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A selection of Inside Higher Ed essays September 2014

Sup p ort for t h i s p roj ec t p rovi ded bY

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ETS on Assessing Critical-Thinking Skills Over the past few decades, most institutions of higher education have been charged with developing critical-thinking skills in students. Institutions, employers and other stakeholders have recognized the need for students to demonstrate their ability to reason in unstructured scenarios with an unlimited number of plausible solutions, regardless of the type of institution they attend or their major. The challenge for institutions has been to define, obtain and provide evidence of students’ critical-thinking skills upon graduation. For years, ETS has been at the forefront of researching how to best measure critical thinking in higher education. Our work in this area has led to the creation of assessments that measure critical-thinking skills, such as the ETS® Proficiency Profile, which measures critical thinking as an outcome of general education. Given to thousands of students each year at various types of institutions, the ETS Proficiency Profile provides important evidence of critical-thinking skills, as well as data that can help undergraduate institutions provide evidence of student learning for accreditation, gauge the effectiveness of their programs in developing critical-thinking skills and support curriculum improvement efforts. Whether students’ future plans include entering the workforce, continuing their education or a combination of both, their need for critical-thinking skills cannot be overstated. In a recent survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), nearly all employers (93 percent) agreed with the statement that “a demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than [a candidate’s] undergraduate major.”1 And evidence of critical-thinking skills is important to graduate programs as well. For more than 60 years, institutions have relied on GRE® General Test scores as a trusted measure of an applicant’s readiness for graduate-level work. Among other skills, the GRE test measures test takers’ critical-thinking skills and their ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively. Accurate measurement of students’ critical thinking depends not only on having a high-quality assessment, such as the ETS Proficiency Profile, but also on students’ motivation to perform at their best. ETS is a leader in strategies to enhance student motivation in assessment and offers certificates of achievement and digital badges based on students’ assessment performance. These “credentials of accomplishment” are evidence of students’ demonstrated mastery of the skills needed to succeed in their careers — the skills that business leaders expect. The potential value of these credentials is that they can set these students apart from others in the competitive job market, a possible motivator for students to perform at their best on the assessment. In collaboration with Inside Higher Ed, we’re pleased to bring you information that will help you to effectively develop and measure the critical-thinking skills that are essential for your students’ future success.

David G. Payne Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Global Education Division ETS

For more information on the ETS higher education products and services, visit ets.org/highered. 1

It Takes More Than A Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success. Hart Research Associates, April 10, 2013.

Copyright © 2014 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. ETS, the ETS logo, LISTENING. LEARNING. LEADING. and GRE are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service (ETS). 27275

The Quest for Critical Thinking

I n t ro d u c tio n Few phrases are bandied about as much in higher education circles these days as “critical thinking” is. Professors say they teach it; politicians and people hiring graduates say they want to see it. But it is difficult to define with precision. Perhaps as a result, colleges mean different things when they use the phrase and when they evaluate their courses and programs to consider whether they are teaching critical thinking. In the essays that follow, professors, presidents and everyone in between consider topics related to critical thinking. These pieces touch on what should be in the curriculum, how students (and their families and future employers) should think about education, and how to balance educational ideals with practical concerns, such as finding jobs. Inside Higher Ed will continue to publish essays and write articles about these issues. We welcome your suggestions and reactions to this booklet. --The Editors [email protected]

Inside Higher Ed

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The Quest for Critical Thinking

and open-ended – and this was reflected in his design for the campus

A World Without Liberal Learning

in Charlottesville. He believed that the

By Michael Roth

characteristic of the modern sciences lent themselves to lifelong learning

Michael Roth considers what higher education would become

that would serve one well whether one

if it consisted only of vocational training.

“W

hat

would

the

habits of mind and methods of inquiry

went on to manage a farm or pursue

United

who advocate for a broad, contextual

a professional career. It is here we

States look like if we really

education is as old as America itself.

see the dynamic and open-ended

gave up on liberal education and opted

The health of a republic, Thomas

nature of Jefferson’s understanding of

only for specialized or vocational

Jefferson argued, depends on the

educational “usefulness.”

schools? Would that really be such a

education of its citizens. Against those

bad thing?”

His approach to knowledge and

arguing for more technical training,

experimentation

The interviewer was trying to be

he founded the University of Virginia,

possibility that any form of inquiry

provocative, since I’ve just written a

emphasizing the freedom that students

might prove useful. The sciences and

book entitled Beyond The University:

and faculty would exercise there.

mathematics made up about half of

Why Liberal Education Matters. What

Unlike Harvard University and its many

the curriculum at Virginia, but Jefferson

exactly would be the problem, he went

imitators, devoted to predetermined

was convinced that the broad study of

on, if we suddenly had a job market

itineraries through traditional fields,

all fields that promoted inquiry, such

filled with people who were really

he said, Virginia would not prescribe a

as history, zoology, anatomy and even

good at finance, or engineering, or real

course of study to direct graduates to

ideology would help prepare young

estate development?

“the particular vocations to which they

minds.

Apart from being relieved that he

are destined.”

The

utility

kept

was

open

generally

the

not

hadn’t included expertise in derivatives

At Mr. Jefferson’s university, “every

something that could be determined

training in his list of specializations, I did

branch of science, useful at this day,

in advance, but would be realized

find his thought experiment interesting.

may be taught in its highest degree.”

through what individuals made of their

Would there be real advantages to

But

which

learning once outside the confines of

getting students to hunker down early

pursuits of knowledge would prove

the campus. The free inquiry cultivated

into more specific tracks of learning?

useful?

at the university would help build a

In that way they would be “job ready”

who

would

Jefferson,

the

citizenry of independent thinkers who

sooner, contributing more quickly to the

Enlightenment, had faith that the

took responsibility for their actions in

enterprises of which they are a part,

diverse

the contexts of their communities and

and acquiring financial independence

improve public and private life. Of

at the same time. Would that really be

course, his personal prejudices limited

Jefferson

such a bad thing?

forms

a

determine

man of

of

learning

would

the new Republic. would

have

well-

his interest in the improvement of life

understood

The debate between those who want

for so many. However, his conception

leaders, educators and researchers

students to specialize quickly and those

of “useful knowledge” was capacious

recognize today: that given the intense

what

many

business

“In America, liberal education has long been animated by the tension between broad, open-­e nded learning and the desire to be useful in a changing world.”

Inside Higher Ed

5

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: College of DuPage

interconnection

and

Brown recognizes that more robust

So, what would America look like if

opportunities in a globalized culture

of

problems

and useful outcomes will come from

we abandoned this grand tradition of

and economy, we require thinkers who

learning that is capacious and open-

liberal education? Without an education

are comfortable with ambiguity and can

ended -- from liberal education.

that cultivates an ability to learn from

manage complexity. Joshua Boger,

At the Drucker Forum in 2013, Helga

the past while stimulating a resistance

founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Nowotny, president of the European

to authority, without an education

(and chair of the board at Wesleyan

Research Council, described what

that empowers students for lifelong

University), has pointed out how much

she called the “embarrassment of

learning and inquiry, we would become

creative and constructive work gets

complexity” – efforts based in data

a cultural and economic backwater,

done before clarity arrives, and that

analysis to dissolve ambiguity that lead

competing with various regions for the

people who seek clarity too quickly

to more conformity and less creativity.

privilege of operationalizing somebody

might actually wind up missing a

She called for an ethos among

else’s new ideas.

good deal that really matters. Boger

business and government leaders

In an effort at manic monetization

preaches a high tolerance for ambiguity

that would instead “be based on the

without critical thinking, we would

because the contemporary world is so

acknowledgement

become adept at producing conformity

messy, so complex.

requires

that

integrative

complexity

thinking,

the

rather than innovation.

Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, one of

ability to see the world, a problem or a

The free inquiry and experimentation

the most innovative design firms in

challenge from different perspectives.”

of a pragmatic liberal education open

the world, has lamented that many

That’s a call for integrative thinking

to ambiguity and complexity help us to

designers “are stuck with an approach

based in liberal learning.

think for ourselves, take responsibility

that seems to be incapable of facing

America, liberal education has

for our beliefs and actions, seize

the complexity of the challenges being

long been animated by the tension

opportunities and solve problems.

posed today.” He calls for a flexible

between broad, open-ended learning

Liberal education matters far beyond

framework that leaves behind static

and the desire to be useful in a

the university because it increases our

blueprint preparation for “open-ended,

changing world. Calls for dissolving

capacity to shape a complex world.

emergent, evolutionary approaches

this tension in favor of narrow utilitarian

to the design of complex systems

training would likely produce just the

Wesleyan University. His new book is

can result in more robust and useful

opposite: specialists unprepared for

Beyond the University: Why Liberal

outcomes.”

change who will be skilled in areas that

Education Matters (Yale University

may quickly become obsolete.

Press).

Like many CEOs across the country,

Inside Higher Ed

In

Michael

Roth

is

president

of

6

The Quest for Critical Thinking

discuss difficult subjects like racism and sexism. Someone else confesses

It’s the Faculty’s Job, Too

that she used to be “bad” at peer review, but now knows how to give --

By Patricia Okker

and receive -- constructive criticism.

The career center can’t do it all -- professors in liberal arts fields must also

Someone else talks about developing

take responsibility for their students’ job prospects, Patricia Okker argues.

B

an aesthetic sense, of appreciating a

etween a presidential proposal

a

rating colleges based in part on

exploration. Based on the premise

what graduates earn, studies linking

that students can apply the writing and

conversation can take have been

specific majors to earning potential,

research skills they’ve developed in the

instructive. The English majors almost

and

seemingly

endless

three-credit

course

on

career

line of poetry for its sheer beauty. The

different

directions

this

reports

liberal arts to launch their job searches,

always say something about how they

analyzing the return on investment

this course defends the choice of a

have learned to disagree with others,

of higher education, never have the

liberal arts major, while at the same

without insisting that one person’s

economic implications of a college

time confronting the challenging job

interpretation is right, another wrong,

education been more important.

market these students face.

and they appreciate their ability to do

Faculty members in the liberal

It is an approach that has required

arts are, not surprisingly, resistant to

me to become much more involved

the notion that an education can be

in my students’ job searches. It is not

But students in other disciplines,

reduced to a starting salary. Education,

enough, I now realize, to refer students

I’ve learned, are not so quick to claim

we insist, should prepare one for life

to career centers or to write glowing

the English major’s love of ambiguity.

