University Business - July 2006 - (Page 60)

Higher Ed at the Crossroads ed has no uniform set of standards to govern quality. law, architecture, engineering, and others have external accrediting I heard a member of the Council for Higher Education Ac- bodies whose standards must be met. creditation say you couldn't measure quality because quality means All colleges and universities have a stake in ensuring that we something different at every institution and that's the purported maintain high standards and expectations for our students and fac- function of that organization, he says. But if you ask IBM, Micro- ulty and offer diverse academic programs, says Scott. Ultimately soft, and Boeing, who are all members of the commission, I don't the buyers the students, the parents understand that if a college think they are going to tell you that there are 4,000 definitions of isn't producing, why would a student go there? quality. I think they're going to say there are some pretty standard That's not to say that higher education doesn't have its share of definitions of quality, so let's work to meet those standards. problems, he says, but those problems can be addressed by presi- Ultimately, Stokes believes, the commission will reach a con- dents, trustees, and regional accreditors, without interference from sensus on common standards for quality, based on outputs and a centralized government office. student learning, rather than on inputs. There should be greater But not everyone agrees. The fundamental issue with accredi- transparency in the review process, and those reviews should be tation is that you have a self-review process, so the purported re- accessible to the public, Stokes says. They will become a tool sponsibility of accreditors is to guarantee quality on behalf of the for consumers to vet the relative attractiveness and productivity of institutions, the public, employers, and students, contends Peter varying institutions in which they are considering investing. Stokes, executive vice president of Eduventures www.eduventures. com , a research and consulting firm for the education market. Action Those outside the accrediting community believe that ac- W creditation really only serves institutions. It's like the fox watch- hatever the commission ultimately recommends, ing the henhouse: How can you expect an independent audit in it shouldn't take place without input from those a self-review or peer-review process? he says. If you really want to whom it matters most. Administrators should to safeguard the institutions, shouldn't there be more indepen- get politically involved and ask their students to dence in the accrediting review process? Should it be peopled ex- do the same, says EdFed's O'Dell. Young people are always the clusively with folks from within higher education, or should it driving force behind social change and it is ultimately in stu- include reviewers from outside higher education, such as corpo- dents' best interest. The universities are going to get their tuition rations that have a vested interest in the outcomes of the gradu- one way or another. But they should definitely encourage their ates of these institutions? That way they could foster a stronger students to stand up for it and protest it if need be. alignment between institutions and employers, and better align Shireman says educators and the public should write to the Sec- the curriculum with the real-world applied needs of the employer retary of Education and encourage the Department of Education within the community. to adopt the reforms that are beneficial to students and families. The problem, Stokes says, is that there isn't a standardized set Scott hopes the commission will look at and appreciate higher of criteria for measuring the multitude of education experiences education in a historical context as it makes its recommendations. available to students today. At one commission meeting, the chair- They have some wise and experienced people in that group, he man of Kaplan, Inc., said the online Concord Law School, which says. For more than 200 years, we've seen higher education as an Kaplan operates, can't be accredited because it doesn't have a physi- instrument for social, economic, and community development cal library. The American Bar Association, the accrediting body for and mobility. The connection between federal policy and higher law schools, requires them to have physical libraries. education as an investment in human talent to solve major public The question is, to what extent are the input measures have problems has served us well in the past, and it still can. I hope a library relevant to today's providers? And what does that have the commission looks at that history and asks, `What are the new to do with the outcomes anyway? Stokes asks. challenges that a partnership between Congress and higher edu- While accreditation has some ancillary benefits, he says, higher cation can address?' At the very time when some are saying we ought to move to a more centralized `ministry of higher education' model, other countries are moving toward our current model. It's counter-intuitive. Robert A. Scott, Adelphi University 60 | July 2006 universitybusiness.com HigherEd.indd 60 6/21/06 2:20:26 PM http://www.eduventures.com http://www.eduventures.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July 2006

Contents
College Index
Advisory Board
Company Index
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Stats Watcch
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Future Shock
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Diamond in the Mudd
Higher Ed at the Crossroads
Property Values
The President Next Door
Good Medicine
The Outs (and Ins) of Facility Management
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - July 2006