Higher education is complex and complicated, murky and mysterious, especially to those outside its ... [+]
The world of higher education is often a mystery to those outside its walls, often misunderstood, increasingly mistrusted, and even maligned. How did such an important and venerable institution (really, set of institutions) come to be the subject of so much criticism and debate, and a foil for politicians and pundits alike?
The “-ation” suffix refers to something connected with an action or a process. Interestingly, higher education is often accused (labeled or tagged) with being slow to action, resistant to change, even recalcitrant. But higher education is nothing if not steeped in process. To the outside, higher education’s cherished system of shared governance can appear other-worldly. At best, it can appear cumbersome and inefficient; at worst, antagonistic and obstructionist. A look at actions can also be a useful way to examine the many intersecting facets of US higher education. These facets are like shards of glass that are at times clear and transparent, at times reflective and magnifying, and at times sharp, divisive, and even dangerous.
Let’s explore the “acts of” higher education – the good, the bad, and the ugly – for interest, for learning, for context, and for some insight into one of the most complex and at times controversial systems in our society.
An alphabetical listing…
Administration: At its core, an institution’s administration consists of senior institutional and academic leaders, overseeing and having ultimate responsibility for all matters academic, financial, personnel-related, operational, etc. Some erroneously label all non-instructional personnel as being part of the administration when it serves their purposes. However, it takes a large number of non-instructional personnel to meet all the non-instructional functions and obligations of a college or university. Most student-life professionals, admissions and financial aid professionals, academic and career advising staff, compliance officials, residential life professionals, legal and audit professionals, student health and mental health professionals, rec sports staff, advancement staff, maintenance staff, buildings and grounds staff, and many other non-instructional personnel groups are, in fact, not considered part of a university’s central administration.
Conversation: Exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas between individuals or groups. Dialog, discourse, and engagement are essential elements of a university’s function, whether in the classroom, across and among governance units, or between the institution and its external constituents (e.g., alumni, community members, legislators). Also underpins the ideal that the university be a place for safe, honest, informed, and inclusive dialog, one that welcomes all viewpoints, encourages debate and critical thought, and that promotes and enables civil discourse (e.g., university as “public square”).
Corporatization: Accusation frequently levied upon institutions that are increasingly focused upon or seeking to strategically grow their engagements with industry partners, entering into public-private partnerships, increasing industry representation on governing boards, privatizing selected functions, looking to successful business models for university functions (e.g., marketing, recruitment, finance, real estate, etc.) and/or appear to be focusing solely or disproportionately on financials. Also: commercialization, monetization, commoditization, industrialization.
Demystification: The act of making operations and operating principles of a college or university clear to those inside or to those outside the institution. These can include organizational structure, admissions and financial aid, faculty types, tenure, governance structures, finances, strategic priorities and timelines, funding sources, research, advancement, extension, presidential search, athletics, alumni relations, etc. Not always something done well by universities, or even a priority to do well, demystification is the goal of several notable authors writing for both higher ed and broader public audiences.
Digitization: Move toward digital modalities for instruction, student services, advising, recruitment, communication, alumni engagement, marketing, archiving, financial and personnel processes, outreach, collaboration, and more.
Diversification: Strategy to achieve goals for a more diverse, representative, inclusive, and/or expansive institutional community (including programming, personnel, opportunities); Multiple dimensions that include (but are not limited to) race, religion, nationality, gender, gender identity, gender expression, socio-economic class, neurodivergence, family background, scholarly field, scholarly training, age, marital status, disability, political affiliation, etc.
Education: Methods of teaching and learning, the core functions of colleges and universities. Also: inspiration, imagination, preparation, elevation.
Gamification: Institutional actions motivated by college/university rankings. Redirecting resources to influence those outcomes known to have a high value in the rankings rubric (e.g., gaming the system) at the expense of other priorities. In very extreme (and highly unusual) cases, submitting or otherwise promoting inaccurate or incomplete information in hopes of surreptitiously bolstering reputation or ranking. Also: fabrication, falsification.
Gentrification: An institution’s role, intentional or otherwise, in changing the character of a community, typically for the better (improved housing, businesses/jobs) but sometimes also forcing displacement of residents. Also: urbanization.
Globalization: An institution’s stated goal for broadening reach and representation; providing opportunities for students to expand global knowledge and understanding; establishing global partnerships and/or campuses; creating global citizens and/or positioning the institution as one of global importance or prominence.
Innovation: The introduction of a new method, product, idea, or process. A stated goal/priority of nearly every university, whether in the domain of pedagogy, research, institutional operations, or other. Often preached, sometimes practiced, rarely perfected. Also an emerging quasi-discipline with courses, certificates, degree tracks, departments and/or centers aimed at providing students with exposure/training in innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly (but not exclusively) in the STEM fields and business.
