Is it time for another Truman Commission?

College Search & Lists
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<p>Higher education is under a lot of pressure from many different directions. Is it time to get back to the core missions of higher education? Can we even agree on what those missions should be over the next several decades?</p>

<p>The linked article below, penned by Arthur Levine, frames the topic quite clearly and makes a good case for a national higher education commission similar to the one back in the 40s under the Truman administration. What do you think and where is higher education in the USA going? What colleges are on the leading edge of where the USA’s higher education system is going and what will the prospective changes mean for students as they do their college searches?</p>

<p>Here is the article that came out earlier this year on Inside Higher Education:</p>

<p>[Blog</a> U.: Getting Back to #1 - Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/getting_back_to_1]Blog”>http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/getting_back_to_1)</p>

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<p>I agree with you Hawkette that it’s definitely time to get back to the core mission of higher education. And schools that are not already properly focused on that can start by cutting back on fluff distractions like athletics. Refocusing to education resources currently spent on acting as a free farm system for the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the Olympics would be a great way to begin getting back to the core.</p>

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<p>Isn’t this what the Spelling’s Report was supposed to be?</p>

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<p>Don’t forget to include all the resources spent on theater/dance programs which is a farm system to Hollywood and Broadway, or the Finance-Biz programs which farm kids to Wall Street. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>I guess the question is: what is in “core”? Perhaps modestmelody can chime in. :)</p>

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<p>Well, IMO the core definitely includes the fine arts and business. Those are both worthy academic disciplines. Indeed, fine arts are a traditional part of the liberal arts. And the liberal arts are the very core of the core of western higher education. The core does not include blocking, tackling, and throwing the forward pass.</p>

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<p>Well, we can always start with what is America’s social contract with higher education…</p>

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<p>Hell will freeze over before they get rid of college football.</p>

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<p>^^Don’t have to get rid of it. Just put it in its proper place. The Ivy League is a good model. They used to be football powerhouses, but they took stock and decided to get back to their core function and have athletics serve the school instead of the other way around.</p>