Description
Book SynopsisHow did public higher education become an industry? This unprecedented account reveals how campus leaders and faculty preserved the vitality and core values of public higher education despite changing resources and expectations. American public higher education is in crisis. After decades of public scrutiny over affordability, access, and quality, indictments of the institution as a whole abound. Campus leaders and faculty report a loss of public respect resulting from their alleged unresponsiveness to demands for change. But is this loss of confidence warranted? And how did we get to this point? In Academic Fault Lines, Patricia J. Gumport offers a compelling account of the profound shift in societal expectations for what public colleges and universities should be and do. She attributes these new attitudes to the ascendance of industry logicthe notion that higher education must prioritize serving the economy. Arguing that industry logic has had far-reaching effects, Gumport shows ho
Table of ContentsOnline Materials
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction. Points of Departure
1. Conceptual and Empirical Anchors: Studying Institutional Change
Part I. The Ascendance of Industry Logic
2. Built to Serve
3. State-Level Expectations
4. Forces Converging to Advance Industry Logic
Part II. Community Colleges
5. Beyond the Demand-Response Scenario
6. Harmonizing Educational Identities
Part III. Comprehensive State Universities
7. Reconciling Competing Mandates
8. Persevering through Strategic Necessities
Part IV. Research Universities
9. In Pursuit of Excellence
10. Pursuing Priorities and Striving for State of the Art
Conclusion. Managing for Legitimacy: Moving beyond Academic Fault Lines
Notes
Works Cited
Index