Integration: The act of bringing together components or information stored in different subsystems into a single functioning unit, often with the goal of achieving new, better, or different outcomes/objectives. Creating something new through efficient and effective combination of components. Strategically combining units to achieve mutual, shared, or broader objectives. Often driven by universities’ desires to achieve greater efficiency (lower cost), integration efforts also may seek to combine/leverage/optimize strategic priorities, e.g., teaching and research, research and outreach, STEM and liberal arts, formal instruction and experiential learning, on-site and remote (hybrid), academic affairs and student life, university and community, etc.
Liberalization: Accusation increasingly levied by those outside of higher ed on colleges and universities. A belief that institutions exist, or have made it their mission, to brainwash, indoctrinate, or lead students toward a particular ideology (liberal, progressive) and/or prepare a generation of activists and societal/institutional disruptors. Also: inculcation, indoctrination.
Marginalization: The risk (reality) facing those institutions that fail to make needed change in response to changing conditions, thereby so diminishing their perceived value and/or relevance in the public eye as to render them of little consequence, especially in the context of current trends, modern-day needs, forward-looking plans, innovative strategies, discussions, or partnerships.
Politicization: (a) assertion by some that institutions are allowing themselves to be unduly or inappropriately influenced by political forces; (b) overt or covert act of bringing pressure to bear on university leaders, functions, programming, or personnel aligned with a particular political platform, ideology, electorate, or party or elected official’s position or political goals.
Rationalization: Technique used to justify/validate one’s existence, mode of operation, value, or importance. Strategy to explain one’s position, justify one’s actions, or convince others of one’s worth, often in the face of probing questions or contradictory evidence. Also: justification.
Reimagination: To imagine again or anew, to form a new conception. The act of reconsidering current practice and envisioning a new way of organizing, operating, or achieving a goal. Nearly always a rallying call in any university strategic planning process.
Stagnation: The risk (reality) that some institutions face when not making needed change, adapting to changing conditions, or evolving (organizationally, programmatically, or operationally). A state (real or perceived) of rigidity, recalcitrance, resistance to change, or refusal to respond to changed conditions or new opportunities. Also: calcification.
Stratification: The separation of types of institution by mission, size, resourcing, target students, setting, wealth, media coverage, athletics program, or other features or functions (e.g., large research, regional comprehensive, elite private, undergraduate-only, community college, campus-based, urban, rural, etc.).
Unification: The tendency of institutions (driven in no small part by rankings) to model themselves after one another, thereby minimizing points of distinctiveness or ability to focus upon/serve a particular group of students, and instead moving toward the mythical (if not misplaced) ideals of “all things for all people” and “all done the way that University X does it.” Also, the inclination of smaller public or regional colleges/universities to add (e.g.) graduate studies, research aspirations, satellite campuses, D1 athletics, leadership from larger R1 universities, etc. in efforts to change their perceived classification, value, or reputation.
Unionization: Trend increasingly seen among faculty, graduate students, and staff at colleges and universities, especially (but not exclusively) at public institutions as a result of feeling disenfranchised, unheard, undervalued/underpaid, or excluded from decisions deemed by the employees to fall within the purview of shared governance. Unionization efforts nearly always result in deterioration of employee-administration relations, deepening disrespect and mistrust between parties, and causing a dilution of the role/power of shared governance. While existing to protect worker rights (both conditions and compensation), the effect of unions in higher education often serves to hamstring leaders at all levels of the institution, preventing them from making needed change, adapting swiftly and responsibly to new conditions, or taking advantage of opportunities as they present. Also: stagnation, calcification.
Weaponization: The use of the institution of higher education – its institutions, models, or ideals – by individuals or groups to instill fear, anger, or antagonism toward higher education or to support some other (often politically motivated) agenda.
Not all of higher education's systems and processes make sense, or even seem to work toward the same ... [+]
The list is by no means complete, but it may shed some light on the oft mysterious ways of American colleges and universities. There are few murkier or more complex organizations in our society, and murkiness and complexity can lead to misunderstanding, misinformation, and mistrust. But a more complete understanding and more accurate picture of these important institutions – including and the constructs that have underpinned them for generations, if not always served them well, and the pressures they face – can help to build a greater appreciation for what remains the best system of higher education in the world.
We are a nation built upon exploration, innovation, and aspiration (three more “-ation” acts) and our great universities have been both the fuel and the engines. Imagine what’s next.
Imagine-Nation. That has a nice ring to it.