— for work, for play, for relationships,

reference letters. It is not enough offer

During one discussion, two political

for responsible citizenry. And when our

platitudes about problem-solving skills.

science majors bristled at the notion

students do ask questions about their

The course almost always begins by

that there are no right answers.

job prospects, we are encouraging,

having students identify as precisely as

We, the political scientists proudly

if not precise. We remind students

possible the skills they have developed

declared, learn to win debates. We

vaguely that critical thinking skills are

in their majors. When talking with

learn to find the weaknesses in other

highly sought-after by employers and

English majors, for example, students

people’s arguments, and we learn to

then we refer students to our campus’s

almost always start with obvious

defend our own positions. Not a bad

career centers to work with trained

skills such as research, writing, and

skill, we all realized, for future policy

career professionals, whom we largely

critical thinking. But quickly they start

makers, many of whom will work in

do not know.

so without resorting to the shouting matches they see on cable television.

unpacking these general categories,

a political context in which there are,

Is this enough?

and we talk about using databases

unquestionably, winners and losers.

For years I thought it was enough,

efficiently, the difficulties of synthesis,

but with tuition and student debt loads

and

continuing to rise and a public that

paraphrase.

seems increasingly impatient with the liberal arts, I’m no longer so inclined.

We

the

unappreciated

talk

of

I always end this class activity the same way: by asking students to erase those skills we’ve written on

about

interpretation, context,

a professional setting. There is almost always a long pause, but someone

been piecing together, often clumsily,

and explaining complex theoretical

inevitably offers up something: “Peer

a different answer with and for my

perspectives.

review. No one here is ever going to

students that has developed into

acknowledges that he has learned to

Inside Higher Ed

writing

for

historical

the board that are not transferable to

audiences,

For the last ten years or so, I’ve

understanding

skill

particular Someone

inevitably

get a job peer reviewing poems.”

7

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Learn more at www.ets.org/highered. ETS® Proficiency Profile • iSkills™ Assessment * Liu, O. L., Bridgeman, B., & Adler, R. M. (2012). Measuring learning outcomes in higher education: Motivation matters. Educational Researcher, 41(9), 352–362. Copyright © 2014 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. ETS, the ETS logo and LISTENING. LEARNING. LEADING. are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service (ETS). ISKILLS is a trademark of ETS. 27290

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The Quest for Critical Thinking

Before I even have a chance to

be a start, a way of helping students

use the eraser in my hand, however,

link their majors with career options.

someone else chimes in with some

Because it challenges students’ own

version of this story: “I’m probably not

perceptions of themselves as having

going to peer review a poem again,

chosen a “useless” major, it also serves

but I will have to give constructive

as a particularly helpful launch to an

criticism. I had a boss once who didn’t

entire course devoted to preparing for

know how to give feedback, and it was

a job search.

awful. I know I can give criticism better than he did.”

But it is a path that works only if we,

Source: American University

the faculty in the disciplines, willingly

In all the times I’ve done this

assume a role in career counseling. As

professionals, we need to partner with

exercise, we’ve never erased a single

fabulous as the career professionals

these counselors, in our classrooms

thing.

I’ve worked with over the years are —

and in their career centers. Only if we

This activity is no magic bullet.

and they are incredibly knowledgeable

work collaboratively can we give our

Students still need to identify skills

and talented — they cannot nor should

students in the liberal arts the career

specific to their individual experiences

be solely responsible for helping

guidance they need and deserve.

and affinities, and they need lots of

students

practice articulating these strengths to potential employers. But it can

recognize

the

discipline-

specific skills they have developed. Rather than refer students to career

University of Missouri at Columbia.

the early 2000s. And honestly, surveys

News Articles

by my institution, Bentley University, of

A False Choice

recruiters and students don’t reflect these headlines.

By Gloria Cordes Larson

It’s perplexing. Is there such a

Students and the colleges that teach them need not focus on only hard and soft skills, writes Gloria Cordes Larson.

T

Patricia Okker is professor of English

and interim deputy provost at the

disconnect to good jobs with this generation? And if there is one, let’s figure out how to resolve it instead of

here has been extensive hand-

high. And we’ve all seen the headlines

repeatedly touting the problem. So

wringing about what can be done

questioning the value of college and

we chose to dig a little deeper and

to help young graduates succeed in

the surveys that show employers

try to uncover the real issues. How

today’s tough labor market – especially

bemoaning the “preparedness gap.”

do key stakeholders actually view

in the spring, as high school seniors

But I am full of optimism.

the preparedness issue? And, more

decide on their college offers, and

As a university president, I spend far

important, what will it take to ensure

college seniors prepare to graduate

too much time among skilled, talented,

that millennials are fully prepared to

and face the world. Unemployment

motivated young people to be anything

succeed in the workplace?

and underemployment rates among

but hopeful about the future of higher

We commissioned KRC Research

recent

the

education and the capabilities of the

to conduct a comprehensive survey

United States – largely a result of the

millennial generation – those born

of over 3,000 stakeholders, including

recession’s lingering damage – are too

roughly between the early 1980s and

employers, higher education leaders,

college

Inside Higher Ed

graduates

in

9

The Quest for Critical Thinking

students,

parents,

and

recent

college graduates. The survey found consensus in surprising places -from rating recent graduates’ level of workforce preparedness to defining exactly what preparedness means. One of the most interesting set of findings

revealed

that

businesses

are conflicted about the skills they want in their new employees and, consequently,

are

sending

mixed

messages to the marketplace.

A

majority of business decision-makers and corporate recruiters say that hard and soft skills are equally important for success in the workplace. (Hard skills are tangible ones, such as a student’s technical and professional skills, while soft skills include communicating well,

Source: College of DuPage

soft skills. It’s important for colleges

a dual-degree program that will infuse

Yet when asked to assess the

to arm students with both skill sets

business skills into the field of public

importance of a comprehensive set

-- whether a student is majoring in

health. At Georgetown’s McDonough

of individual skills, business leaders

business or literature. By developing

School of Business, students in the

put soft skills at the top of their list and

curriculums that fuse liberal arts and

freshman “Ethics of Entrepreneurship”

industry and job-specific skills at the

professional skills and by providing

seminar take on a semesterlong

bottom; only 40 percent of employers

hands-on learning experiences, we

project designed to help them flex their

say that the latter are important

can give our students the range of

critical thinking and writing muscles in

to

skills that are critical for the modern

a global and social framework.

teamwork and patience.)

workplace

success.

But

while

employers say soft skills are vital to

workplace.

Bentley has also adopted several

long-term career success, they prefer

This “fusion” was one of the popular

strategies to ensure we are preparing

to hire candidates with the industry-

solutions tested in the survey, and

our students for success. Virtually

specific skills needed to hit the ground

many schools are doing it already.

every student here majors or minors

running, even if those candidates have

Brandeis

in

less potential for future growth.

university with a liberal arts focus, says

pursuing a core of arts and sciences

that its new undergraduate business

courses that focus on expanding

program is already one of its most

and inspiring traditional “business”

popular

thinking.

In the face of such conflicting information should

from

students

employers, and

how

educators

University,

majors.

a

(Brandeis

private

points

business,

while

simultaneously

We recently expanded on

respond? Should they emphasize soft

out that most of its business majors

our popular liberal studies major, an

skills or hard skills?

are double majors.) At West Virginia

optional second major combined with

The answer: This is a false choice.

University, the College of Business

a business major, by launching six-

Students don’t need to – and shouldn’t

and Economics and the School of

credit “fusion” courses co-taught by

have to – choose between hard and

Public Health have partnered to create

business and arts and sciences faculty.

Inside Higher Ed

10

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Combinations include a management

to be one of the 800 institutions in

we are seeing returns on this curricular

course (Interpersonal Relations in

its program. Corporate partners can

investment.

Management) with an English course

also help shape curriculums to teach

One way to measure this: our survey

(Women and Film) to explore how

skills as they are actually practiced

of the Class of 2013 shows that 98

women are perceived in film and how

in the workplace. EY LLP (formerly

percent of responding graduates are

this can affect management styles;

Ernst and Young) worked closely with

employed or attending graduate school

and a global studies course (U.S.

us to merge accounting and finance

full time (this includes information from

Government and Politics) with an

for freshmen and sophomores, since

95 percent of the class). Retention,

economics course (Macroeconomics)

those disciplines are inextricably linked

number and availability of internships,

to teach how politics and economics

in the business environment.

and repayment of student debt are

work together and to demonstrate that

These

strategies

aim

to

equip

also key metrics.

understanding both is often essential

students with both hard and soft skills

I encourage my higher education

to doing either one well.

and they can be adopted and adapted

colleagues to refocus their attention

All this study must be combined with

by many colleges. A challenge in higher

on the ways we can work together

hands-on, “experiential” learning – the

education is that some academic

to strengthen our education models.

pathway to hard skills. This is where

models can be so discipline-specific

Millennials, a group that includes our

business organizations can play an

that students miss out on cross-

current students, are counting on us

important role.

disciplinary opportunities to integrate

to prepare them for successful careers

their knowledge. But it doesn’t have to

and life. And in the long run, it is an

work this way.

economic imperative that we do so.

Santander, the global, multinational bank, created a scholarship program to support academic, research, and

Like other colleges and universities

technological projects – we are proud

that are innovating and experimenting,

Gloria Cordes Larson is president of

Bentley University.

of a liberal arts education tell only half the story. There is an equation at

Personal Economy and the Liberal Arts

work in determining the likelihood of

By Lee Burdette Williams

of character and personal skills.

