Current Issues in US Higher Education

Catalog description

Higher education has been considered a driver of the American Dream, a key to social mobility and economic security. Yet, higher education also face criticism as a tool for reifying social inequality and as not worth the ever-rising costs. This course explores current debates and challenges in US higher education. Our starting point will be an exploration of campus culture and norms and the work that elite colleges require to serve increasingly diverse student bodies more equitably. We will then broaden our focus to the full landscape of US higher education. Students will learn about the diversity of higher education institutions in the US and grapple with current policy debates: whether and how standardized testing should be used in college admissions, what role for-profit colleges should play, and what role the government should play in containing student debt, among others.