The Best in Alia Wong’s Atlantic Series

Student applicants are treated like consumers.

Source: How the U.S. News Ranks Make Applying to College A Commercial Experience – The Atlantic

Here is what I wrote.

I’m a former math professor. I taught at an “elite” school – Washington University in St. Louis. From my perspective, this series – especially the final installment – should be required reading.

I hope the author will follow this series up by investigating a much more damaging phenomena than admissions – as bad as that is. If she looks into what has happened to our whole system of higher education – she will find the real culprits. She will also find what has happened to K-12.

There is not room here to explain the whole phenomena, so I will just quote David Riesman and Clark Kerr from 1980. (A more complete explanation, along with documented examples, can be found on my blog inside-higher-ed.)

Here is Riesman.

“…the ‘wants’ of students to which competing institutions, departments, and individual faculty members cater are quite different from the ‘needs’ of students…advantage can…be taken of [students] by unscrupulous instructors and institutions….”

Here is Kerr.

“…This shift from academic merit to student consumerism is one of the two greatest reversals of direction in all the history of American higher education..”

Competing for students with fancy marketing is one thing; competing for them by fooling them about their education is in a whole different league.
Well before the US News rankings, there were enough unscrupulous leaders around to gain control of the ship of the university and turn it away from its mission of education, and toward the new mission of revenue and fame.
Anyone who reads this Atlantic piece and then reads “A Tale Out of School” on my blog, will understand what is happening and just how terrible it is.

(I haven’t even mentioned how higher “ed” is dumbing down k-12, something that is harming our society in gigantic ways. That can be found on my blog.)