Post by Moses on Jun 27, 2005 1:16:43 GMT -5
www.decliningbydegrees.org/
Caught this excellent documentary today (will be available on DVD in August). While there was maybe 25% of it which passed on the bogus corporate world's propaganda -- the Business Roundtable that currently runs education policy has a plan called K-16 under which they intend to also gain control of higher education,as they have cradle through 12-- this isn't mentioned, but the propaganda is there for their "measuring" the "results" of higher education -- thus the data base the Bush Administration is demanding-- but the rest of the documentary was very good:
e.g. the following issues:
The two-hour documentary examines the public and government's decreasing financial commitment to higher education. Sixty years ago our country entered into what amounted to a social contract to ensure access to college for all despite family income. States supported public colleges and the federal government helped with money for the poor. Today, the funds and the support for the social contract are diminishing.
As Pat Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, explains, "The federal Pell Grant program is the nation's largest program that focuses on the lowest income students who actually get to go to college. In the early 80's, that program had about 3 or 4 billion dollars in it, and it covered over 95 percent of the average tuition at a 4-year public college or university." Today it's about 57%.
The impact on students is a decrease in access to higher education. Ceylon Hollis, a student at a midwest regional college, illustrates the reality of how hard it is for many to afford college. By day, Ceylon is a full-time student. At night, she is a full-time factory worker on an assembly line. "When I first started college, I used to have credit cards, and that's what I used to pay my classes off with... classes and books," says Ceylon. "I thought that I was going to be able to get those credit cards paid off, but the ... it just got bigger and bigger and, the next thing you know, that card was maxed out and I got another one in the mail." Ceylon expects to owe about $26,000 when she graduates.
Ceylon is not alone. One in five college students works full-time while pursuing a full-time degree plan.
In an effort to balance budgets, colleges and universities are increasingly depending on part-time teachers. Bob Gibson, a philosophy professor, teaches 280 students in nine classes at three colleges in the Denver area. "I wish I could tailor-make my delivery and my tools for each class for each student," Gibson says, "Can't do it. Too many kids. Too many students. Too many classes."
Nationally, nearly half of all college faculty are part-timers, up from only 22% in 1970.
Other market influences impacting higher education today that are explored in the program include the "arms race" in building and creating campus amenities to attract students, increasing importance of college rankings by the media, and big-time college sports.
Caught this excellent documentary today (will be available on DVD in August). While there was maybe 25% of it which passed on the bogus corporate world's propaganda -- the Business Roundtable that currently runs education policy has a plan called K-16 under which they intend to also gain control of higher education,as they have cradle through 12-- this isn't mentioned, but the propaganda is there for their "measuring" the "results" of higher education -- thus the data base the Bush Administration is demanding-- but the rest of the documentary was very good:
e.g. the following issues:
The two-hour documentary examines the public and government's decreasing financial commitment to higher education. Sixty years ago our country entered into what amounted to a social contract to ensure access to college for all despite family income. States supported public colleges and the federal government helped with money for the poor. Today, the funds and the support for the social contract are diminishing.
As Pat Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, explains, "The federal Pell Grant program is the nation's largest program that focuses on the lowest income students who actually get to go to college. In the early 80's, that program had about 3 or 4 billion dollars in it, and it covered over 95 percent of the average tuition at a 4-year public college or university." Today it's about 57%.
The impact on students is a decrease in access to higher education. Ceylon Hollis, a student at a midwest regional college, illustrates the reality of how hard it is for many to afford college. By day, Ceylon is a full-time student. At night, she is a full-time factory worker on an assembly line. "When I first started college, I used to have credit cards, and that's what I used to pay my classes off with... classes and books," says Ceylon. "I thought that I was going to be able to get those credit cards paid off, but the ... it just got bigger and bigger and, the next thing you know, that card was maxed out and I got another one in the mail." Ceylon expects to owe about $26,000 when she graduates.
Ceylon is not alone. One in five college students works full-time while pursuing a full-time degree plan.
In an effort to balance budgets, colleges and universities are increasingly depending on part-time teachers. Bob Gibson, a philosophy professor, teaches 280 students in nine classes at three colleges in the Denver area. "I wish I could tailor-make my delivery and my tools for each class for each student," Gibson says, "Can't do it. Too many kids. Too many students. Too many classes."
Nationally, nearly half of all college faculty are part-timers, up from only 22% in 1970.
Other market influences impacting higher education today that are explored in the program include the "arms race" in building and creating campus amenities to attract students, increasing importance of college rankings by the media, and big-time college sports.