Failing Universities: How Higher Education Became a Commodity and What We Can Do about It

Colleges and universities were once places where students came to learn, experts, intellectuals, and others came to teach, and where knowledge was created. Today, America’s higher education system is severely compromised by commodification and corporatization, which have transformed higher education into a marketplace. This book examines the effects of these transformations, providing a comprehensive critique of the problems the sector faces. It outlines how higher education’s commodification has impacted areas including affordability, access, waste, hierarchal administrative structures, faculty governance, the college sports industrial complex, and status and social mobility based on institutional prestige. The authors explore alternative policy solutions and examples of systems of higher education that are both effective and cost-effective. They propose a forward-looking agenda for structural reform that is less expensive and more educationally sound than the current model. Emphasising social cohesion, sustainability, a respect for diversity and an understanding of democracy and democratic principles, Failing Universities offers alternative solutions for US higher education to return to its basic mission.

David Stoesz is retired Professor and Program Director at Kean University, USA, and Professor and Program Chair at University of Illinois-Springfield, USA. He is the Founder and CEO of Up＄tart: https: //www.upstartbenefits.com.

Howard Karger is retired Professor and Director in the School of Social Work at Hawai’i Pacific University, USA.