Book review of "Higher education in America"

Abstract

Bok, Derek. (2013). Higher Education in America. Baltimore, MD: Princeton University Press. Pages: 496. Price: USD$35.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0- 691-15914-0 (printed); 978-1-400-84830-0 (ebook)Former Harvard President Derek Bok's latest book is an ambitious exercise in which he acknowledges the strengths of the American higher education system, while drawing attention to areas for improvement. The book puts forwards an agenda for that he indicates has to come from within HE institutions; academic leaders and faculty members, aided by accreditation bodies, need to take steps to collaboratively address the vulnerabilities that Bok identifies in institutions. Bok contests the general view that HE institutions are slow to change, noting institutions have risen to various challenges over the years such as adapting to demographic and technological changes, including the demands of society after World II and the advent of mass higher education. Bok cites vast array of U.S. research to support his arguments, presenting the reader with balanced view of each change item. According to Bok, the two key issues facing American PSE institutions are stagnated graduation rates over the past 30 years, resulting in other countries surpassing the US in HE attainment rates, and the need to improve the quality of undergraduate education. Both issues have implications for America's international competitiveness. The challenge in achieving these goals, notes Bok, is funding higher education for universal participation in the context of declining government revenues and household incomes and increasing tuition rates and student debt.First, meeting the federal government's goal of increasing graduation rates is challenging and sometimes impeded by state funding policies that cut funding by the amount of federal increases in student aid, thereby defeating the goal of decreasing costs to students, especially lower-income, in-state groups. He suggests online learning as possible way to decrease instructional costs. Bok contends that remedial instruction is mechanism for improving access and retention of students to comprehensive universities, community colleges, and private colleges, where many moderate and lower-income students already attend, noting that the increase in the HE attainment rate will have to come from this pool of students. Bok is not supportive of fundraising through so-called internationalization efforts via branch campuses abroad; instead, he optimistically suggests that funds generated abroad could be used to provide HE access for local students who cannot afford higher education in the branch campus countries. He also sounds warning note that opening branch campuses in countries that do not respect equality and human rights or where academic values are not respected will compromise the reputation of the universities back in America.Second, improving the quality of undergraduate education requires new vision and diverse solutions. Bok suggests the longstanding tripartite structure of the undergraduate curriculum (major, electives, and general education) needs to be revisited because it is built on a series of unexamined premises, implausible assertions, and unrealistic hopes (p. 175). Improving the quality of undergraduate education requires focus on increasing how much students learn by improving their critical thinking and analytical skills through curricula reform, revising instructional methods, and conducting continuous assessment of learning at the course, program, and faculty level. Bok cites research indicating that American professors seem to care more about their teaching responsibility than their counterparts in other advanced nations in Europe and Asia (p. 202) in order to argue that, presented with evidence of academic inadequacy, faculty members would indeed reform curricula. Additionally, he notes that the declining hours of study and grade inflation of undergraduate students is serious problem that needs to be addressed, but one that cannot be addressed by dropping standards. …