta.

It does seem odd that the left could support a policy that would do so much damage to the quality of our higher ed system.  Perhaps there's an ulterior motive for taking this position?

The author's previous job was as director of a state office supporting small business and labor.  Many in this role have the idea that the primary role of state education is creating cogs for the industrial machine, and that the job of creating enlightened citizens (and management) should be left to the private schools.  Incidentally, his own educational background is pure Ivy League. - DvF

[mad_doctor]

The author's previous job was as director of a state office supporting small business and labor.  Many in this role have the idea that the primary role of state education is creating cogs for the industrial machine, and that the job of creating enlightened citizens (and management) should be left to the private schools.  Incidentally, his own educational background is pure Ivy League. - DvF

Ah, so they want low-nutrition McEducation for the masses, and enlightened Ivy education for the elites?