Yes, it matters what our students major in -- but it may matter less than their maturity and perseverance and other interpersonal skills, writes Lee Williams.

I

recently

sat

through

another

compelling defense of the liberal

success, and it is an equation too often overlooked in our defense of the liberal arts: the one that calculates the value I can hardly count the number of times I have heard successful people share with audiences that they are

in support of the necessary existence

liberal arts graduates. These speakers

of this uniquely American construct.

are often on the dais because of their

arts, although I hardly needed to be in

But I am troubled by what is not often

success. “I was an English major --

the choir again. I sing loudly from the

said. I interact daily with students who

British lit to be specific!” “I majored in

song sheet, being both the recipient of a

will soon be on the job market as well

philosophy, double-minored in French

liberal arts education and an employee

as recent graduates who have entered

and chemistry!”

of a college deeply committed to this

that same tough market, and I have

And look at them now: accomplished,

work. I am surrounded every day by the

come to realize that the arguments

articulate, passionate. They are in

very evidence that its defenders offer

in favor of, or against, the wonders

business,

Inside Higher Ed

in

education,

in

social

11

The Quest for Critical Thinking

services, politics and medicine. They

ends of a wide spectrum.

are entrepreneurs, thought leaders,

end are student leaders -- student

1.

successful artists and authors. “Look!”

government officers, resident advisers,

times,

they say. “A liberal arts education can

peer leaders, team captains.

professionally focused majors) + good

lead to great career opportunities and

the other end are students who are

interpersonal

even more. My liberal arts background

struggling mightily.

Perhaps it’s a

reliability, ability to work with others,

has prepared me to constantly retool,

lack of resilience that has led them to

a decent attention span) = very likely

to be a lifelong learner, to ask big

my office, realizing they are going to

professional success.

questions and solve big problems.”

fail a class or two or all of them. Or

On one

On

with four simple equations:

2.

A marketable major (in these STEM

majors skills

and

(which

some include

A liberal arts major + those

It absolutely can, but it is not enough.

they have behaved in some way that

same interpersonal skills = fairly likely

Nor is it enough to major in business,

troubles me so much that I invite them

professional success.

or engineering, or anything, for that

in for a conversation about what has

matter. It is no longer enough to

happened. Sometimes they are at the

interpersonal skills = possible pro-

lay claim to a particular educational

table in my office because they are

fessional success (some skills are

background.

success

sadly disconnected from the social

valuable enough for employers to

and personal satisfaction can certainly

fabric of this small college, leading a

overlook certain deficits).

come to someone who majored in

faculty or staff member to alert me to

political science or sociology, but not

the possibility of them dropping out,

interpersonal skills = not much chance

just because of that major, or in spite

flunking out, or worse.

of professional success.

Professional

of it.

3.

4.

A marketable major without

A liberal arts major without

The conversations I have, or try

An equation leading to a good life

These people on the dais were most

to have, with these students provide

must balance the economy of the liberal

likely the students who, regardless of

me with a deeper understanding of

arts with a personal economy -- one that

major, just did things well. They came

the other side of that equation, and

demonstrates emotional intelligence,

to class having done the reading. They

what is missing from it, leading me to

self-awareness and maturity.

turned in assignments and participated

a conclusion that in all the discussion

this while acknowledging the affection

appropriately in group work.

I say

They

and defense of a liberal arts education,

I have for those students who do

spoke up when asked a question,

something vital to a student’s prospects

struggle to interact in appropriate ways,

and listened when others spoke, and

is not being discussed.

Liberal arts

for those who cannot navigate the

in doing so, learned something. They

plus... how can I say this? Liberal arts

stressful pathways of classes and peer

did not miss three classes after a fight

plus decent interpersonal skills -- the

groups and inconveniences that fill the

with a boy/girlfriend. They did not

ability to converse, to make eye contact,

landscape of college life. I don’t think

bail on a group project because their

to speak in complete sentences, to

it’s a liberal arts degree that dooms

classmates made them uncomfortable.

recognize one’s responsibility, to listen

or defines a graduate. I think it has

They managed bad news with some

to another perspective -- equal fairly

a lot more to do with their personality

degree of equanimity.

decent job prospects.

traits than their transcript.

Then

they

graduated,

And I’m

and

A major in European history is

weary of the implication that a choice

succeeded in whatever place they

neither a solid predictor of, nor an

to major in the liberal arts is what will

found themselves -- showing up for

ample plan for, career success. either

keep my students unemployed, or

work, doing what was asked, accepting

is it a death knell. Without the other

underemployed, when I see so many

criticism, improving.

side of that equation, however, a liberal

of them landing good jobs and starting

arts major is simply not enough. In fact,

what I know will be interesting, though

I’ve started to see this as basic math,

occasionally uneven, careers about

As a dean of students I interact regularly

with

Inside Higher Ed

students

on

two

12

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: Rice University

which they care deeply.

employers? I would not hire them to

uniforms, collect dues and lobby the

My advice to the many students

feed my fish, and I know them. I care

student government for funds. If I

who start college as “undecided” is

about them. I am responsible for them.

could find a way for all of my students

always the same advice I received as

So what chance do they stand with a

to have that sort of experience, I think

an undergraduate: Major in something

prospective employer who is seeking

it could more than make up for their

you enjoy and do it well. Do things well.

an entry-level worker to interact with

“unmarketable” liberal arts degrees

Show up on time, and do what you

customers, or work as part of a team?

as they enter the work force. And

say you’re going to do. If you run for

Sometimes I find myself hearing from a

yet, athletics is often criticized as a

a student government office, come to

parent who is calling or emailing to do

distraction from academics.

meetings and follow through on what

something for a student -- schedule a

We routinely place students in

you’ve promised. If you have a campus

meeting with a staff member, fill out a

positions of responsibility on our

job, take it seriously. Do things well, I tell

form -- that should be easily within the

campus -- to manage money, to

students, and doors will open for you.

student’s ability. Will that parent do the

respond

(I should pause here and acknowledge

same with an employer?

serve on search committees and host

to

behavioral

issues,

to

that I didn’t actually figure this out until

About a fifth of my 1,500 students

a candidate for lunch -- and I know

much later, and wish at times I could

are varsity athletes, and another 70 or

what many of them are capable of. I

go back in time and show up for a

so are members of club sports teams.

don’t always know their majors, but I

meeting prepared, or not skip my shift

They struggle with the same emotional

know their prospects. They will find

in the student center, but I was young

and academic challenges as their

themselves in a job, maybe not the

and naive and a sociology major in a

non-athlete classmates, but most also

job of their dreams at first, but they

different, less-stressful economy with

manage to figure out a way to get to

will be able to manage the small,

student loans that felt manageable.)

practices and games, to keep their

and then slightly larger, tasks placed

I often find myself working with

grades high enough to maintain their

before them. And they will think back,

students who are utterly unable to take

eligibility. The club sports leaders have

I believe, to some of the challenges

responsibility for themselves, who are

to schedule their own games, arrange

they faced on the campus of this small

done in by the smallest disappointment.

their own transportation, decide who

college, which they often claim is not

What does that bode for their future

plays, design and order their own

“the real world.” But it is the real world

Inside Higher Ed

13

The Quest for Critical Thinking

in many ways -- fraught with hassles,

trying to speak. They brought to the

in the eye and introduce themselves.

battles,

requiring

class their other academic interests,

We need to reinforce the importance

self-advocacy, empathy, patience --

disappointments,

one of them using something learned

of deadlines. We need to address

and it is preparing them for the work

in a religion and sexuality class to

(dare I say it?) personal hygiene and

world in ways that their academic

interpret one of our texts. Another

appropriate dress. We must make sure

coursework may or may not be.

explained to the class a landmark

they can get to their feet at a college-

These are student leaders -- the

affirmative action case she learned

sponsored dinner and thank guests for

resident assistant who has to learn to

about in her Constitutional law class.

coming, or introduce a speaker at a

confront a belligerent peer at 2 a.m., or

A third offered her own experience as

lecture, or send a thank-you note to the

encourage a scared new student who

a resident adviser to provide context

director of an office that has provided

has been eating too many meals alone.

to a discussion on race relations on

them funds to attend a conference.

It’s the student body vice president who

campus.

has to wrangle a roomful of talkative and

occasionally

Is this the work of higher education?

They are justifiably worried about

Some would argue it absolutely is not,

self-interested

their job prospects, especially since

that postsecondary education is about

senators and move them toward

they have spent a semester with me

mastering content and developing

a decision. It’s the student center

reading about the various crises of

all-important critical thinking skills,

building manager who has to think on

American higher education and its

about becoming self-taught, curious

her feet when a pipe bursts and begins

roots in the global economy. I’m sure

researchers and life-long learners. To

to flood the game room, mobilizing

their parents are worried, too.

those who would argue those points,

her peers to move furniture before it

But I’m not as worried. I’m not

I would say yes -- it is all about those

gets ruined. But it’s also the students

sanguine, because it is difficult to find a

things, and I am grateful for the liberal

who don’t characterize themselves as

job these days, but I believe that once

arts education that helped me develop

“leaders.” They just figure out how to

they get into a work setting, they will

those skills. But I would then suggest,

register for a career services workshop

do fine. And their chances of getting

respectfully, that as maddening as it

on internships, how to interact with an

into that work setting are better than

might be to spend valuable teaching

alum at a networking event, how to

average, because they can make eye

time engaged in building the personal

competently, if not spectacularly, put

contact and put several sentences

economy of our students, it is perhaps

one foot in front of the other as they

together in service to their ideas. Not

the best way to support the successful

move toward graduation.

all of their classmates can do the same.

launch into that life we want for them.

I had the opportunity to teach a

Those are the ones I worry about.

Because

in

the

hard

work

of

class this past semester. It was a small

We need to lessen our obsession

balancing this complicated equation,

seminar with eight students, seven of

with the obvious value of a liberal

even the best liberal arts education will

them seniors. They were all different

arts education and instead focus

not remedy the lack of the most basic

majors, and I’m not sure I could tell you

on the values of personal maturity,

interpersonal skills.

who was what. They were, though,

accountability, a sense of proportion

smart and verbal and engaged in the

and perspective. We need to be

president

discussions we had. They spoke, and

certain our students know how to give

dean of students at Wheaton College

they noticed when another person was

a good firm handshake, look someone

(Mass.).

