Most people resist change. Most organizations resist change. The hard-working and deeply committed administrators and faculty of our colleges are not unique in seeking ways to make progress, while still preserving the status quo. The status quo, however, is already disintegrating. Higher education is facing a future that looks terrifyingly like the American tragedy known as our elementary and secondary schools.
The sky is indeed falling: Once No. 1 in college degrees held by 25- to 34-year-olds, by 2010 the United States was 12th among 36 developed nations. Graduation rates (except for the handful of students at our most selective institutions) lag; tuitions rise, while the unemployment rate is at record highs for recent college graduates. Imagine, $1-trillion in student debt—and then our graduates enter the worst job market in years. Meanwhile, Academically Adrift, a controversial but oft-quoted 2011 study by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, demonstrates that after four years, about a third of students have not significantly improved their writing, critical thinking, or analytical thinking.
