Taking Responsibility: Leaders' Expectations of Higher Education

Abstract:

Much has been said and written about the high cost of higher education. This Public Agenda survey reveals that employers, professors, government officials and higher ed administrators are no less perplexed by another problem on the nation's campuses: too many freshmen are not ready to take on college-level course work. Conducted by Public Agenda for The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Taking Responsibility explores topics such as the best way to provide financial aid to students, whether a bachelor's degree is considered more of a right than a responsibility and why colleges experience such high drop out rates. The views of leaders in business and government are contrasted with those held by professors when it comes to such issues as tenure and how efficient higher education institutions should be.