Full Description
American higher education is under unprecedented pressure, beginning with the public funding and student debt crises and extending to inadequate performance in student retention and growing global competition. Respected educator and scholar Peter N. Stearns breaks down the underlying problems, exploring the most contentious issues for university leaders and administrators today. Guiding the American University covers the major facets of university operation—administration, faculty, and students—and discusses what should be changed and what should be preserved. Covering major topics for debate and real problems facing American higher education today—including the tenure system, online learning, administrative bloat, and campus culture—this book is a critical resource for aspiring and current higher education administrators. Research-based and stemming from a range of case studies, this book's insightful and fresh recommendations serve as an important contribution to the conversation on the future of American higher education.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction: Crisis and Opportunity
Chapter 2: Universities on Trial
Chapter 3: Essential Strengths: from Defense to Offense?
Chapter 4: Shared Governance
Chapter 5: The Administration: "Dark Side" or Positive Force; or Both?
Chapter 6: The Faculty
Chapter 7: Students and Their Services
Chapter 8: Beyond the Campus: Regional and Global Roles
Chapter 9: Adding It Up: "The University of the 21st Century"