Inside Higher Ed

Lee

Burdette for

Williams

student

is

vice

affairs

and

14

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The Quest for Critical Thinking

short (disclosure: I, too, have sinned). The fundamental reason why students

The Humanities Are an Existentialism

should devote hours of their weeks to novels, philosophy, art, music, or history is not so that they can hone

By Dan Edelstein

their communication skills or refine

If we only focus on the practical skills students acquire by studying the

humanities offer students a profound

humanities, we lose sight of their most useful value of all: to help us live meaningful lives, writes Dan Edelstein.

W

their critical thinking. It is because the sense of existential purpose. The real challenge that we face

hether or not the humanities

is a vocation, a “calling” in the clerical

today, then, lies in explaining to a

are truly in crisis, the current

sense. It chooses you, you don’t

perplexed, but not necessarily hostile

debates around them have a certain

choose it. The problem with this kind of

audience -- and perhaps even to

gun-to-the-head quality. “This is why

spiritual passion is that it is difficult to

ourselves -- why it is that the study of

you -- student, parent, Republican

describe. To paraphrase another 20th-

literature, anthropology, art history, or

senator -- shouldn’t pull the trigger,”

century giant, Jimi Hendrix, it’s more

classics can be so meaningful, and

their promoters plead. “We deserve

about the experience.

why this existential rationale is equally

to live; we’re good productive citizens;

It’s not surprising, then, that when we

important as other, more utilitarian

we, too, contribute to the economy,

humanists feel (or imagine) the budget

ones. This line of argument stands

national security, democracy, etc.”

axe tickling the hairs on the backs of

in opposition to proclamations of the

Most of these reasons are perfectly

our necks, we don’t have ready-made

humanities’ uselessness: to declare

accurate.

nonetheless

apologia with which to woo or wow our

that the humanities are of existential

surprising that, in the face of what is

But

it

is

would-be executioners. And because

value is to affirm that they are very

depicted as an existential crisis, most

a calling is hard to explain, we turn

useful indeed.

believers shy away from existential

instead

straightforward,

So how might we go about defining

claims (with some exceptions). And by

utilitarian defenses -- “but employers

this existential value? A good place to

not defending the humanities on their

say they like English majors!” -- which,

start would be with existentialism itself.

own turf, we risk alienating the very

while true, don’t capture the authentic

A premise of existentialist philosophy

people on whose support the long-

spirit

is that we live in a world without

term survival of our disciplines depend:

student.

students.

to

that

more

moves

the

humanities

inherent meaning. For atheists, this

There is of course sound logic

is often understood as the human

One reason why our defenses can

to this approach. Government and

condition following the death of God.

have a desperate ring to them is that

state funding is a zero-sum game,

But as Jean-Paul Sartre pointed out in

we’re not used to justifying ourselves.

and politicians are more likely to be

“Existentialism is a Humanism,” even

Most humanists hold the value of the

receptive to practical arguments than

believers must recognize that they

objects they study to be self-evident.

to existential propositions. But in the

ultimately are the ones responsible

The student who falls in love with Kant,

long run, it takes more than state and

for the production of meaning (in

Flaubert, or ancient Egypt does not

university budgets to maintain the

fact, many early existentialists were

need to provide an explanation for why

health of the humanities. It also takes

Christians). Abraham had to decide

she would like to devote years of her

students. And by constantly putting our

for himself whether the angel who

life to such studies. To paraphrase Max

most productive foot forward, we may

commanded him to halt his sacrifice

Weber, scholarship in the humanities

unintentionally end up selling ourselves

was genuinely a divine messenger. In

Inside Higher Ed

16

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: Spelman College

Sartre’s memorable formulation, man

argues that one of the more satisfying

novel and, say, believing in Providence.

is “condemned to be free”; we have

features of literature is that it creates

We don’t inhabit fictional worlds,

no choice but to choose. While it may

the illusion of a meaningful world. “The

we only pay them visits. No lover of

feel as though a humanities vocation

poem forms a magic circle from within

literature actually believes her life is as

is a calling, you still have to decide to

which all contingency is banished,”

determined as that of a literary heroine

answer the call.

he

Mallarmé’s

(even Emma Bovary wasn’t psychotic).

writes

apropos

of

celebrated sonnet en -yx. The order

So why does the semblance of an

the

we discover in literary works may be

orderly universe enchant us so?

outside, from others, but that it always

magical, but it isn’t metaphysical; it

Well-ordered, fictional worlds attract

must come from within us, from our

comes from the sense that “everything

us, it seems, because we, too, aspire

conscious, deliberative choices, does

is exactly what and where it has to be.”

to live lives from which contingency is

not make us crave it any less. We

Art offers a reprieve from a universe

kept at bay. Beauty, wrote Stendhal,

are, existentialists insist, creatures of

governed

were

is “only a promise of happiness.” As

purpose, a thesis that psychological

merely sordid newspaper clippings can

Alexander Nehamas suggested, in

research has also confirmed.

The realization that meaning isn’t something

we

receive

from

by

chance;

what

become, when transported into artful

his book of this title, the beautiful work

Now what does this have to do with

narratives, The Red and the Black or

of art provides us with a tantalizing

the humanities? It’s not that obvious,

Madame Bovary. Landy suggests that

pleasure; beauty engages us in its

after all, how reading Madame Bovary,

fictions produce these illusions through

pursuit. But what do we pursue? “To

the Critique of Pure Reason, or The

a process of “overdetermination:” the

find something beautiful is inseparable

Book of the Dead can fill your life

ending of Anna Karenina, for instance,

from the need to understand what

with purpose. At the same time, we

is foreshadowed by its beginning, when

makes it so,” he writes. Behind the

also know that some people do find

Anna witnesses a woman throwing

beautiful object -- sonnet, style, or

it deeply meaningful to peruse these

herself under a train.

sculpture -- we reach for the idea of

works, and even to dedicate their careers to studying them.

If

art

offered

only

illusions

of

necessity, it would hardly satisfy

order itself. The promise of happiness made by art is a promise of purpose.

What is it, then, that lovers of

existential longing. Pretending that

But a promise of purpose is still

literature -- to consider but them for

everything happens for a reason

a bird in the bush: it can disappear

the moment -- find so existentially

is precisely what the existentialists

when you put down the book, or leave

rewarding about reading? In a recent

castigated as “bad faith.” Yet there’s an

the concert hall. For the philosopher

book, my colleague Joshua Landy

obvious difference between enjoying a

Immanuel Kant, art only provides us

Inside Higher Ed

17

The Quest for Critical Thinking

with an empty sense of purpose; or

hitherto unnoticed patterns in our

is. That is something we must cobble

as he put it, in his distinctively Kantian

lives. Sometimes, when you read

together for ourselves, from the bits

way, “purposiveness without purpose”

philosophy, it seems as though the

and pieces of literature, philosophy,

(it’s even better in German).

whole world has snapped into place.

religion, history, and art that particularly

It’s true that few existential crises

This is not an experience reserved for

resonate in us. “These fragments I have

have been resolved by a trip to

professional philosophers, either: at

shored against my ruins,” T.S. Eliot

the museum or the download of

the conclusion of a philosophy course

wrote at the end of The Waste Land.

a new album. But Kant may have

that my colleagues Debra Satz and

No poem offers a better illustration of

underestimated how the sense of

Rob Reich offer to recovering female

this cultural bricolage: Shakespeare

artistic purpose can also seep into our

addicts, one student declared, “I feel

answers Dante, and the Upanishads

own lives. For instance, as Plato and

like a butterfly drawn from a cocoon.”

disclose what the Book of Revelation

every teenager know well, instrumental

So where art initially appeals to us

music can give voice to inexpressible

through intimations of otherworldly

So here we find an existential

feelings without the help of language.

beauty, a more prolonged engagement

rationale for a liberal education. To

These

can

with the humanities can produce a

be sure, the humanities do not figure

convey a potent sense of purpose.

sense of order in the here and now.

alone in this endeavor: psychology,

When my youngest daughter spent

One could even say that Plato got

biology, and physics can contribute to

six weeks in the neonatal ICU with a

things the wrong way around: first

our perception of ourselves in relation

life-threatening condition, my mind

we’re attracted by an ideal universe,

to the world, as can economics,

kept replaying the second movement

and then we’re led to discover that

sociology, and political science. But

of Beethoven’s seventh symphony to

our own reality is not as absurd as it

the more a discipline tends toward

tame my fears. Its somber, resolute

once seemed. And while particularly

scientific

progress,

brief

evident with philosophy, this sensation

privileges a small number of accepted,

moments of respite, helped to keep my

of finally making sense of the world,

canonical

vacillating emotions under control. As

and of your own place in it, can come

aspects of reality it aims to describe.

in films, sometimes it is the soundtrack

from many quarters of the humanities.

If 20 biology professors lectured on

that gives meaning to our actions.

