All of these claims are unfortunately true...Now, when one adds the incredible relaxation of scholastic and intellectual rigor that occurred over the same time period, it makes the value of a college education even more questionable. My son graduated from University of Pennsylvania nearly a quarter of a century ago: Magna Cum. Even then, he told me, the rot had already set in. "My AP calc course in high school carried me through all four years in college. Most of the papers that I saw from others were merely parroting back to the profs the opinions that they expressed. They were not adequately researched or documented, yet they still got "A"s". Now, that last bit was anecdotal, but what follows is not. There have been multiple recent reports that class preparation time is half what it was back in the 60's, and that now many students are no longer willing to do a full read on an important text -too hard. Finally, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the median college GPA increased by 21.5% in the last three decades. Now, let's add one more bit of information to this commentary. Case and Deakins documented that the relative lifetime earning value of a bachelor's degree to no college has increased from 10% in the sixties to 70% in the 2020s. So, the relationship over time between academic rigor and personal income is inversely proportional...Or should I say perversely proportional? It should be emphasized that earning potential and value to society at large are not the same.
I went to Northwestern University. Back then, and even though its politics leaned far left, my experience was that the expression of diverse opinions in classrooms was not only welcome but encouraged by professors. The professors encouraged civil debates. I was a contrarian even back then :), and, in the classroom, against-the-grain views that were supported by solid arguments were rewarded with good grades.
My dad was a professor at the U of Michigan and Wisconsin-Madison, but he was an engineering professor where politics wasn't a part of the classroom or research. He had his personal political views, but they were irrelevant to his work and never entered his classrooms.
I came from a liberal academic background as well. My father was the Dean of a state university medical school. For my own reasons, I took 2 industrial apprenticeships: The first as a metalsmith/machinist and the second as a foundry toolmaker (patternmaker). One of the pleasures of this was, between the liberal academic upbringing and the non-union shop culture I worked in, there was a constant testing of my beliefs and assumptions. Developing a synthesis between the two competing ways of thinking that my childhood and work life represent has sometimes been a struggle, but ultimately a rewarding one. I am still a nominal liberal, but I very much value the best conservative thinking that I come across, and I am glad to see what appears to be a moderate resurgence of American pragmaticism. (Such as the work of C. S. Peirce).
Recent reductions in funding for scientific research at universities appear to stem from opposition to perceived ideological conformity rooted in the social sciences and humanities, particularly regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Unfortunately, this reaction—though aimed at addressing concerns about intellectual uniformity—has resulted in unintended consequences for critical disciplines such as medical research, artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, environmental science, and computer science. Curtailing support for these essential fields in response to challenges within other academic areas risks exacerbating, rather than correcting, current imbalances in higher education.
All of these claims are unfortunately true...Now, when one adds the incredible relaxation of scholastic and intellectual rigor that occurred over the same time period, it makes the value of a college education even more questionable. My son graduated from University of Pennsylvania nearly a quarter of a century ago: Magna Cum. Even then, he told me, the rot had already set in. "My AP calc course in high school carried me through all four years in college. Most of the papers that I saw from others were merely parroting back to the profs the opinions that they expressed. They were not adequately researched or documented, yet they still got "A"s". Now, that last bit was anecdotal, but what follows is not. There have been multiple recent reports that class preparation time is half what it was back in the 60's, and that now many students are no longer willing to do a full read on an important text -too hard. Finally, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, the median college GPA increased by 21.5% in the last three decades. Now, let's add one more bit of information to this commentary. Case and Deakins documented that the relative lifetime earning value of a bachelor's degree to no college has increased from 10% in the sixties to 70% in the 2020s. So, the relationship over time between academic rigor and personal income is inversely proportional...Or should I say perversely proportional? It should be emphasized that earning potential and value to society at large are not the same.
Thanks for listening, John Stowe
I went to Northwestern University. Back then, and even though its politics leaned far left, my experience was that the expression of diverse opinions in classrooms was not only welcome but encouraged by professors. The professors encouraged civil debates. I was a contrarian even back then :), and, in the classroom, against-the-grain views that were supported by solid arguments were rewarded with good grades.
My dad was a professor at the U of Michigan and Wisconsin-Madison, but he was an engineering professor where politics wasn't a part of the classroom or research. He had his personal political views, but they were irrelevant to his work and never entered his classrooms.
I came from a liberal academic background as well. My father was the Dean of a state university medical school. For my own reasons, I took 2 industrial apprenticeships: The first as a metalsmith/machinist and the second as a foundry toolmaker (patternmaker). One of the pleasures of this was, between the liberal academic upbringing and the non-union shop culture I worked in, there was a constant testing of my beliefs and assumptions. Developing a synthesis between the two competing ways of thinking that my childhood and work life represent has sometimes been a struggle, but ultimately a rewarding one. I am still a nominal liberal, but I very much value the best conservative thinking that I come across, and I am glad to see what appears to be a moderate resurgence of American pragmaticism. (Such as the work of C. S. Peirce).
Thanks, JKS
Recent reductions in funding for scientific research at universities appear to stem from opposition to perceived ideological conformity rooted in the social sciences and humanities, particularly regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Unfortunately, this reaction—though aimed at addressing concerns about intellectual uniformity—has resulted in unintended consequences for critical disciplines such as medical research, artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, environmental science, and computer science. Curtailing support for these essential fields in response to challenges within other academic areas risks exacerbating, rather than correcting, current imbalances in higher education.