Colleges at the Crossroads: Taking Sides on Contested Issues

546 Pages·2018·2.015 MB·English

by  Pietro A. Sasso (editor), Joseph L. DeVitis (editor)

517
Focusing on crucial issues in higher education, this book challenges readers to go beyond
taken-for-granted assumptions about America’s colleges and universities and instead
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critically examine important questions facing them in today’s troubled world. Each
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chapter presents divergent perspectives, that is, “pro” and “con” views, in the hope of
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stimulating reasoned dialogue among students, faculty, administrators, and the public at
l
large. Readers will explore how internal factors in the academic community often inter- e
g
act with external social, economic, and political influences to produce conflictual results.
e
They will see that academe is hardly value-neutral and inevitably political. This book s

urges them to transcend strident political persuasion and instead engage in the careful a
analysis needed to make colleges better. t

The text provides in-depth appraisal of key topics of controversy: the purposes of t
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higher education, liberal education, academic freedom, political correctness, tenure,
e
shared governance, faculty workload, admissions tests, student learning, Greek life, the

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worth of college, equity and social justice, athletics, student entitlement, technology and
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distance instruction, and college amenities. The book will appeal to students, faculty,
o
staff, and all those interested in the future of higher education. It is especially useful for
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courses in contemporary issues in higher education, foundations of higher education, s
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higher education and society, college student development, and the organization and o
administration of higher education. a
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Joseph L. DeVitis is a prolific scholar and public intellectual in social foundations of

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education and higher education. Two of his books have earned Choice Awards from the
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American Library Association and four others have won Critics Choice Awards from the
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American Educational Studies Association. i
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pietro A. sAsso is Assistant Professor of College Student Personnel at Southern Illinois Sa
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University Edwardsville. Co-editor of Today’s College Students and Higher Education and s
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Society, his research focuses on identity construction of traditional undergraduate stu- ,

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dents and the lived experiences of college subcultures. d
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517 LA
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www.peterlang.com
Cover image: ©iStock.com/FatCamera
517
Focusing on crucial issues in higher education, this book challenges readers to go beyond
taken-for-granted assumptions about America’s colleges and universities and instead
C
critically examine important questions facing them in today’s troubled world. Each
o
chapter presents divergent perspectives, that is, “pro” and “con” views, in the hope of
l
stimulating reasoned dialogue among students, faculty, administrators, and the public at
l
large. Readers will explore how internal factors in the academic community often inter- e
g
act with external social, economic, and political influences to produce conflictual results.
e
They will see that academe is hardly value-neutral and inevitably political. This book s

urges them to transcend strident political persuasion and instead engage in the careful a
analysis needed to make colleges better. t

The text provides in-depth appraisal of key topics of controversy: the purposes of t
h
higher education, liberal education, academic freedom, political correctness, tenure,
e
shared governance, faculty workload, admissions tests, student learning, Greek life, the

C
worth of college, equity and social justice, athletics, student entitlement, technology and
r
distance instruction, and college amenities. The book will appeal to students, faculty,
o
staff, and all those interested in the future of higher education. It is especially useful for
s
courses in contemporary issues in higher education, foundations of higher education, s
r
higher education and society, college student development, and the organization and o
administration of higher education. a
d
s

Joseph L. DeVitis is a prolific scholar and public intellectual in social foundations of

D
education and higher education. Two of his books have earned Choice Awards from the
e
V
American Library Association and four others have won Critics Choice Awards from the
i
t
American Educational Studies Association. i
s

&

pietro A. sAsso is Assistant Professor of College Student Personnel at Southern Illinois Sa
s
University Edwardsville. Co-editor of Today’s College Students and Higher Education and s
o
Society, his research focuses on identity construction of traditional undergraduate stu- ,

E
dents and the lived experiences of college subcultures. d
s
.

P
E
T
E
R
517 LA
N
G
www.peterlang.com
Cover image: ©iStock.com/FatCamera
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
Colleges at the Crossroads

“Higher education seems in flux and confused in the 21st century. Students are rising
up, faculty life is changing rapidly, leaders are becoming more difficult to find, and
funding is uncertain. In Colleges at the Crossroads, Joseph L. DeVitis and Pietro A.
Sasso invite readers to grapple with current issues in higher education from multiple
perspectives while also urging them to challenge the very notion of higher education
as we know it.”
—Marybeth Gasman, Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor of Education,
University of Pennsylvania, and Director of the Penn Center
for Minority Serving Institutions

“Joseph L. DeVitis and Pietro A. Sasso go beyond presenting provocative,
controversial topics by addressing their pros and cons and providing questions that
will generate robust dialogue among students, faculty, and higher education
professionals. I look forward to using this book in a wide range of courses, for
example, law, ethics, organizational administration, disability education, social justice
issues, and internships. The possibilities are endless. This is a must read and a must
use!”
—Karen A. Myers, Associate Professor and Program Director,
Higher Education Administration, and
Director of the Ability Institute, Saint Louis University

Colleges at the Crossroads
Studies in Criticality

Shirley R. Steinberg
General Editor

Vol. 517

The Counterpoints series is part of the Peter Lang Education list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Colleges at the Crossroads

Taking Sides on Contested Issues

Edited by
Joseph L. DeVitis
& Pietro A. Sasso

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: DeVitis, Joseph L., editor. | Sasso, Pietro A., editor.
Title: Colleges at the crossroads: taking sides on contested issues /
edited by Joseph L. DeVitis and Pietro A. Sasso.
Description: New York: Peter Lang.
Series: Counterpoints: studies in criticality; v. 517 | ISSN 1058-1634
Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017021599 | ISBN 978-1-4331-3421-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-3422-7 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-4580-3 (ebook pdf)
ISBN 978-1-4331-4581-0 (epub) | ISBN 978-1-4331-4582-7 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Education, Higher—Aims and objectives—United States.
Education, Higher—Effect of technological innovations on—United States.
Education, Higher—Economic aspects—United States.
Academic freedom—United States.
College teachers—Tenure—United States.
College teachers—Workload—United States.
College students—Social conditions—United States.
College sports—Moral and ethical aspects—United States.
Universities and colleges—United States—Administration.
Classification: LA227.4 .C6444 | DDC 378.73—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017021599
DOI 10.3726/b11364

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

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Dedication
To Maurice R. Berube and Kenneth Teitelbaum—
two menches, in and out of academe.
(JLD)
To my students and colleagues who have challenged
my romanticism about higher education and urged
me to be more curmudgeonly about it. To them, I
owe my maturation toward a more critical view of
postsecondary issues. As a progressive, I remain
cautiously optimistic about the future.
(PAS)