The current conversations about crisis in education - and the equally contentious debates about how to solve said crises - do not occur in a vacuum: both the problems and the solutions are the product of a dynamic cultural, economic, and political context. How do faculty, staff, and administrators navigate this changing environment in a way that honors the mission of their institutions and the wider values of post-secondary education? Sean Johnson Andrews, assistant professor of cultural studies in the Department of Humanities, History, and Social Sciences at Columbia College Chicago, examined hese issues with members of the NITLE Network on February 4, 2014.

1. Cultural Factors Shaping “Crisis”
Conversations in U.S. Higher Education
Sean Johnson Andrews
Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies
Columbia College Chicago

2. CRISIS!

3. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising

4. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling

5. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling
 Student Loans at an all time high ($1 trillion in aggregate)

6. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling
 Student Loans at an all time high ($1 trillion in aggregate)
 Unemployment for college grads at an all time high

7. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling
 Student Loans at an all time high ($1 trillion in aggregate)
 Unemployment for college grads at an all time high
 BA Premium is still high

8. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling
 Student Loans at an all time high ($1 trillion in aggregate)
 Unemployment for college grads at an all time high
 BA Premium is still high
 Department of Labor predicts leading jobs of 2020 will require
no more than an Associate

9. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling
 Student Loans at an all time high ($1 trillion in aggregate)
 Unemployment for college grads at an all time high
 BA Premium is still high
 Department of Labor predicts leading jobs of 2020 will require
no more than an Associate
 College Learning Assessment questions value of degree
 Academically Adrift

10. CRISIS!
 Tuition rising
 Public funding falling
 Student Loans at an all time high ($1 trillion in aggregate)
 Unemployment for college grads at an all time high
 BA Premium is still high
 Department of Labor predicts leading jobs of 2020 will require
no more than an Associate
 College Learning Assessment questions value of degree
 Academically Adrift
 Disruption (a la Christensen)

11. Disruption
 Christensen discusses college degree as a commodity
 Disk drive, steam shovel, milkshakes, BA

12. Disruption
 Christensen discusses college degree as a commodity
 Disk drive, steam shovel, milkshakes, BA
 Disruption occurs when a seemingly inferior product
according to the dominant market meets the demands of a
niche market that doesn’t care about those qualities.

13. Disruption
 Christensen discusses college degree as a commodity
 Disk drive, steam shovel, milkshakes, BA
 Disruption occurs when a seemingly inferior product
according to the dominant market meets the demands of a
niche market that doesn’t care about those qualities.
 In meeting this niche market, the disruptive industry ends up
developing a successor to the dominant product, eventually
positioning itself to meet a significant portion of the
dominant demand, thereby unseating the incumbent
producers.

14. MOOC Mania

15. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."

16. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."
 Thomas Friedman: “the college education revolution.”

17. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."
 Thomas Friedman: “the college education revolution.”
 David Brooks: “The campus tsunami.”

18. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."
 Thomas Friedman: “the college education revolution.”
 David Brooks: “The campus tsunami.”
 UVA President dismissed by board in favor of a leader who
could institute a “much faster pace of change.”

19. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."
 Thomas Friedman: “the college education revolution.”
 David Brooks: “The campus tsunami.”
 UVA President dismissed by board in favor of a leader who
could institute a “much faster pace of change.”
 Less than two months after Coursera launched

20. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."
 Thomas Friedman: “the college education revolution.”
 David Brooks: “The campus tsunami.”
 UVA President dismissed by board in favor of a leader who
could institute a “much faster pace of change.”
 Less than two months after Coursera launched
 Shortly after she was reinstated, they discovered there were
already professors working with Coursera @UVA

21. MOOC Mania
 edX press release: "single biggest change in education since
the printing press."
 Thomas Friedman: “the college education revolution.”
 David Brooks: “The campus tsunami.”
 UVA President dismissed by board in favor of a leader who
could institute a “much faster pace of change.”
 Less than two months after Coursera launched
 Shortly after she was reinstated, they discovered there were
already professors working with Coursera @UVA
 Etc..

23.  MOOCs mentioned several times as
positive development

24.  MOOCs mentioned several times as
positive development
 Coursera specifically mentioned, twice

25.  MOOCs mentioned several times as
positive development
 Coursera specifically mentioned, twice
 More important: change in how credits are
awarded – “learning not seat time.”

26.  MOOCs mentioned several times as
positive development
 Coursera specifically mentioned, twice
 More important: change in how credits are
awarded – “learning not seat time.”
 Abandon the Carnegie credits
 “Datapalooza” – Like Obama’s election
team.

