There is an Alice-in-Wonderland quality to the arguments being used against the proprietary sector in recent weeks. As a founding president of a community college and a state university, I was especially disappointed to see the litany of arguments against for profit higher education paraded out in a recent article in the Huffington Post by Dr. Gail Mellow. Dr. Mellow is a strong leader and a fine president. But these arguments are infused with bias as well as being flat inaccurate. continue reading

Last sunday’s New York Times “News of the Week in Review” had an article by Jacques Steinberg entitled “Plan B:Skip College”. He is reporting on a fairly short list of people, including Charles Murray, who are serious about capping postsecondary education opportunity for currently marginalized people — read poor and/or of color. I am always impressed when people who have a privilege, like a college education and degree, argue that those without that privilege really don’t need it. continue reading

I have been the founding president of both a community college and a state university. And in both cases, we (me, my co-workers, and the pioneering students at these schools) were subjected to the public skepticism that comes with making change.

·         It was a “waste of money”.

·         The colleges were “low quality”.

·         The learners were “not qualified to go to school.” 

This was, pure and simple, elitism masquerading as a concern for academic quality and fiscal restraint. But the naysayers were wrong. Today both institutions, and many others like them, are recognized as significant contributors to the social, civic, and economic health of their communities.  

As higher education’s private sector, flooded by hundreds of thousands of unemployed and under-employed Americans, steps up to help meet the President Obama’s educational goals, however, the naysayers are at it again, trying to scare people about the changes that are happening. Consider the recent Frontline story. If the dominant perspective lying behind this story were to prevail, the consequences would include:

·         the re-marginalization of hundreds of thousands American students,

·         the loss of a vital source of trained workers and more engaged citizens,

·         and the elimination of hundreds of thousands of jobs just when we need them the most.

But it won’t happen because, when the accurate story is told, including the contributions and the shortcomings of all higher education, including the private sector, common sense will dictate that we fix the problems and hold on to the successes. That’s the only hope we have of meeting the President’s graduation goals.

I, for one, believe that the “shock and dismay” exhibited by some about debt burdens and graduation rates is purposely slanted in an attempt to gain philosophical advantage in a political fight. Excessive debt and loan defaults are very serious problems. But, consider the following.

1.       The only way to meet President Obama’s goals is to succeed where we are currently failing, with millions of high-risk students.

·         In recessions, unemployed and underemployed people go back to school. So, millions of people have returned to school in the last three years. Most of them are, by definition, high-risk both academically and financially. 

·         At the same time, the President wants to dramatically increase college attainment. But the only way to do that is to reach out to those who have not been successful in college historically, people who are currently marginalized. They are, by definition, high-risk both academically and financially.

·         Conclusion:  the people going back to school in a recessionary environment are the newcomers the President wants us to serve.

2.       Low price public colleges are essential in the educational network, but private sector colleges have a significant contribution to make as well.

·         Public colleges receive public subsidies thus driving down their price to learners. This is a positive social benefit. But because of the recession and other constraints, most public colleges are overflowing with students and turning people away. In California alone it is estimated that more than 150,000 current students in community colleges who are nearing graduation will not get the courses they need to graduate this year.

·          Even in good economic times, the private sector’s nimbleness and service-orientation attract students who choose to pay a higher tuition because of the other services and personal attention they receive.

·         Where are these students, and the others who cannot be admitted to the state universities and community colleges, going to go? Or are we supposed to sit by and watch the “remarginalization” of hundreds of thousands of aspiring learners?

·         Conclusion: There is a huge access problem in the traditional sector.

3.       Private sector colleges are part of the solution.

·         Private sector colleges live by their tuition. Absent the huge state taxpayer subsidies received by traditional schools, they are higher cost to the students. 

·         Private sector colleges are attracting the very people who the president has targeted.

·         The Gates Foundation understands the importance of this role

·         Lumina Foundation understands the importance of this role

·         Many members of the Department of Education understand the importance of this role.

·         Conclusion: private sector colleges have the nimbleness, the quality, and the flexibility to step up and help with this critical national objective.

And that raises the point we should be focusing on. All of higher education – the private sector, community colleges, state colleges and universities, and private non-profit colleges – need to do a better job:

·         Of graduating the students who enroll.

·         Of advising students about the financial and economic consequences of the educational choices they make.

·         Of finding ways to pass more money through to reduced costs to the students, not to our bottom lines.

·         And, for obvious reasons, those of us who enroll the highest numbers of at-risk students - community colleges. Private sector institutions, and state colleges and universities - have the farthest to go.

Tainting the entire private sector with scary stories, however, while implying that the non-profit sector does a better job with the same students, is simply not accurate, by the numbers. This demonization is bad economics, bad education, and encourages an America with less educational and economic opportunity, just when we need more.

Conclusion: We are all in this fight for educational opportunity together. Let’s act that way.

Even as the recession eases, we are confronted by two realities: state budgets that are deeply in the red and a rising demand for higher education. The President says we need more success in higher education to stay economically viable. and learners are voting with their feet, returning to school in record numbers.  If, however, our objective is to open higher education to more qualified and capable people, and to succeed with them, what is the actual impact of the recession and state budget deficits on most students and colleges? continue reading

I am excited and pleased today because I am holding my new book, Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning (Jossey-Bass, Jan. 2010), in my hands. It lives up to its title, I think, describing how our technology-rich environment, populated with platforms, networks, social sites, and downloads, makes possible a level of access and completion in higher education that has been unattainable up to this point. I illustrate this point with a number of examples. Primary among them is being able to self-assess your experiential learning and then, if you wish, get it reviewed formally for academic credit , all on-line. continue reading

As a former community college founder and president, I share Jill Biden’s passionate advocacy for community college students and the institutions that serve them. If we are committed to successfully serving marginalized learners, doubling our graduation rates, and strengthening our workforce, community colleges are an essential part of the solution. continue reading

President Obama has sent a strong and badly needed message of philosophical and financial support for community colleges. But they, and their students, are still in deep financial trouble in many states whose economic recovery is key to the national economic recovery, including California and Florida. continue reading

On April 24th, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan deepened the administration’s attempt to spend student loan money more effectively while increasing student persistence in higher education. Right now, the debate is focused on the lending institutions and the best way to get money to learners. continue reading

A co-worker recently shared with me this YouTube video:

Maybe you’ve already seen this clip (more than 3.8 million folks have viewed it … I admit to being a bit behind the times, technologically speaking). If you haven’t, then I encourage you to check it out. continue reading

I am officially depressed about the economy. What finally did me in was this triple whammy of bad news:

• The Dow Jones industrial average fell below 7,000 for the first time since 1997.
• The unemployment rate rose to 8.1%, the highest since 1983.
• Even Warren Buffett had a bad year, with Berkshire Hathaway’s net worth declining by $11.5 billion in 2008. (Here’s the link for Mr. Buffett’s always entertaining annual shareholders letter. I particularly like the way he summed up last year: “By yearend, investors of all stripes were bloodied and confused, much as if they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game.” Quite the visual, huh?) **

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