At AKA, we closely follow trends and latest developments in higher education and the nonprofit sector.
Here are
some recent articles and reports that we found particularly informative.
Articles
From Center for American Progress: How the US Department of Education Can Fix Damaging Accreditation Regulations By Marissa Alayna Navarro In 2019, former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos carried out efforts that seriously weakened the nation’s college accreditation system, making it easier for low-quality colleges to take advantage of students while benefiting from taxpayer funds. While reversing these policies will take time, the Department of Education can reduce their most negative impacts by issuing sub-regulatory guidance ("Dear Colleague" letters) to provide information on how the regulations should be interpreted under the current DoE administration. Read this article
From LinkedIn: The Wider Good: MacKenzie Scott's sudden gift could have bombed. Here's how a Texas university made sure it didn't By George Anders MacKenzie Scott’s $35 billion philanthropic approach has been characterized as "drop off the money and get out of their way." She believes the right recipients can thrive without being micromanaged. The author examines the effectiveness of Scott’s approach by looking at how one beneficiary has done: Prairie View A&M, an HBCU that received $50 million, 20 times its largest prior gift. Short-term impacts like an immediate increase in student aid and long-term goals like building the school’s endowment for future projects have
been powerful. Read this article
From The Nation: We Need Less Harvard, Not More By John Monkovic The argument that by growing their enrollments, prestigious universities can democratize access, facilitate social mobility, and reduce elitism is deeply flawed, argues the author. Enrollment has remained relatively flat since the mind-1990s for students at these institutions who are receiving financial aid while the number of those who are not has grown significantly. The alternative to expanding enrollment at elite universities is a well-funded public education system open to all, accountable to the public, and committed to serving the needs of the community. Read this article
From Insight into Diversity: AAUP Releases First Tenure Study Since 2004, Revealing Major Changes in Faculty Career Tracks The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has released its first major studyof tenure policies at U.S. colleges and universities in nearly 20 years. The findings reveal significant changes in faculty career pathways over the last two decades, aligning with previous research that has shown a steady decline in tenure at U.S. institutions. Most notably, 53.5 percent of higher education institution have replaced tenure eligible positions with contingent faculty appointments. Read this article
Further Reading
From NYU Press: Are the Arts Essential? By Alberta Arthurs and Michael DiNiscia This collection of 25 essays by notable artists, scholars, and thinkers addresses the important issue of why the arts matter. Drawing from a wide range of perspectives, interests, and disciplines, the essays illustrate how the arts are essential to understanding the complexities of the contemporary world and
why they are so important to everyone, particularly now. Further information about this book here
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