27.  MOOCs mentioned several times as
positive development
 Coursera specifically mentioned, twice
 More important: change in how credits are
awarded – “learning not seat time.”
 Abandon the Carnegie credits
 “Datapalooza” – Like Obama’s election
team.
 In line with “Race to the Top”

28.  MOOCs mentioned several times as positive
development
 Coursera specifically mentioned, twice
 More important: change in how credits are
awarded – “learning not seat time.”
 Abandon the Carnegie credits
 “Datapalooza” – Like Obama’s election team.
 In line with “Race to the Top”
 As Diane Ravitch notes, “The first time in history
that the U.S. Department of Education designed
programs with the intent of stimulating investors
to create for-profit ventures in American
Education.”

29. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects

30. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects
 Florida - Now mandatory that all students must take at least
one class online before graduating high school.

31. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects
 Florida - Now mandatory that all students must take at least
one class online before graduating high school.
 Led by Jeb Bush

32. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects
 Florida - Now mandatory that all students must take at least
one class online before graduating high school.
 Led by Jeb Bush
 Supporter of Academic Partnerships

33. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects
 Florida - Now mandatory that all students must take at least
one class online before graduating high school.
 Led by Jeb Bush
 Supporter of Academic Partnerships
 Virtual Charter systems in FL, Colorado, Virginia, and Texas
among other states.

34. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects
 Florida - Now mandatory that all students must take at least
one class online before graduating high school.
 Led by Jeb Bush
 Supporter of Academic Partnerships
 Virtual Charter systems in FL, Colorado, Virginia, and Texas
among other states.
 Teacher:student can be as high as 1:137

35. Connection to K-12, Venture Capital
projects
 Florida - Now mandatory that all students must take at least
one class online before graduating high school.
 Led by Jeb Bush
 Supporter of Academic Partnerships
 Virtual Charter systems in FL, Colorado, Virginia, and Texas
among other states.
 Teacher:student can be as high as 1:137
 Widespread graft, little oversight.

36. Datapalooza!

37. Competency based learning
 Southern New Hamshire University
 Predicted to make $200 million in 2013-2014
 Fully online
 Governor’s State University
 Amendment written in 2005 allowing them to grant degree
based on competency instead of credit hour.

38. “The key question, about technological response to a
need, is less a question about the need itself than about
its place in an existing social formation. A need which
corresponds with the priorities of the real decisionmaking groups will, obviously, more quickly attract the
investment of resources and the official
permission, approval or encouragement on which a
working technology, as distinct from available technical
devices, depends.”
Raymond Williams,
Television:Technology and Cultural Form

39. “Solutionism”
 “An unhealthy preoccupation with sexy,
monumental, and narrow-minded
solutions [. . .] to problems that are
extremely complex, fluid, and
contentious.”
 “How problems are composed matters
every bit as how they are solved.”

40. Social Needs : Social Formation

41. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)

42. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”

43. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?

44. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?

45. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!

46. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!
 “the real decision-making groups”

47. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!
 “the real decision-making groups”
 Politicians: President Obama, Governors of California, Florida, etc.

48. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!
 “the real decision-making groups”
 Politicians: President Obama, Governors of California, Florida, etc.
 Foundations: Especially Gates, Mellon, and MacArthur

49. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!
 “the real decision-making groups”
 Politicians: President Obama, Governors of California, Florida, etc.
 Foundations: Especially Gates, Mellon, and MacArthur
 Venture Capitalists: Largely silicon valley outfits

50. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!
 “the real decision-making groups”
 Politicians: President Obama, Governors of California, Florida, etc.
 Foundations: Especially Gates, Mellon, and MacArthur
 Venture Capitalists: Largely silicon valley outfits
 Ed tech corporations: Pearson, Kaplan, etc.

51. Social Needs : Social Formation
 Myth of the technological sublime (topic of previous
seminars)
 Evgeny Morozov calls this “Solutionism”
 What are the social needs?
 How do these relate to the broader social formation?
 Broader context…CRISIS!
 “the real decision-making groups”
 Politicians: President Obama, Governors of California, Florida, etc.
 Foundations: Especially Gates, Mellon, and MacArthur
 Venture Capitalists: Largely silicon valley outfits
 Ed tech corporations: Pearson, Kaplan, etc.
 LOTS of TAXPAYER money subsidizing higher ed.

52. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education

53. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.

54. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class

55. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)

56. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.

57. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.
 .

58. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.
 Is a place where most of the basic research is done which
fuels technological innovation (e.g. MOOCs, Google, etc.)

59. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class workers
and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.
 Is a place where most of the basic research is done which fuels
technological innovation (e.g. MOOCs, Google, etc.)
 An efficient way of delivering the support resources needed for
legally and legitimately accomplishing both of the above.
 UNBUNDLING – only buying the parts you want.

60. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.
 Is a place where most of the basic research is done which
fuels technological innovation (e.g. MOOCs, Google, etc.)

61. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 Place where we develop critical, engaged citizens of the
world.
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.

62. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.

63. MOOCs as Solutionism
“The quick fixes it peddles do not exist in a political vacuum. In
promising almost immediate and much cheaper results, they
can easily undermine support for more ambitious, more
intellectually stimulating, but also more demanding reform
projects.”

64. Which problems?

68. Wages stagnant…more loans

70. Taxes vs. inequality

71. The Social Needs fulfilled by
Higher Education
 One of the few common rights of passage for middle class
 Ideological support for the meritocracy (State of the Union)
 Institutions authorized with credentialing middle class
workers and skilled labor force.
 Accreditation makes it possible for students to get Federally
subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, etc.

72. Middle Class Rite of Passage
…of relatively recent vintage.

73. Middle Class rite of passage
 “alarming evidence in the
1860s that college
enrollments were in
decline in the United
States”

74. Middle Class rite of passage
 “alarming evidence in the
1860s that college
enrollments were in
decline in the United
States”
 “the existence of an easy
professional school option
was one of the reasons
why”

75. Middle Class rite of passage
 “alarming evidence in the
1860s that college
enrollments were in decline
in the United States”
 “the existence of an easy
professional school option
was one of the reasons why”
 “bachelor’s degree was not
required for admission to the
Harvard Medical School until
1900.”

76. Charles William Eliot

77. Charles William Eliot
 T.S. Eliot’s cousin

78. Charles William Eliot
 T.S. Eliot’s cousin
 President of Harvard from
1869-1909

79. Charles William Eliot
 T.S. Eliot’s cousin
 President of Harvard from
1869-1909
 Instituted admissions
standards and requirements
for schools of Medicine,
Law, Divinity and Science

80. Charles William Eliot
 T.S. Eliot’s cousin
 President of Harvard from
1869-1909
 Instituted admissions standards
and requirements for schools of
Medicine, Law, Divinity and
Science
 “Erected a hurdle on what had
been a fairly smooth path,
compelling future doctors and
lawyers to commit to four years
of liberal arts education before
entering what are, essentially,
professional certification
programs.”

81. Effect…

82. Effect…
 More than doubled college enrollment in 30 years.

83. Effect…
 More than doubled college enrollment in 30 years.
 In 1870, one out of every sixty men between eighteen and
twenty-one years old was a college student; by 1900, one out of
every twenty-five was in college

84. Effect…
 More than doubled college enrollment in 30 years.
 In 1870, one out of every sixty men between eighteen and
twenty-one years old was a college student; by 1900, one out of
every twenty-five was in college

85. Effect…
 More than doubled college enrollment in 30 years.
 In 1870, one out of every sixty men between eighteen and
twenty-one years old was a college student; by 1900, one out of
every twenty-five was in college
 Separated “liberal arts” from “vocational” post-graduate
schools

86. Effect…
 More than doubled college enrollment in 30 years.
 In 1870, one out of every sixty men between eighteen and
twenty-one years old was a college student; by 1900, one out of
every twenty-five was in college
 Separated “liberal arts” from “vocational” post-graduate
schools
 Made BA a rite of passage for all professionals

87. Effect…
 More than doubled college enrollment in 30 years.
 In 1870, one out of every sixty men between eighteen and
twenty-one years old was a college student; by 1900, one out of
every twenty-five was in college
 Separated “liberal arts” from “vocational” post-graduate
schools
 Made BA a rite of passage for all professionals
 Set the stage for the “Golden Age” of college/university
expansion

88. Golden Age 1945-1975

89. Golden Age 1945-1975
 500% increase in # of Undergraduate Students

90. Golden Age 1945-1975
 500% increase in # of Undergraduate Students
 900% increase in # of Graduate Students

91. Golden Age 1945-1975
 500% increase in # of Undergraduate Students
 900% increase in # of Graduate Students
 Primary role for PhDs is to produce Undergraduates

92. Golden Age 1945-1975
 500% increase in # of Undergraduate Students
 900% increase in # of Graduate Students
 Primary role for PhDs is to produce Undergraduates
 “In the sixties alone, undergraduate enrollments more than
doubled, from 3.5 million to just under 8 million; the
number of doctorates awarded every year tripled; and more
faculty were hired than had been hired in the entire 325 years
of American higher education prior to 1960.7 At the height of
the expansion, between 1965 and 1972, new community
college campuses were opening in the United States at the
rate of one every week.”

