Value-Added Assessments

Breaking the arguments against the current state of higher education down to their basics, it’s all about value-added.  Is what we’re putting in worth what is coming out?  The Pope Center has been asking this question for years, and someone of power may be listening. Following a meeting a few months ago with UNC System President, Erskine Bowles, George Leef noted to the Triad Business Journal that Bowles seems to be looking for the “most educational value for the money.” Maybe a sympathetic ear? Some people can’t understand that graduating from a university should mean more than a piece of paper. They argue (.pdf) that just getting the degree is enough to guarantee a good job. Not true; standards are down, enrollment is up, thereby decreasing the value.  And trying to raise the quality of the degree by increasing its diversity, as some have suggested, does not add value to an academic program.