Panel debates 'crisis' in universities

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By Paul Mayne
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Are universities a system in crisis or an organization in need of minor repairs? While there was no fence sitting at a recent well-attended panel discussion about the state of post-secondary education, most of the voices seemed to convey the opinion that changes are necessary.
 
Sociology professor Anton Allahar discusses Ivory Tower Blues: A university system in crisis, co-authored with Sociology professor James Cote, during a panel discussion. Partially hidden is Rebecca Coulter (Education), Nick Dyer-Witheford (FIMS) and moderator Jane Toswell (English).
 
Close to 300 students, staff and faculty were at the Great Hall on Monday where the recently published book Ivory Tower Blues: A university system in crisis provided the launch pad for arguments, testimonials and opinions on the state of post-secondary education in Canada.
 
Authors Anton Allahar and James Côté, sociology professors at The University of Western Ontario, have discussed their controversial book at length across Canada since it was published earlier this year. The book points to a disengaged student body with unreasonable expectations, which in turn fosters resentment among faculty.
 
The authors were joined by President Paul Davenport, USC President Tom Stevenson and faculty members Rebecca Coulter (Education) and Nick Dyer-Witheford (FIMS).
 
“It's all about the numbers," says Allahar. “By increasing the volume of students we're not creating quality educational opportunities. It should be about education and not about processing."
 
Côté said grade inflation plays a significant role in the quality of higher education. He gave examples at Western, noting the influence is not felt in just one faculty, but has become widespread. In 1991/92 in Social Science, 43.1 per cent of first-year students and 48.1 per cent of upper-level students received As and Bs. By 2005-06, higher marks had risen sharply -- 52.5 per cent for first-year students and 62.1 per cent for upper-level students.
 
“Some see us as pessimists, but for Western I see this as an opportunity to take the high road and stress quality over quantity," says Côté. Steps he suggests taking include pushing back on high schools regarding grade inflation and the lack of preparedness among students; reducing student-teacher ratio to 15-to-1; and a redesign of course evaluations and student assessment.
 
Davenport said he read two separate books in Allahar and Côté's writing.
 
The first book was a self-help guide giving parents and students fodder for discussing whether university or college is right for them.
 
The other book documents a crisis and suggests universities don't offer quality over quantity.
 
“I truly do not believe that describes our university here at Western," says Davenport, adding Ivory Tower Blues paints a bleak picture.
 
Davenport raised the question of how many students taxpayers are willing to support and how many the universities can accommodate.
 
He made particular note of Western's initiative to freeze undergraduate enrolment, but added that won't solve the nation-wide problem.
 
“We can't do it on our own," says Davenport, adding a public policy debate is needed on the rush of students to universities.
 
“Dealing with university admissions in the province as a whole will get us to a better student-faculty ratio. The whole system has to grow in a way that respects quality and gets the ratio back to where it should be."
 
While Coulter referred to universities as “sausage factories", Dyer-Witheford said the promise of post-secondary education has been lost, replaced by a factory environment.
 
“We need to slow the line down and think of something radically better," he says.
 
Stevenson says he's not surprised students treat their degree as a commodity. “If you're spending $30-, $40-, or $50,000 at university, you expect something in return for your investment," says the USC president, adding “there is no one person or situation to blame."
 
Allahar stated the book was not student-bashing and there is a “solid core of students who will make a difference in the world."
 
Universities are steeped in a “feel-good culture" in which he says failure is not permitted, which makes it increasingly difficult for teachers and students to connect.
 
While the debate over the book continues, Allahar and Côté are already at work on a follow-up to Ivory Tower Blues, entitled Ivory Tower Renewal: Best practices in leading universities.
 
“We're hoping we'll be able to profile Western as one of the universities that are leading the way," says Côté.

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