93. Taxes vs. inequality vs. Public Ed
Massive expansion of Higher Ed

94. 1975-present

95. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity

96. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity
 Male

97. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity
 Male
 1947 = 71% of college students

98. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity
 Male
 1947 = 71% of college students
 2010 = 42%

99. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity
 Male
 1947 = 71% of college students
 2010 = 42%
 White

100. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity
 Male
 1947 = 71% of college students
 2010 = 42%
 White
 1965 = 94%

101. 1975-present
 Not much growth (1%/year) but more diversity
 Male
 1947 = 71% of college students
 2010 = 42%
 White
 1965 = 94%
 2010 = 66%
 “In the decade between 1984 and 1994, the total enrollment
in American colleges and universities increased by 2 million,
but not one of those 2 million new students was a white
American-born male. They were all non-whites, women, and
foreign students.”

102. “For-profit education flooded the market
only after the state began to abandon its
responsibility to create sufficient institutional
capacity in the public system. The problem is not
government action, but inaction. As the government
gave up its Master Plan responsibility to educate
California students, the for-profit sector expanded
to fill the demand.”

103. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants
 not technological – political economic
 Spend< 25% of funds on education
 More on marketing, recruiting, debt peonage
 10% of ed market, 25% of federal aid
 In some cases 85% of income from tax $$

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-112SPRT74931/pdf/CPRT-112SPRT74931.pdf

104. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants

105. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants

106. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants
 not technological – political economic

107. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants
 not technological – political economic
 Spend< 25% of funds on education

108. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants
 not technological – political economic
 Spend< 25% of funds on education
 More on marketing, recruiting, debt peonage

109. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants
 not technological – political economic
 Spend< 25% of funds on education
 More on marketing, recruiting, debt peonage
 10% of ed market, 25% of federal aid

110. The real crisis: For-profit solution #1
 For profits – mining public dollars efficiently by exploiting
underserved students who qualify for higher Pell grants
 not technological – political economic
 Spend< 25% of funds on education
 More on marketing, recruiting, debt peonage
 10% of ed market, 25% of federal aid
 In some cases 85% of income from tax $$

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CPRT-112SPRT74931/pdf/CPRT-112SPRT74931.pdf

112. Institutions authorized with credentialing
middle class workers and skilled labor
force.

118. As the share of enrollment in the for-profit sector increased from 6% in fall 2001 to 12% in fall 2010, the share of Pell Grant
funds going to students in this sector increased from 14% to 25%. In fall 2011, for-profit enrollments remained at 12% of FTE
students, and the sector’s share of Pell Grants declined to 21%.

120. Pell helps colleges poach middle class
payments
 “more than one-third of public colleges and nearly two-thirds
of private colleges engage in “gapping” — providing lowerincome students with aid packages that don’t come close to
meeting their financial need. In the parlance of enrollment
management, this is often called “admit-deny,” in which
schools deliberately underfund financially needy students in
order to discourage them from enrolling.”
 http://public.tableausoftware.com/views/pellprivates_test
/Sheet1?:embed=y&:display_count=no

130. Udacity’s pivot…

135. Student Debt…mostly for advanced
degrees.

136. Ideological support for the
meritocracy
Education = Employment

138. Tuition rising…public funding falling

139. Tuition rising…public funding falling

143. Unemployment…no jobs investment

144. Bruce Bartlett, in NYT
“many corporations are holding vast amounts of cash and
other liquid assets, using them neither for investment
nor to benefit shareholders. These assets are largely
earned and held overseas, and not subject to American
taxes until the money is brought home.”
“As of the third quarter of 2012 nonfinancial corporations
in the United States held $1.7 trillion of liquid assets”

145. Savings, not investment

146. Tech companies as tax dodgers
 “Apple deferred taxes on over $35.4 billion in offshore
income between 2009 and 2011.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/business/an-inquiry-into-tech-giants-tax-strategies-nears-an-end.html?_r=0
 “Google Inc. avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income
taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenues into a
Bermuda shell company, almost double the total from three
years before, filings show.”

http://breakingculture.tumblr.com/post/37718667423/google-is-a-u-s-tax-deadbeat

151. In short
 Ideological support is not backed by actual public dollars or
post-grad jobs.
 Points to a larger social crisis
 But this doesn’t mean there isn’t a buck to be made…

152. Audrey Watters, Hacked Education
 “None of this is inevitable -- not MOOCs, not funding cuts,
not the death of the giant brick-and-mortar research
university or the death of the small liberal arts college, no
matter how gleefully the libertarians in Silicon Valley rub
their hands as they craft their hyperbolic narratives about the
end of the university and the promise of education
technology.”