In a delightful interview (originally

Darwin’s theory of evolution, chances

emotional

frameworks

punctuated

by

had suppressed.

precision,

the

explanations

more of

it

those

The promise of order found in

conducted in French), Justice Stephen

are they’d have a lot in common. But

beautiful works of art, then, can

Breyer recently exclaimed, “It’s all

if 20 French professors lectured on

inspire us to find purpose in our own

there in Proust — all mankind!” Other

Proust’s

lives. The illusion of a world where

readers have had similar responses

they’d be quite different. The same

everything is in its place helps us view

to Dante, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and

could be said, perhaps to a lesser

reality in a different light. This process

many more.

extent, for 20 lectures on Plato’s

Recherche,

chances

are

is particularly clear -- indeed, almost

But exploring the humanities is not

Republic. The kinds of objects that

trivial -- in those humanistic disciplines

like a trip to the mall: you don’t set off

the humanities focus on are generally

that do not deal primarily with aesthetic

to find an off-the-rack outfit to wear.

irreducible to a single explanation.

objects, such as philosophy. We

Proust can change your life, but if you

This is why they provide such good

aren’t attracted to the worldviews of

only saw the world through his novel,

fodder for hungry minds: there are so

Plato, Kant, or Sartre, purely for the

it would be a rather impoverished

many ways a poem, a painting, or a

elegance of their formal structure. If

life. Worse, it would be inauthentic:

philosophy book can stick with you.

we’re swayed by their philosophies,

no author, no matter how great, can

In his diatribe against the way the

it’s because they allow us to discover

tell you what the meaning of your life

humanities have been taught since the

Inside Higher Ed

18

The Quest for Critical Thinking

‘60s, Allan Bloom harrumphed, “On the

always teach the kinds of classes

The danger is that, in compressing our

portal of the humanities is written in

where students can serendipitously

message so it gets heard, we leave

many ways and many tongues, ‘There

discover existential purpose.

out precisely the part that naturally

is no truth -- at least here.’ ” But the

There are more than existential

appeals to our future students. Yes,

point of a liberal education is not to

reasons to study the humanities. Some

students and parents are worried

read great works in order to discover

are intellectual: history, for instance,

about employment prospects. But what

The Truth. Its point is to give students

responds to our profound curiosity

parents don’t also want their child to

the chance to fashion purposeful lives

about the past. Some are practical. To

lead a meaningful life?

for themselves. This is why authors

celebrate one is not to deny others.

We are betraying our students if,

such as Freud, whose truth-value is

The biggest difficulty with defending

as a society, we do not tell them that

doubted by many, can still be a source

the humanities is the embarrassment

purpose is what ultimately makes a life

of meaning for others. Conversely, this

of riches: because humanists are

well-lived.

is also why humanities professors,

like foxes and learn many different

many of whom are rightfully concerned

things, it is hard to explain them to the

about

certain

hedgehogs of the world, who want to

questions or interpretations, do not

know what One Big Thing we do well.

the

truth-value

of

French and (by courtesy) history at Stanford University. He directs the

Stanford Summer Humanities Institute.

on a new career, or address a daunting

News Articles

civic or personal challenge. In light of

Future-Focused Assessment

the educational mission our institutions espouse, committing ourselves to a set

By Mark Salisbury

of learning outcomes for all students seems like what we should have been

Measuring what students have learned and can do is hard enough, but we

doing all along.

really should be trying to assess what our institutions have prepared them

Yet too often the outcomes that

to learn later, writes Mark Salisbury.

A

Dan Edelstein is a professor of

institutions select to represent the full

central tenet of the student

this idea is more than just a suggestion.

scope of their educational mission, and

learning outcomes “movement”

Each of the regional accrediting bodies

the way that those institutions choose

is that higher education institutions

now requires institutions to identify

to assess gains on those outcomes,

must articulate a specific set of skills,

specific

and

unwittingly limit their ability to fulfill

traits and/or dispositions that all of its

demonstrate evidence of outcomes

the mission they espouse. For when

students will learn before graduation.

assessment as a standard of practice.

institutions narrow their educational

Then,

through

legitimate

learning

outcomes

means

This approach to educational design

vision to a discrete set of skills and

of measurement, institutions must

seems at the very least reasonable. All

dispositions that can be presented,

assess and publicize the degree to

students, regardless of major, need a

performed or produced at the end of

which its students make gains on each

certain set of skills and aptitudes (things

an undergraduate assembly line, they

of these outcomes.

like

collaborative

often do so at the expense of their own

Although many institutions have

leadership, intercultural competence)

broader vision that would cultivate in

yet to implement this concept fully

to succeed in life as they take on

students a self-sustaining approach to

(especially regarding the thorough

additional professional responsibilities,

learning. What we measure dictates

assessment of institutional outcomes),

embark (by choice or by circumstance)

the focus of our efforts to improve.

Inside Higher Ed

critical

thinking,

19

The Quest for Critical Thinking

As such, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which the educational structure

that

currently

produces

majors and minors in content areas is simply replaced by one that produces majors and minors in some newly chosen learning outcomes. Instead of redesigning the college learning experience

to

alter

the

lifetime

trajectory of an individual, we allow the whole to be nothing more than the sum of the parts -- because all we have done is swap one collection of parts for another. Although there may be value in establishing and implementing a threshold of competence for a bachelor’s degree (for which a major serves a legitimate purpose), limiting

Source: California State University

ourselves to this framework fails to

has

account for the deeply held belief that

a

learning

snapshots can provide information vital

a college experience should approach

throughout their life, and that (2) this

to tracking student learning over time

learning as a process -- one that is

lifelong approach is directly attributable

and potentially increasing institutional

cumulative, iterative, multidimensional

to one’s undergraduate education

effectiveness. However, because the

and, most importantly, self-sustaining

probably borders on the delusional.

very act of learning occurs (as the

long beyond graduation.

The complexity of life even under

seminal developmental psychologist

The

disconnect

perpetual

and

interest

maintained in

sequence of outcomes assessment

our

the most mundane of circumstances

Lev Vygotsky would describe it) in a

conception of a college education as

makes such a hypothesis deeply

state of perpetual social interaction,

a process and our tendency to track

suspect. Yet we all know of students

taking stock of the degree to which

learning as a finite set of productions

that experienced college as a process

we foster a robust learning process

(outcomes) is particularly apparent in

through which they found a direction

is at least as important as taking

the way that we assess our students’

that excited them and a momentum

snapshots of learning outcomes if we

development

as

between

developed

lifelong

learners.

that carried them down a purposeful

hope to gather information that helps

Typically, we measure this construct

path

us improve.

with a pre-test and a post-test that

commencement.

tracks learning gains between the

that

extended

far

beyond

If you think that assessing learning

I am by no means suggesting

outcomes effectively is difficult, then

years of 18 and 22 -- hardly a lifetime

that

abandon

assessing the quality of the learning

(the fact that a few institutions gather

assessing learning gains on a given

process ought to send chills down

data from alumni 5 and 10 years after

set of outcomes. On the contrary, we

even the most skilled assessment

graduation doesn’t invalidate the larger

should expect no less of ourselves

coordinator’s

point).

institutions

should

spine.

Defining

and

than substantial growth in all of our

measuring the nature of process

Under these conditions, trying to

students as a result of our efforts.

requires a very different conception

claim empirically that (1) an individual

Designed appropriately, a organized

of assessment – and for that matter

Inside Higher Ed

20

The Quest for Critical Thinking

a

substantially

more

complex

understanding of learning outcomes.

Of course, this idea runs counter to

they might be offered.

the way that we typically organize our

The other serious challenge is the

Instead of merely measuring what

students’ postsecondary educational

act of operationalizing a concept of

is already in the rearview mirror (i.e.,

experience. For if we are going to track

assessment that attempts to directly

whatever has already been acquired),

the degree to which a given experience

measure an individual’s preparation

assessing the college experience as

“primes”

subsequent

to make the most of a subsequent

a process requires a look at the road

experiences -- especially subsequent

educational experience. But if we want

ahead, emphasizing the connection

experiences that occur during college

to demonstrate the degree to which

between what has already occurred

-- then the educational experience

a college experience is more than

and what is yet to come. In other

can’t be so loosely constructed that the

just a collection of gains on disparate

words, assessment of the learning that

number of potential variations in the

outcomes – whether these outcomes

results from a given experience would

order of a student experiences virtually

are somehow connected or entirely

include the degree to which a student

equals the number of students enrolled

independent of each other – then

is prepared or “primed” to make the

at our institution.

we have to expand our approach to

most of a future learning experience (either

one

that

is

students

for

This doesn’t mean that we return

include process as well as product.

intentionally

to the days in which every student

designed to follow immediately, or one

took the same courses at the same

demonstrate that the whole is greater

that is likely to occur somewhere down

time in the same order, but it does

than the sum of the parts, that in fact

the road). Ultimately, this approach

require an increased level of collective

the educational process is the glue

would substantially improve our ability

commitment to the intentional design of

that fuses those disparate parts into

to determine the degree to which we

the student experience, a commitment

a greater -- and qualitatively distinct --

are preparing students to approach life

to

that

whole.

in a way that is thoughtful, pro-actively

will likely come at the expense of an

Mark

adaptable, and even nimble in the face

individual instructor’s or administrator’s

of both unforeseen opportunity and

preference for which courses they

sudden disappointment.

teach or programs they lead and when

student-centered

learning

then

can

Salisbury

we

is

actually

director

of

institutional research and assessment at Augustana College, in Illinois. He blogs at Delicious Ambiguity.

New York Police Academy. But often

News Articles

The Real Truth About Real World By Heather Dubrow

this expression more specifically refers to the world of business. When it simply serves as shorthand to distinguish those realms from the university,

When we use the popular phrase as a contrast with academe, we insult our profession and confuse key issues, writes Heather Dubrow.

A

Only

the reference may be innocuous. And yes, professors and academic administrators

indubitably

benefit

from learning from and collaborating s pervasive as it is perilous,

The term

gestures toward all

with their counterparts outside those

the recurrent use of two words

spheres beyond the so-called ivory

proverbial

— “real world” — crystallizes many

tower; an advertisement in the New

a faculty representative, I worked

problems confronting the academy

York City subways lauded the “real

closely with the trustees of Carleton

today.

world” experience of teaching in the

College on a presidential search; these

Inside Higher Ed

ivy-covered

walls.

As

21

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: Virginia Tech

interactions repeatedly demonstrated

higher education can reinforce these

as the trustees at the University of

to me their shrewdness in evaluating

prejudices

Thus

Virginia learned to their cost. Higher

people and the practical needs of any

Louis Menand’s Marketplace of Ideas

education’s star system went to school

organization, thus dissipating lingering

tellingly

pre-professional

on Wall Street (and quite possibly in

prejudices about the business world

and vocational courses, in contrast

Hollywood as well). And “scorecards”

and reminding me that its variety

to the traditionally defined liberal arts

that rate universities by the amount

complicates generalizations about it.

curriculum, in terms of their fulfilling

of money their graduates make after

“real-world goals.”

graduation similarly impose the worst

More often, though, contrasting the

and defends

insecurities.

