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American universities are not having their finest hour, partly because of Covid-19. But even after the pandemic, they will be weaker and less consequential than they were a decade or even a generation or two ago. Why? Who is to blame?
First, what’s the basis for my negative assessment?
- Enrollments have shown the longest decline in modern American history, and polling shows public support and respect has declined;
- While data are somewhat contradictory, collegiate student learning appears embarrassingly low given resources expended;
- America’s primacy in basic research is starting to erode, which likely will continue as other nations markedly increase research spending;
- Universities are abandoning operating principles used since the Enlightenment, or example, restricting politically incorrect speech, emphasizing ideology and group status instead of discovery, individual merit and hard work;
- Schools have become excessively expensive and often show little regard for student needs, making them a less desirable financial investment.
There are a myriad of other problems, outlined by me recently in a 400-page book. But who is to blame? Is the problem largely external —for example inadequate funding or inappropriate state or federal mandates constraining university behavior? Or is the problem mostly internal?
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