When publish or perish bumps up against pedagogy - Part II:

Part II: Academia's other mission: the race to publish or perish

In Part I of this series, I outlined why skyrocketing tuition costs didn't seem to square with the cost of actually educating students.   The second part of this series deals with "other" mission of academia and how this side of the equation may account in good part for the increased costs.

When publish or perish bumps up against pedagogy - Part I

Part I:  Has the cost of pedagogy really risen beyond core inflation?

We have all heard the headlines.  College tuition is skyrocketing.  The trajectory is indeed unsustainable.  And for good or ill, it was undoubtedly a key motivating force behind Barack Obama's recent push to control rising costs by incentivizing a mean and lean model that produces measurable results.  Ok, so once again we are trying to "incorporate" academia using the Walmart plan.  To that end, Obama has also encouraged colleges and universities to step up the online coursework opportunities.

In truth, the speech seemed more like warmed-over pablum than thoughtfully conceived policy.  This is mostly because it failed to address the underlying issues that contribute to exponential cost increases while simply attempting to squeeze out more "product" for less money in an already plundered pedagogical system.

The University of Walmart? Sorry, its more complicated than that!

Last week, President Obama unveiled his plans for higher education.  The speech appeared to emphasize the importance of high-quality higher education combined with the need to control skyrocketing costs.  That's nice, but the devil is in the execution.  Today I found myself reading Disappointed, Not Surprised by Colleen Flaherty which echoed my personal concerns eloquently.

Don't get me wrong, the sentiment is as understandable as the need. However, as my title indicates...its complicated.

Funding science in the US - A baby step in the right direction...

Last week Senator Tammy Baldwin (D. Wisconsin) said that she intends to sponsor a bill that would strengthen U.S. commitment to scientific research and innovation.   Sen. Baldwin said that she had become discouraged by the fact that the sequester was putting an entire generation of American scientists at risk.