This work analyses how political economic shifts contribute to competition within higher education systems in the US, EU, and Canada. The authors highlight competition for prestige and public and private subsidies, exploring the consequences of these processes through theoretical and empirical analyses. Accordingly, the work highlights topics that will be of interest to a wide range of audiences. Concepts addressed include stratification, privatization of formerly public subsidies, preference for “high tech” academic fields, and the vocationalization of the curriculum (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: [STEM] fields, selected professions, and business) rather than the liberal arts or the Humboldtian vision of the university. Across national contexts and analytic methods, authors analyze the growth of national policies that see universities as a sub set of economic development, casting universities as corporate research laboratories and education as central to job creation. Throughout the volume, the authors make the case that national and regional approaches to politics and markets result in different experiences of consequences of academic capitalism. While these shifts serve the interests of some institutions, others find themselves struggling to meet ever-greater expectations with stagnant or shrinking resource bases.

Unequal Higher Education identifies and explains the sources of stratification that differentiate colleges and universities in the U.S. Taylor and Cantwell map the contours of this system, identifying which higher education institutions occupy which status positions at any given point in time, and explain the factors that support and extend this system of unequal higher education.

Explores the current context, role, and challenges of post-secondary education and presents options for promising pathways forward. The post-secondary educational system has undergone dramatic changes and experienced immense stress in the past two decades. Once regarded as the logical next step toward career opportunities and financial security, higher education is a subject of growing uncertainty for millions of people across the United States. It is more common than ever to question the return on investment, skyrocketing cost, and student debt burden of going to college. Prospective students, and many employers, increasingly view attending institutions of higher learning as inadequate preparation for entering the 21st century workforce. High-profile scandals—financial impropriety, sexual abuse, restrictions of free speech, among others—have further eroded public trust. In response to these and other challenges, leading voices are demanding strengthened accountability and measurable change. Higher Education's Road to Relevance illustrates why change is needed in post-secondary education and offers practical solutions to pressing concerns. The authors, internationally recognized experts in college-level teaching and learning innovation, draw heavily from contemporary research to provide an integrative approach for post-secondary faculty, staff, and administrators of all levels. This timely book helps readers identify the need for leadership in developing new networks and ecosystems of learning and workforce development. This valuable book will help readers: Understand the forces driving change in higher education Develop multiple pathways to create and credential self-directed learners Promote access to flexible, cost-effective, and relevant learning Adapt structures and pedagogies to address issues and overcome challenges Use an inclusive approach that extends to employers, K-12 educators, post-secondary educators, and policy-makers, among others Higher Education's Road to Relevance is a much-needed resource for college and university administrators, academic researchers, instructors and other faculty, and staff who support and interact with students.

The social stratification process is analyzed from a theoretical point of view, with assumptions tested with empirical evidence from the International Institute for Educational Planning project in developing countries or with information obtained through the researcher's prior studies on industrialized countries. The significant, and often negative, consequences due to the problem of social stratification are discussed in relation to the educational and occupational careers of educated youth. The subject is introduced by noting linkage between education and employment, egalitarian policies in education, and a historical perspective. Egalitarian philosophies in education are considered along with aspects of the equality problem relevant to developing countries. The role of formal education as a social stratifier is explored. A comparative perspective on education and social stratification in developing countries as well as differences between developed and developing countries with regard to social stratification are offered. Information is included on university graduates in developing countries focused on social background and social destination. Among the conclusions are: social stratification in all societies is enhanced by competition, selectivity and a meritocratic reward system; because institutions of higher education in developing countries serve subsistence economies with a limited modern sector, their post-primary enrollment patterns have no historical parallel in the developed economies; and home background in third-world countries tends to have less impact on access, survival, and outcomes of secondary and higher education than in industrialized countries. Tables and references are provided, and 50 references are appended. (SM)

2018 Frederic W. Ness Book Award, AAC&U How can educators ensure that young people who attain a postsecondary credential are adequately prepared for the future? Matthew T. Hora and his colleagues explain that the answer is not simply that students need more specialized technical training to meet narrowly defined employment opportunities. Beyond the Skills Gap challenges this conception of the “skills gap,” highlighting instead the value of broader twenty-first-century skills in postsecondary education. They advocate for a system in which employers share responsibility along with the education sector to serve the collective needs of the economy, society, and students. Drawing on interviews with educators in two- and four-year institutions and employers in the manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, the authors demonstrate the critical importance of habits of mind such as problem solving, teamwork, and communication. They go on to show how faculty and program administrators can create active learning experiences that develop students’ skills across a range of domains. The book includes in-depth descriptions of eight educators whose classrooms exemplify the effort to blend technical learning with the cultivation of twenty-first-century habits of mind. The study, set in Wisconsin, takes place against the backdrop of heated political debates over the role of public higher education. This thoughtful and nuanced account, enriched by keen observations of postsecondary instructional practice, promises to contribute new insights to the rich literature on workforce development and to provide valuable guidance for postsecondary faculty and administrators.

In a global economy, higher education increasingly is being asked to address workforce development needs. This is a relatively new agenda for institutional research, but one that can play directly to the skills that many institutional researchers possess and those that can be quickly developed. This volume of New Directions for Institutional Research assembles both the conceptual underpinnings of workforce development from an international perspective and provides practical information that can provide a foundation for institutional researchers to become more deeply engaged with their institutions in this critical area. This volume includes institutional case studies as well as specific techniques for gauging the market potential for new instructional programs. It concludes with a compilation of suggested projects and studies that institutional research personnel might consider on behalf of their campuses.