“real world” outside the academy with

Second, by implying that alternative

its putatively unreal counterpart within

values are unrealistic — indeed, naive

Third, distinguishing the “real world”

is pernicious for three interlocking

-- these two words are likely to justify

of business from the unreal world of the

reasons. First, the two words in

the increasing importation of certain

academy misrepresents for better and

question often frequently reflect and

troubled and troubling “real world”

for worse the longstanding workings

encourage

even

business practices. This shift has

of our institutions of higher education

abnegation. Many people outside the

been tellingly encapsulated as the

themselves. The very term “real” is

academy regard its denizens in the way

recent corporatization of the university,

clearly slippery (“reality TV”? “The Real

nuns are sometimes dismissively seen

notably in Frank Donoghue’s The Last

Housewives of Orange Country”?); but

-- as exemplars of a life that in theory

Professors: The Corporate University

many connotations — not all of them

one may respect but in practice one

and the Fate of the Humanities. The

grounds for rejoicing-- do in fact already

greets with bemused condescension.

lamentable reliance on adjuncts is all

apply to the academy. To the extent

Academics

self-denigration,

values of the corporate milieu.

sometimes

too reminiscent of the emphasis on

that the adjective gestures toward

on occasion refer to the “real world”

outsourcing in the business world. It

the

because they have internalized such

is equally dangerous uncritically to

people, many academics and leaders

judgments. The strategic use of those

copy hierarchies prevalent though not

of their institutions not only read

two words in influential studies of

universal in business communities,

books about those issues but also,

themselves

Inside Higher Ed

competition

among

ambitious

22

The Quest for Critical Thinking

so to speak, wrote the book on them.

the mission of institutions of higher

deceit. In so doing, we achieve one

The frequent references to “branding”

education

encourages

goal central to a liberal arts education:

within the academy demonstrate that

conveying a real picture, expressing

building the very faculty of discernment

marketing

executives

could

—

in

fact

teach

what one really intends to say. Our

— a capacity that, besides its many

certain admissions officers and other

emphasis on critical thinking, notably

other potentialities, can and should

administrators nothing they have not

the marshaling of evidence, trains

encourage a re-evaluation of the

long known about the half-truths that

students

expression “real world.”

practice can foster.

to

distinguish

the

real

from the specious and self-serving.

Heather Dubrow is the John D. Boyd

But in fact the university is also a

Alternatively, even if one subscribes

SJ Chair in the Poetic Imagination

world committed to, indeed exemplary

to the poststructuralist credo that

at Fordham University. Among her

of,

positive

language can never express reality,

publications are six single-authored

respects. Arguably our attention to

we can still encourage those students

monographs, a co-edited collection of

using language carefully — teaching

to discern and distinguish positions

essays, an edition of As You Like It,

writing is surely a significant part of

along a spectrum between reality and

and a volume of her own poetry.

the

“real”

in

more

most affected by the Internet have learned a few important lessons, and

What Is College For?

I think these lessons can help to set a vision of the future for colleges.

By Dan Currell

I believe the main lesson is this: the

Powerful forces threaten to re-order higher education. Predictions of massive destruction are overstated, but the coming storm will force colleges to figure out what they want to do, writes Dan Currell.

M

y college years were spent on

Internet didn’t kill off whole sectors of the economy – as it was predicted to – but it did force management to take the threat of rapid extinction very seriously.

that today.

If the “old economy” conversation was

a hill in a small town. I was in

On the horizon, I can see a lot more

about how to gain more customers

the company of 3,000 other people

reflection about what exactly it means

for your service, the “new economy”

– students, faculty, staff – and we

to be Gustavus. Everyone can sense

conversation

were set apart.

is

about

why

any

The only thing on

the powerful forces affecting colleges;

customers should want this sort of

the agenda was to continue being

some would say they threaten to

service to begin with.

Gustavus Adolphus College, whatever

destroy

residential

conversation, and it forces companies

that meant. I didn’t know who first set

model altogether. Some expect this to

to think harder about what they are for.

that agenda, and I don’t recall a lot

happen fast.

of active reflection on what it meant.

Perhaps

the

four-year

It’s a scarier

I hope colleges never discuss why higher

education

has

their customers need their services.

What did it mean to be a residential,

adapted

Internet,

These are communities, not big box

liberal arts college in the Swedish

especially compared to the private

stores. But the college version of that

Lutheran tradition? We discussed that

sector. But the practical benefit of

conversation is this: What are we for?

a little bit, but mostly we just did it.

being last in line is that you can learn

What’s the goal? Since there are now

Now I am a trustee.

slowly

to

the

A lot has

from everyone ahead of you. (There’s a

innumerable other (and cheaper) ways

changed, but the basic character of the

reason you didn’t want to go first when

to be educated, why are we doing this?

place hasn’t. Whatever it meant to be

it came to giving oral presentations in

The colleges with a compelling

Gustavus in 1990 – well, it still means

fourth grade.) The parts of our society

answer to that question – where all

Inside Higher Ed

23

The Quest for Critical Thinking

“Educational services are increasingly bought and sold on an open market.

If we don’t want colleges to become mere creatures of the

market, the first step is to better understand the market.” 3,000 people know the answer – are

professor. He also made a compelling

going to be fine. At Gustavus, we are

case that incumbent companies were

company

in the midst of a campus conversation

nearly powerless to resist the undertow

should be largely encouraging.

on this topic.

of this kind of disruption – they were

turned out that it’s harder for a bunch

stuck in what he called an “innovator’s

of web programmers to learn retail

dilemma.”

than it is for an established retailer

In the mid-1990s the business world began to recognize a series of forces that were thought to threaten nearly

Viewed this way, the incumbent experience

since

1999 It

The forces that began threatening

to hire web programmers. The sock

By 1999, the forces

businesses 20 years ago took a long

puppet lost. Petco now has over 1,000

had names:

digitization (products

time to get to universities, but now they

locations, and PetSmart owns the

and

become

have arrived.

Hundreds of massive

defunct Pets.com domain name. (Pets.

every industry. services

disintermediation

electronic);

(intermediaries

open online courses (MOOCs) have

com lost a staggering $300 million for

disappear); and unbundling (products

rushed onto the scene, digitizing

its investors, though the sock puppet

are disaggregated into discounted

the teaching of world-class scholars

got a second life pitching auto loans.)

components). Doom was declared for

and making their classes available

incumbent companies, and the Pets.

to anyone for free.

This followed

every company to focus relentlessly on

com sock puppet roamed freely at

Christensen’s model of a cheap (or

its raison d’etre, on knowing exactly

Super Bowl halftime.

in this case, free) and admittedly

what it is good for and adjusting its

inferior

operations accordingly.

That soulthe

Latching onto the emerging zeitgeist,

substitute

undermining

a

That said, the last decade has forced

GE’s CEO Jack Welch declared that

very expensive one. The prospect of

searching

his goal was to destroy his business

disruption has unleashed a flood of

lasting effect of the digital revolution:

before someone else did. He called

anxiety and not a few prophecies of

managers are constantly forced back

the initiative destroy-your-business.

doom for expensive universities. The

to the question, “What are we good for

com.

problem for universities looks much the

now?”

is

probably

most

In the years that followed, much effort

same as it did for “bricks and mortar”

This will be the main effect for

went into studying how innovation

businesses in 1999 – digitization would

colleges, too, and it doesn’t come a

works -- and how it often leads large

lead to disintermediation, which would

moment too soon. Many of us agree

companies to fail. In 2001, a study of

lead to unbundling. That sequence

that college is important; we have no

the market for mechanical excavators

could destroy the incumbents.

broad agreement on why. Now that an

and disk drives showed that markets

Of course, colleges and businesses

education can cost more than a house,

are typically disrupted by cheap, inferior

are different, and most people who

it seems like a particularly important

technologies aimed at customers who

take higher education seriously want

question. Why is college important?

can’t afford the “full package.” When

to keep it that way. But educational

What exactly makes it worth so much

the cheap products get better, it’s

services

time and money?

curtains for the incumbents – they have

and sold on an open market. If we

Online education may force many

been disrupted. Clayton Christensen,

don’t want colleges to become mere

universities to admit that they are not

the author of the work, became

creatures of the market, the first step is

really in the transformation business.

the corporate world’s most famous

to better understand the market.

Is a 200-student lecture hall with a

Inside Higher Ed

are

increasingly

bought

24

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: College of DuPage

graduate student at the front the path

can live and work in the Bahamas

The lesson to be learned from our

to transformation? In many cases, it’s

even if their services are consumed in

first experiences of digitization is that

barely education. Colleges are better-

Seattle.

digitization alone changes very little –

positioned than most universities in

The prime incumbent horror story for

but when it allows a product to rapidly

this regard – but online education will

digitization is Encyclopedia Britannica.

evolve into something else, the effects

still bring real pressure to demonstrate

The obvious effect of digitization was

can be violent and unpredictable.

the distinct value of what a college can

to make encyclopedias lighter, easier

Digitization

deliver.

did

not

change

the

to search and far cheaper to distribute.

pet

now

These were all improvements to

the same food they did in 1998.

taken on a sharp edge, because

Britannica’s product. In an increasingly

Digitization, however, changed what

there will be a heavy price to pay for

knowledge-based economy, Britannica

an encyclopedia is, and that made all

getting the answers wrong. As with

circa 1999 seemed to be in an enviable

the difference.

other industries, an analysis of the

position.

