On Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 2:08 PM, William Conger <[email protected]>wrote:
> --- On Thu, 3/19/09, Chris Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The failing auto industry makes such a easy target, but how > > is his educational > > industry any different ? > "Moi?" My educational industry? I am not the CEO of any educational > indusrtry. I do, however, have deep experience and informed opinions > regarding higher education, especially at the research and graduate levels. > And there are many different kinds of education to consider at all levels. > They are not like the auto industry; they are not industry. According to the following: - ...An industrial, profit-oriented logic in higher education has turned universities into purveyors of commodities within a knowledge supermarket"...No longer perceived as a social institution closely aligned with societys values and priorities, higher education has become an industry at the mercy of the marketplace. Even those taxpayers who acknowledge the continuing value of higher education in a knowledge-intensive world resist bearing its true costs in the face of limited resources and other social priorities. Education is increasingly viewed as a private good to be paid for by those who benefit most directlythe student-as-consumer. While universities with established reputations may be able to attract sufficient students and resources to sustain quality programs (e.g. Wolverton and Penley, 2004), this situation will merely isolate those few institutions from the ongoing restructuring efforts in the higher education enterprise. http://mlq.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/38/4/405.pdf
