The Basics: Where Are We and How Did We Get Here?

Yogi Berra is quoted as having said,  “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”  That’s what this blog is all about.  It is a blend of observations, commentary, and opinion gained over forty years of experience in higher education that will provide perspectives on where higher education is today, where it is going, and how it will get to wherever it is that it is going. 

A recent survey conducted by Washington-based think tank New America contends that Americans see value in higher education, but may not be happy with it. The Introduction to the report puts it succinctly:

“Americans believe in the tremendous potential of higher education—but they also feel that higher education is falling short of that promise.  New America’s inaugural survey reveals a stark expectations gap between what higher education could-- and should—be and where higher education currently is.”

 OK, we know where we are and we don’t like it.  So the question becomes, “Where do we want to go and how do we get there?”

To answer this, we first need to look at the notion of value.  Specifically, what is the value of higher education today, and is that value consistent with what our system looks like and provides?  This is sticky, and getting to the notion of value or quality has a number of moving parts.    But there is a tried and true lens to help us focus:

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

One of the most valuable insights I ever gained was from a high school English teacher who explained the structure of literary genres in three words:  Form follows function.  The point here is that while, say, short stories and novels are both narrative works, the short story achieves its purpose (function) in a much more compact way than the novel.  In order to accomplish this, the form of the short story is streamlined, for example, with fewer characters and subplots and less character development.

This simple formula holds true in many obvious ways.  For example, the function of an airplane is to fly.  In order to do this, the plane must have an aerodynamic form that balances lift and drag in order to get the plane off the ground.  Without the proper form, the vehicle cannot achieve its function.

The same basic maxim holds true for organizations from the business world to education.  In the business world the function may be to provide a service, such as public transportation, or a product, like computers.  In the education realm, the function may be to offer specialized training in areas like computer programming, or more generalized preparation in the liberal arts or business.

Just as importantly, each organization needs to structure itself (form) so that it can accomplish its mission in the most efficient and effective way.  Depending on the organization and the mission, structures may vary significantly across different types of organizations.  For instance, one would expect that the type of structure that is best for a bakery would probably not work well at a community college. To start with, the bakery is delivering a product, and the community college is providing a service.  Moreover, the bakery's employees do not, by and large, interact with the public, while workers at the community college are public facing, from staff to faculty.  The differing functions will dictate differences in how the organizations structure themselves to achieve their goals.

This not all as overly simplistic as it might seem when we consider where higher education is at today in America and where it must go to remain relevant and vital. So in order to define quality (and hence value), we need to first determine the function of higher education and whether it is structured to accomplish that function. 

Historically, the function of higher education was to provide liberal arts education to an elite population of an agrarian society to prepare them to lead.  Today the function is to prepare students for a diverse world of work.  This functional shift occurred as society progressed from an agrarian to an industrial to a knowledge base, and the need arose for workers with an increasing variety of specialized skills.  A necessary response to this shift was that education became democratized—made accessible to the masses--through the establishing of public higher education systems. 

Previously, higher education was organized with knowledge units—professors and libraries.  It was funded by individuals, de facto private investors, a simple but effective system. A necessary response to the societal shift requiring increased specialization was that education became democratized—made accessible to the masses--through the establishing of public higher education systems.  This democratization was made possible through a funding model that supplemented personal investments with state and federal subsidies.

In this way, higher education moved away from the basic for-profit structure (pay for service) that was in fact becoming the engine of the evolving American society.  Funding for education became a mix of personal funds, state funding, and government funding, in effect redefining education as a not-for-profit public good as opposed to a for profit business enterprise.

The issue of the function in higher education is particularly sensitive currently.  I contend that this has occurred in large part because the form of higher education has not evolved in concert with its function, creating a fundamental disconnect in society, and hence a fundamental skepticism about the value of education in general.