Questions

like

this

have

products

business:

dogs

eat

That said, very few businesses

answer starts with digitization – and

But of course we now know that the

were hurt as badly as Britannica. For

moves through disintermediation to

main effect of digitizing encyclopedias

example, money has been digitized –

unbundling.

was to transform the thing itself.

so what happened to banks? In 1999,

Wikipedia hasn’t quite killed Britannica

there was no reason to think that banks

D i g i t i z atio n Digitization turns a physical product

– but it may just be a matter of time.

should survive in their bricks-and-

into a data set. Most entertainment,

Wikipedia was inferior and free a

mortar form for more than about five

financial, and information products

decade ago, but it is rapidly increasing

years: depositors and borrowers could

have

in quality, scope and depth. It fits the

transact everything far more efficiently

disruption model perfectly.

online and pocket the savings.

been

dramatically

digitized, reduced

which the

has

cost

to

copy, store and transmit them. Most importantly,

digitization

can

The frightening thing about the

In

1999, Britannica seemed to be in a

allow

Britannica story is how hard it is to

a product to rapidly evolve into

think of a happier ending. Could the

How wrong that was. Retail banking

something different – and better.

executives at Britannica possibly have

products have been digitized but they

This rapid evolution is the real threat

imagined that their greatest risk was

are

to incumbents.

better position than Wells Fargo.

otherwise

largely

unchanged.

And tantalizingly, a

that tens of thousands of amateurs

Because

digitized product obliterates physical

would spontaneously create a free

out how to make virtual money do

and proximal limitations: employees

substitute for their product?

anything different than its predecessor,

Inside Higher Ed

we

haven’t

yet

figured

25

The Quest for Critical Thinking

“If cheap, simple substitutes are supplanting some components of a college education, what important parts, if any, are left? And who is responsible for assembling the product and ensuring its quality?” retail banking today would be entirely

questions:

It’s a Wonderful Life.

really, and why does anyone want

Money has

Right? Well – in principle, yes. In

This brings us back to some key

recognizable to George Bailey of

What

is

the

product

practice, rarely. As it turns out, music labels (the

been digitized, but it hasn’t been

it?

If cheap, simple substitutes are

intermediary everyone loves to hate)

transformed.

supplanting some components of a

are still alive, and iTunes stepped in

college education, what important

right where Tower Records used to

– employees doing their work from

parts, if any, are left?

And who is

be. There are just as many links in the

notebook computers on the beach?

responsible for assembling the product

music industry’s distribution chain now

Digital products make remote work

and ensuring its quality?

as before. The price of an album hasn’t

And what about the virtual company

possible, but the financial sector – whose products now have no mass and

Disint e rme d iat ion Remember travel agents? They the

ultimate

dropped much, even though the cost of distribution is almost gone. As before,

no physical location - is still heavily co-

were

intermediaries.

most artists are barely paid while the

located. Bankers may vacation in the

The Internet has nearly killed them

music industry generates billions in

Bahamas, but they still work shoulder-

by connecting consumers directly to

revenue. The most lucrative profits

to-shoulder in New York and London.

airlines, hotels and cruise operators.

go to the intermediary with the best

Perhaps the only sector more heavily

That’s disintermediation, and it has

tollbooth. Right now, that’s Apple, and

co-located than banking, ironically, is

been happening in every sector since

the tollbooth is iTunes.

technology: there are high places here

1999. It is one of the forces that makes

and there, but the only true altar is in

corporate strategists most nervous.

But surely this reshuffling has had some effect on the product itself or the

Silicon Valley, where code is written by

It was easy to foresee the death of the

way we consume it? Again, so little

software engineers sitting in adjacent

travel agent in 1999. But it was equally

has changed. In “The Entertainer,” Billy

cubicles.

easy to foresee the death of real estate

Joel wrote “If you’re gonna make a hit,

In hindsight, it is no great surprise

agents, publishing houses (readers

you gotta make it fit, so they cut it down

that universities have been affected so

buy direct from authors), music labels

to 3:05” – a reference to the power of

little by digitization.

Some elements

(same rationale) and a host of other

radio stations who didn’t like to play

of a university (lectures, books, lab

intermediaries who are still alive and

long tracks. In the era of satellite radio,

activities) can be digitized, but as of

well in 2013. What happened? Why did

iTunes and Pandora, radio stations

yet their core product hasn’t changed.

so many intermediaries survive?

no longer rule the roost. So -- has the

If MOOCs are the first step toward

For the most part, industries still have

transforming what a class is – then

intermediaries – just different ones.

to

yes, we are at a crossroads in higher

Consider the music business. Tower

average length of a pop song has

education. If, however, they are simply

Records died pretty quickly – one

increased by all of fifteen seconds

a way of getting broader distribution for

intermediary down, score one for the

since the 1980s, and neither the sound

an existing form of teaching, they won’t

consumer. The chain from production

nor the economics of the industry are

destroy colleges. In higher education

to consumption was getting shorter,

all that different.

as in other sectors, the litmus test is

and pretty soon consumers would buy

whether the product itself will change.

their music direct from artists.

Inside Higher Ed

product been transformed? According thebillboardexperiment.com,

the

As with digitization, the question for disintermediation isn’t whether it will

26

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: Monroe College

happen, but whether it changes the

the music business again: the content

products are always more profitable

product. Travel agents weren’t driven

creators are rarely paid much, even

than their a la carte siblings because

out of the basic flights-and-hotels

though there is a lot of money sloshing

they force a larger purchase and

business just because they increased

around the sector. The excess money

improve the economics of creating and

the price of a ticket. The problem was

goes to the intermediary. In this case,

selling the product. They also always

that Orbitz and Travelocity could do the

the money pays for counseling, career

involve some amount of cross-subsidy

job better at a lower cost.

services, athletic facilities, housing and

from one purchaser to another: those

so on.

who only use a few parts in the bundle

So it turned out that disintermediation was a misleading term, because in few

So, the economic form of “What

cases were the intermediaries really

is college for?” is this: is the college

eliminated. In most cases they gave

creating enough value to justify its

In 1999, we saw that the Internet

way to new ones who did a better job

position as an intermediary between

might force the unbundling of products

in some way, but this didn’t make the

professors and students?

and services.

subsidize those who use everything, since everyone pays the same price.

The most valuable

transitions less painful. Most travel

The question of whether colleges

parts of a bundle could be sold a la

agents had likely never wondered

will be disintermediated likely turns on

carte, which would be cheaper and

exactly what value they created, or

whether their service offerings can be

more tailored for consumers who

why their customers chose to use

unbundled. Unbundling was the third

used only some pieces of the bundle.

them, until it was too late.

big force strategists were thinking

Because those were the consumers

Who are the intermediaries in higher

about in 1999, and it has arguably

who cross-subsidized the rest, this

education? Reed-Elsevier, Pearson

been the most powerful one in the

seemingly innocent development could

and

decade since.

undermine well-established business

other

content

providers

are

obvious examples, and while they’ve

Un bu nd ling

models.

altered and added to their strategies

Many products are made up of

and offerings, for now their positions

separate parts that consumers must

many sectors.

seem secure. But the college itself

buy together even though they won’t

sat on an economic foundation of

is an intermediary, too. Professors

likely use them all – they are bundled.

classified ads: consumers made a

provide services that colleges and

A cable TV package, a Disney World

small co-payment to get their comics

universities bundle together and sell.

pass, or a subscription to the Chicago

and sports, and the real revenues

To be a little provocative, consider

Tribune – they are all bundles. Bundled

came from commercial and citizen

Inside Higher Ed

Indeed, unbundling was lethal in Many newspapers

27

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: University of Washington

advertisers.

Commercial advertisers

had other options – radio, magazines, billboards.

matter how much of it they use.

teaches and evaluates progress; the

If something is cheap, it’s easiest to

college offers courses and confers a

But private citizens had

buy the whole bundle even if you pay

degree. As it now stands, the only way

only one way to sell the lawn mower

for many elements that you never use.

to get a degree is to actually attend a

or get rid of an unexpected litter of

At higher price points that becomes

college of some sort.

puppies. Classified ad revenues were

less sensible. If the sticker price for

It won’t necessarily stay this way.

very important, but classified ads were

a private college education is now

There is no reason why education

a piece of the bundle that not everyone

about $200,000, that will buy a lot of

and evaluation will necessarily stay

used.

private tutoring, lab time, and other a

bundled together, and one can already

What newspapers didn’t know in

la carte educational services over the

see movement in the direction of the

1999 was that classifieds aren’t very

course of four years. All that’s left is

two splitting apart. Right now it comes

effective. Craigslist and eBay made

for the student to separately validate

up as a question of compatibility: what

this clear – they were a far superior

her achievements and the resulting

transfer credits will a degree-granting

way of getting the job done, and they

competencies.

institution accept? A transfer student

could operate even better outside

If this sounds far-fetched, consider

may have taken his courses on

that this is a major movement in high

campus, or he may have taken them

two websites alone took the legs out

school education.

We know it as

online. If it was the latter, at least in

from under the newspaper industry

homeschooling, and it is no accident

some cases, it’s possible that he did

by stripping a key element out of its

that the trend has exploded since the

little more than self-study followed by

bundle. With classifieds stripped out of

advent of the Internet.

As we now

an exam or paper. This comes very

the bundle, the newspaper’s economic

know, “homeschooling” is often a

close to separating education from

model doesn’t work.

misnomer. It is really the a la carte

evaluation. The next natural step is to

of the newspaper bundle.

Those

Unbundling may be the greatest

construction of a secondary education

accept credits from standalone online

threat to colleges, and a far greater

by families sharing resources and

courses, at which point the degree

threat to universities. At first, the

working in cooperative networks. It’s

becomes partly unbundled.

college bundle just brought together

unbundled education.

several different professors to offer

unbundled

to clamp down on this, but right now

an integrated degree. More recently,

education at the college level yet. This

most colleges are in no position to

we have added athletics, student

is surely in part because of the social

be choosy when accepting transfer

services, career services, disability

status conferred by a traditional college

students, particularly if they can pay

support, counseling, housing, and a

degree. But it is also because colleges

much or all of the sticker price.

host of other elements into the bundle.

have kept education and evaluation

Everyone pays for the whole thing, no

tightly bundled together. The professor

Inside Higher Ed

We

haven’t

seen

It might seem easy for universities

Of

course,

a

more

concerning

possibility is that diplomas won’t

28

The Quest for Critical Thinking

matter that much in ten years. Some

more important than the principles of

2004 interview that in hindsight it was

large and reputable employers --

organic chemistry.

unnecessary. GE’s existing businesses

particularly in the tech sector -- are

A less radical possibility than ditching

didn’t need a separate initiative to

now quite willing to hire people with

college altogether is the unbundling

prod them along – they focused

demonstrable skills whether or not

of evaluation from education.

