The Future of Higher Education : Rhetoric, Reality, and the Risks of the Market [Hardcover]

Frank Newman (Author), Lara Couturier (Author), Jamie Scurry (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787969729 | ISBN-13: 978-0787969721 | Publication Date: September 23, 2004 | Edition: 1

A powerful look at the risks inherent in the trend toward making higher education a market rather than a regulated public sector, The Future of Higher Education reveals the findings of an extensive four-year investigation into the major forces that are transforming our American system of higher education. The book explores the challenges of intensified competition among institutions, globalization of colleges and universities, the expansion of the new for-profit and virtual institutions, and the influence of technology on learning. This important resource offers college and university leaders and policy makers an analysis of the impact of these forces of change and includes suggestions for creating an effective higher education market as well as a call for a renewed focus on the public purposes of higher education.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Revealing findings from a thorough four-year examination…" (The Midwest Book Review; 12/1/2004)

Review

“This book can play a major role in redefining the role and nature of public universities in the ‘global knowledge society’ we have now entered. This is high priority reading for university leaders, government leaders, and anyone who cares about the future of higher education.”
--James J. Duderstadt, president emeritus, University Professor of Science and Engineering, the University of Michigan

“Books about the competitive, market-oriented nature of contemporary higher education are becoming common enough to constitute a new genre in both the scholarly and the popular literature on the topic. But this book is different and much richer than most. The authors begin with an analysis of the higher education market and of the perils of ignoring it. But they do not stop there. They caution us that the transition to a market-oriented system is inevitable. However, the current drift toward a market-oriented system, they argue, is dangerous for higher education itself and for the larger society. Instead of ignoring the market, higher education leaders need to work with political leaders to fashion a more thoughtful, workable market.”
--Clara M. Lovett, president, American Association for Higher Education

“Frank Newman and colleagues have done it again. Thirty years ago, he was the visionary who foretold the coming transformation of higher education and its policy implications via the now classic federal Newman Commission report. In this volume, he describes the profound changes the years ahead will bring to postsecondary education and the ways colleges and universities need to respond. This fresh and compelling volume is essential reading, a survival guide for all who work in higher education or care about its future.”
--Arthur Levine, president, Teachers College, Columbia University

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (September 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787969729
• ISBN-13: 978-0787969721
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #288,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for college professors and administrators, December 6, 2004

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of Higher Education : Rhetoric, Reality, and the Risks of the Market (Hardcover)

A collaborative effort by academics Frank Newman, Lara Couturier, and Jamie Scurry, The Future of Higher Education: Rhetoric, Reality and the Risks of the Market is a no-nonsense scrutiny of the risks inherent in making higher education a market rather than a regulated public sector institution. Revealing findings from a thorough four-year examination of the forces transforming the American system of higher education today, The Future of Higher Education covers intensified competition between institutions, globalization of colleges and universities, the increase of for-profit and virtual institutions, the growing influence of technology on learning and its methodologies, and much more. A critical account that suggests strategies for adapting to the new era without sacrificing the virtues of the old, The Future of Higher Education is especially recommended for college professors and administrators seeking to chart a successful future for themselves and their students.

9 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rarely have I loathed an "academic" book so vehemently, April 23, 2006

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A. Wakefield "Partial Observer" (Indian Fortress, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Future of Higher Education : Rhetoric, Reality, and the Risks of the Market (Hardcover)

First, I completely disagree with the major conclusions of this book, and frankly, even with its moral perspective. I find it to be a one-sided work of propoganda which takes the form of an apologetic for the homogenization of the intellectual professions. This work is a disgrace, highly misleading, and even dangerous if taken literally or adopted in whole as the correct perspective. Evidence presented is extremely selective and the interpretation is guided mainly by the authors' predetermined values. Forget about a balanced, multi-perspective book here. Aside from the dry academic tone of the title, it is anything but an 'objective' or multi-perspective book. Risks are glossed over and lamentable changes to the academic profession are encouraged to be taken as far as possible in this book. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing - a book pretending to be by and for academics, with an academic mindset; instead, it's a book by managers who, if they could, would devise standardized tests to determine the competence of professors. People who see homogenization as inevitable and even desirable. Not my kind of people. The most disturbing thing about this book is that it is sadly, correct and useful as a vision of where higher education may be headed, and it's a dystopian place. The state (and particularly, the powerful class that manages the state) does want to control universities very badly, and they are finding "subtle" ways to do it. This book offers a glimpse into some of the things they plan to do in order to end academic freedom while giving the public (and even some very misled academics) the illusion that academic freedom still exists.