Just in case anybody does not know what I
am talking about, this is not a reference to student
evaluations, which I fully support, even though they
can be misused. These are exactly the kinds of
things that Ann refers to, usually coming down from
the state level so that legislators, usually Repug, can
prattle on about "accountability."
On our campus the assessment drones not only
demand the imposition of special exams to evaluate
courses, they even intervene in what will be taught in
courses. If it cannot be "assessed" using their methods,
then it cannot be taught. I am not kidding. And this
garbage is going on at a lot of other institutions across
the country.
Barkley Rosser
-----Original Message-----
From: ann li <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Monday, March 05, 2001 11:35 PM
Subject: [PEN-L:8714] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: farewell to academe
>I completely agree with that. At my last job, the new "performance
outcomes"
>plans that mimic business examples and were handed down by state
system-wide
>administration were driven by a move to a (more) Republican appointed Board
>of Regents and made a shambles of an already incompetent strategic planning
>process.
>
>Ann
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "J. Barkley Rosser, Jr." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Sent: Monday, March 05, 2001 8:32 PM
>Subject: [PEN-L:8700] Re: Re: Re: Re: farewell to academe
>
>
>> Doug,
>> A curious aspect of this is that the drive to
>> "assessment," a recent and truly appalling fad
>> among academic administrators, is much worse
>> in public universities than among private. It is
>> ironic that the private ones may actually be at
>> least slightly more immune to some of the worst
>> of these pressures than the public ones, where
>> every right wing jackass thinks he has the right
>> to tell us what we should be doing.
>> Thus, our asshole of a governor pays off the
>> Christian Right by appointing people to the Board
>> of Visitors who think they can fool with the curriculum.
>> No courses on gay and lesbian literature, naughty children.
>> BTW, along with pay, hiring, and travel, another thing
>> frozen here by our ambitious governor ("Look at me, Dubya!"),
>> is construction. On top of that he has cut contributions to
>> our retirement funds. We are looking at outright nominal
>> pay decreases, and there is not even a recession going on,
>> unless you listen too hard to Dubya.
>> Barkley Rosser
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Date: Monday, March 05, 2001 7:14 PM
>> Subject: [PEN-L:8686] Re: Re: Re: farewell to academe
>>
>>
>> >Christian Gregory wrote:
>> >
>> >>What is different about the most recent phase of university
>> corporatization
>> >>is its willingness to reduce everything to the market's stupidest forms
>of
>> >>calculation
>> >
>> >Seems to me that the American university, as it evolved from the late
>> >19th century until about 20 years ago, was characterized by a partial
>> >autonomy from what Keynes called the Benthamite contraption; sure
>> >professors were ultimately in the pay of the bourgeoisie and operated
>> >within the strictures of bourgeois discourse, but there were several
>> >layers between the prof and the boss's accountants. Now you've got
>> >people trying to measure teacher productivity.
>> >
>> >Doug
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