This

relentlessly on creating real value for

they have a college degree. To take

would allow students to spend their

customers, and they incorporated new

two

neither

college budgets as they see fit –

technologies as they emerged.

Microsoft nor Facebook is in much of

online courses, live tutorials, study

fact, across the economy, nearly all

a position to insist that their employees

abroad and internship experiences,

incumbent businesses discovered that

have all finished, college since neither

seminar classes or whatever – and test

they offered far more value than what

of their CEOs did. What they need are

separately for the purpose of showing

could be easily digitized. It had seemed

demonstrable technical skills, many of

progress.

for a moment in 1999 that the internet

prominent

examples,

In

which are now separately assessed

This kind of unbundling may seem a

placed them in mortal peril, but there

through third-party testing anyhow. For

long way off, but at least one economic

was just too much connective tissue

example, see www.brainbench.com.

factor points in its direction. Bundles

holding their businesses together --

In those cases, a college diploma is

will tend to come apart when the cross-

creative work, advertising, accounting,

already a “nice to have.”

subsidy

quality

between

different

buyers

control,

audit,

personnel

Granted, our culture is still very

of the same package becomes too

management – for the Internet alone

attached to the idea of a college

great. In American higher education,

to kill them. Incumbent companies that

diploma.

we may soon reach that point.

But the idea that it might

At

focused relentlessly on their raison

not be necessary, even (or perhaps

most private colleges and universities,

d’etre came out of the digital revolution

especially) at the elite end of the labor

the gap between “full pay” students,

stronger than they went in.

market, is catching on.

median-tuition students, and heavily

Apparently

there’s something about a $200,000

aid-dependent students is enormous.

If a college’s true product is a transformed student, then the main

price tag that will make you wonder

Why would this cause the bundle to

effect of the next decade should be to

how much you really want the product.

rupture? It’s one thing to pay $5,000

redouble every school’s commitment

And there’s also the investment of time

for an airline ticket from New York to

to that cause. The explicit goal of

and energy.

Los Angeles, as business travelers

residential liberal arts colleges will

sometimes do. That kind of premium

again be to increase what a student

Consider fellows

the

to

pricing cross-subsidizes those on the

knows and change who she is. If this

same flight who have paid $300, and

is true, then the conversations left to

entrepreneurial ambitions right away.

it’s what makes airlines viable (at

be had are about the transformative

The presumption behind the Thiel

least in the years when they are). But

mission of the school. What exactly is

Fellowship is that college offers little

at some point on the pricing curve --

it? Deciding on a clear and important

more than some learning that the

$15,000, say -- the New York-based

set of goals will not be easy, but

brightest students will pick up along

executive hires a NetJet to fly her

colleges cannot afford to kick that can

the way as they build the next big thing.

direct to Burbank.

down the road. We each need to figure

This reduces college to nothing more

very different and the service is more

than the content-learning element; it

tailored.

college

given

Fellowship: their

skip

are

Thiel and

$100,000 pursue

ignores the maturing process, critical

The pricing isn’t

W hat Ne x t ?

thinking, collective learning, ethical

What became of GE’s destroy-your-

reflection and a host of other things

business.com? Jack Welch said in a

Inside Higher Ed

out what our college is for. Dan Currell is executive director

with the Legal, Risk and Compliance

Practice at the Corporate Executive Board.

29

The Quest for Critical Thinking

of both journalism and Washington

News Articles

nonprofits, I knew how many good jobs

Thinking About the Public

demanded only a bachelor’s degree, writing skills, research and analytic

By Paula M. Krebs

abilities, and common sense.

Serving on the board of a state humanities council, where she judged proposals designed for public impact, left Paula M. Krebs rethinking the way she argues on behalf of the humanities in academe.

W

But then came the Great Recession and what many are calling the end of

the

higher

education

bubble.

Questions about tuition increases,

ith so much focus on higher

theaters, seashore sound archives, a

student debt, and colleges’ lack of

education’s

to

documentary film about a female 19th-

accountability (that is, the paucity

job preparation, the humanities are

century life-saving lighthouse-keeper,

of data on employment for recent

perpetually playing defense, especially

and lots of fascinating digital work,

graduates) get attached, in public

in

public

higher

obligations

We

from archiving to app development. All

perception, to the unemployment rate

academic defenders of the humanities

education.

the projects must involve humanities

and to a re-emergence of the old post-

generally take one of two lines: we

scholars — some of those scholars are

Sputnik fears that the nation is not

argue that 1) our majors ARE work

affiliated with universities, and others

training enough folks in STEM fields.

force preparation -- we develop strong

aren’t. All of it aims at helping Rhode

analytical skills, good writing, problem-

Islanders to understand ourselves, our

American Colleges and Universities

solving, etc., or 2) we have no need

histories, and our many cultures.

have been proactive in making the

Groups

like

the Association

of

to justify what we teach because the

When economic times are tough, an

case for liberal learning as preparation

value of the humanities, the study of

agency such as the NEH is vulnerable

for good citizenship, pointing to its

what makes us human, is self-evident.

unless

and

employers’ surveys. They have found

legislators

understand

These arguments over the value of

value the role of the humanities in a

that employers believe that the skills

degrees in the humanities run parallel to

strong democracy -- just as university

colleges should focus on improving

a set of arguments I find myself making

humanities programs are vulnerable in

are: written and oral communication;

as part of a role I occupy, as a board

state funding contexts when legislators,

critical thinking and analytic reasoning;

member for my state council for the

boards of trustees, or voters don’t have

the application of knowledge and skills

humanities. The National Endowment

a clear understanding of the value of

in real-world settings; complex problem

for the Humanities allocates about a

the humanities in the culture and in the

solving;

third of its funding through the state

workplace.

and teamwork skills. These skills are

ethical

decision

making,

councils, and the councils in turn fund

In a career spent in higher education

not exclusive to the humanities, but

humanities initiatives at the state level.

in the humanities, most of it at a liberal

they certainly line up with the student

State humanities councils such as

arts college, I rarely had to justify

learning

mine (Rhode Island’s) re-grant our

teaching what I taught. The value of an

instruction at my institution.

NEH allocation as well as the money we

English major was self-evident to my

It’s not as if defenders of the values

raise locally to community humanities

colleagues and my students. Sure, the

of a liberal arts education are ignoring

projects.

We’ve

in

humanities

research

occasional parent would squeak, “But

economic

on communities of Cape Verdean

how will she make a living?” But I never

arts colleges are adding business

longshoremen in Providence, oral

hesitated to reassure the anxious

majors, humanities fields are requiring

histories of Second World War vets in

check-writers of the value of our

internships and experiential learning,

hospice care, talk-back events at local

product. Having worked in the worlds

and colleges and universities are

Inside Higher Ed

funded

outcomes

realities:

many

liberal

30

The Quest for Critical Thinking

Source: Monroe College

scrambling to make contact with

not been stressed enough in defense

rest of their lives. Each job they take

successful alumni and to gather post-

of the academic humanities. It’s past

will train them in the skills they need

graduation employment data.

time to make this important connection

to succeed in that particular industry.

There’s nothing wrong with linking

-- to help our boards of trustees, our

But a broad, liberal education will have

liberal arts education in general, and

communities, and our legislators to

been what made them people worth

the humanities in particular, to work.

know what the humanities brings to

hiring, people who have learned the

The humanities are inextricably linked

civil society and gives to students as

value of curiosity, initiative, problem-

to work and to U.S. civic life. When

they enter the workforce.

solving. Students in STEM fields and

Lyndon Johnson signed legislation to

In the first class I ever taught as a

students in arts, social sciences, and

bring the NEH into existence in 1965,

teaching assistant, I did my first lecture

humanities all will become members of

it was in a context in which the federal

on Death of a Salesman. My topic was

communities, and a good background

government was pushed to invest in

work -- how Willy’s job is his identity.

in the humanities will enrich their

culture, as it had in science. NEH’s

I pointed to a student I knew in the

membership.

account of its own history explains

150-student lecture hall and told him

I loved the humanities as an English

that the head of the Atomic Energy

that his surname, Scribner, probably

professor. But it was only when I

Commission told a Senate committee:

indicated the employment of some

became involved in public humanities

“We cannot afford to drift physically,

ancestor of his, a “scrivener,” like

that I began to understand their

morally, or esthetically in a world in

Bartleby. Then I asked who else had

value not just for individuals but for

which the current moves so rapidly

last names that might have indicated a

communities. That’s the public good.

perhaps toward an abyss. Science and

job. We had Millers and Coopers and

And that’s why we cannot afford to

technology are providing us with the

Smiths, and many more.

let a narrow rhetoric of work force

means to travel swiftly. But what course

When those students’ ancestors

preparation push the humanities from

do we take? This is the question that

worked as barrel-makers or at their

our curriculums or defund the work

no computer can answer.”

forges, they worked those jobs for life,

of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

public

and their sons afterward did the same.

humanities, I have come to understand

Through

my

But how many of us do the job our

that the humanities are what allow us

parents did? How many of our students

to see ourselves as members of a civic

will do the same job in their 30s that

community. Public history, public art,

they will do in their 20s? Narrow ideas

shared cultural experiences make us

about work force preparation will not

members of communities. This link has

prepare our students for the work of the

Inside Higher Ed

role

in

Paula M. Krebs is dean of the College

of Humanities and Social Sciences

at Bridgewater State University, in Massachusetts, and a member of the board of directors of the Rhode Island Council of the Humanities.

31

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