GENERAL EDUCATION IN AN AGE OF STUDENT MOBILITY

Will We Reform Ourselves, or Will It Be Done to Us?

by Deborah L. Floyd

Why are governors, legislators, and other elected officials becoming increasingly interested in higher education? Are they responding to pressure from constituents, who are concerned about the real world value of college and university programs? Are they angry with those of us who manage the curriculum, since we seem to live in ivory towers, aloof and protected by academic freedom and tenure? Are they simply frustrated by the slow pace of change on campus?

And if not the politicians, who or what else will trigger real change in higher education? Could it be the recent national report card comparing state higher education systems issued by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education? Or, could it be the enhanced activity of the Education Commission of the States in areas of reform and higher education policy? Maybe the Council for Higher Education Accreditation will nudge the system toward reform by helping colleges to do a better job of measuring what students learn. Perhaps President Bush's education reform plan will spill over to higher education, with constituents demanding greater accountability from colleges and universities. Or will market competition from for-profit institutions and corporate universities nudge us toward change?

In my opinion, Robert Shoenberg is absolutely correct that the college credit system has become an empty currency rather than a true measure of student learning. As an administrator and a faculty member, I agree that we can and should concentrate our efforts on creating a system that encourages both ease of transfer and curricular coherence. But we have to ask ourselves where the leadership will come from, and what forms will it take?

We can offer countless excuses as to why outcomes and learning assessments will not work in higher education, but the reality is that we must reform from within. Otherwise, we will be reformed from without, by way of political force. The question isn't whether the transfer and general education system will change-the question is whether we prefer to reform this system ourselves or to wait to have it done to us.

Along with numerous partners, AAC&U has served a role as pathfinder, helping academic leaders in several states to begin finding their ways toward systemic curricular reform. I am optimistic also about AAC&U's Greater Expectations project, which is creating a network of institutions that have already designed innovative and coherent undergraduate programs. The challenge, though, will be to build on this momentum and to show that we in higher education can get our own house in order.