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Goldie Blumenstyk
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American Higher Education in Crisis?: What Everyone Needs to Know® 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Goldie Blumenstyk (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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American higher education is at a crossroads. Technological innovations and disruptive market forces are buffeting colleges and universities at the very time their financial structure grows increasingly fragile. Disinvestment by states has driven up tuition prices at public colleges, and student debt has reached a startling record-high of one trillion dollars. Cost-minded students and their families--and the public at large--are questioning the worth of a college education, even as study after study shows how important it is to economic and social mobility. And as elite institutions trim financial aid and change other business practices in search of more sustainable business models, racial and economic stratification in American higher education is only growing.

In American Higher Education in Crisis?: What Everyone Needs to Know, Goldie Blumenstyk, who has been reporting on higher education trends for 25 years, guides readers through the forces and trends that have brought the education system to this point, and highlights some of the ways they will reshape America's colleges in the years to come. Blumenstyk hones in on debates over the value of post-secondary education, problems of affordability, and concerns about the growing economic divide. Fewer and fewer people can afford the constantly increasing tuition price of college, Blumenstyk shows, and yet college graduates in the United States now earn on average twice as much as those with only a high-school education. She also discusses faculty tenure and growing administrative bureaucracies on campuses; considers new demands for accountability such as those reflected in the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard; and questions how the money chase in big-time college athletics, revelations about colleges falsifying rankings data, and corporate-style presidential salaries have soured public perception.

Higher education is facing a serious set of challenges, but solutions have also begun to emerge. Blumenstyk highlights how institutions are responding to the rise of alternative-educational opportunities and the new academic and business models that are appearing, and considers how the Obama administration and public organizations are working to address questions of affordability, diversity, and academic integrity. She addresses some of the advances in technology colleges are employing to attract and retain students; outlines emerging competency-based programs that are reshaping conceptions of a college degree, and offers readers a look at promising innovations that could alter the higher education landscape in the near future.

An extremely timely and focused look at this embattled and evolving arena, this primer emphasizes how open-ended the conversation about higher education's future remains, and illuminates how big the stakes are for students, colleges, and the nation.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-0199374090
  2. Edition
    1st
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    September 15, 2014
  6. Part of series
    What Everyone Needs To Know?
  7. Language
    English
  8. File size
    1494 KB
  9. See all details
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Total Price: $45.44

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Filled to the brim with useful facts and even-handed analyses, this book provides cogent answers for parents, students, lawmakers, and anyone else who has questions about our colleges and universities-why they cost so much, are they worth the price, how technology is changing the way they teach, who is responsible for their performance." -- Derek Bok, President Emeritus, Harvard University

"As a nationally regarded reporter, Goldie Blumenstyk brings a unique and objective perspective to the nation's rapidly changing higher education context. This book is an impressive, comprehensive overview of the most pressing-and sometimes controversial-issues confronting higher education today." -- Jamie Merisotis, President, Lumina Foundation

"American Higher Education in Crisis?: What Everyone Needs to Know is a comprehensive analysis of the entire spectrum of colleges and universities in the U.S. Rather than cherry-picking facts to fit a pre-conceived 'disruption hypothesis,' Goldie Blumenstyk provides a clear and concise explanation of the challenges and opportunities confronting the disparate sectors of higher education. This well-researched and well-written book will be useful to students and parents as well as those who seek to understand the full complexity of post-secondary education in the U.S. today." --Mary Sue Coleman, President Emerita, University of Michigan

"Goldie Blumenstyk brings knowledge and insight to the higher education debate. This book is even-handed and smart, and shapes some abstruse, political issues into a brisk, compelling read." --John Katzman, former CEO of The Princeton Review & 2U; Founder and CEO of Noodle

"Overall Blumenstyk gives us an important alternative to the doom and gloom that infects many contemporary discussions of higher education. The deep experience she brings to the subject is refreshing in its detail and accuracy, packaged in an eminently readable format. For someone who has questions about the difficulties facing higher education today, and is looking to understand the potential solutions to those problems being debated now, Blumenstyk provides all the answers." --The Review of Higher Education

"[American Higher Education in Crisis?] will probably be most useful for anyone starting cold and looking to get a handle on higher education issues. It is a must-read for any worried parents of high school upperclassmen, interns, and new-to-the-beat journalists, but readers of any knowledge level will inevitably learn something." --Journal of Student Financial Aid

"Here's a winner, a book for all board members, from a long-time reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education...[The] book displays a reporter's gift for clear exposition, a keen sense for best sources, and the deeper knowledge of a scholar. An entire board might read it prior to a planning retreat." --Trusteeship Magazine

About the Author

Goldie Blumenstyk is a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her stories have received numerous awards, including first place from the Education Writers Association for 2011 for beat reporting on the Business of Higher Education. She is a frequent speaker at higher-education industry conferences, at events designed for members of the news media, and as a guest on radio and public-television shows.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00NB1MT7M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (September 15, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 15, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1494 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0199374082
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

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Goldie Blumenstyk

Goldie Blumenstyk

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Goldie Blumenstyk is one of the nation's most respected higher-education journalists. As a reporter and an editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education since 1988, Goldie has covered a wide range of topics, including distance education, the Internet boom and bust, state politics, university governance, and fund raising. She is nationally known for her expertise on for-profit higher education, college finances, and university patents and the commercialization of academic research. She has reported for The Chronicle from Peru, China, and several countries in Europe, and her stories have received numerous awards, including first prize from the Education Writers Association for 2011 for beat reporting on the Business of Higher Education and as a contributor to the The Chronicle's package,"The Gates Effect," awarded first prize for investigative reporting in 2013.

Goldie speaks frequently at higher-education industry conferences and appears often as a guest on radio and public-television shows. Before joining The Chronicle, she covered government issues and City Hall at The Orlando Sentinel.

She has a B.A. (History) from Colgate University, and a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

For more information, see: GoldieBlumenstyk.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
64 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book excellent for information and research purposes. They also say it's very readable and provides good grounding.

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5 customers mention "Content"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book an excellent read for information and research purposes. They also say it's very useful and helpful for administrators, board members, staff, and faculty.

"This book provides monumentally helpful background on the most pressing higher education issues of our time...." Read more

"This is a very good exploration of the problems facing higher education and the trends which may transform it...." Read more

"This book was an excellent read for information and research purposes but when the author spoke about the decrease in student population, the author..." Read more

"This book is helpful for administrators, board members, staff and faculty to consider in coming to terms with the radical changes that are being..." Read more

5 customers mention "Reading experience"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very readable and a good grounding.

"...The book is great both for its content as well as its example of clear academic writing." Read more

"...doesn't posit a lot of solutions or theories on its own, but it's very readable and a good grounding." Read more

"...of your questions about the crisis in America's colleges in this well written, well documented and comprehensive book...." Read more

"...The book is a very quick and easy read. It gives some statistics concerning higher education in the US and then it is done...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Dr. Laura M. Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars very useful
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book provides monumentally helpful background on the most pressing higher education issues of our time. I just used it for a policy class I'm teaching and was pleased with how much it helped in our ability to speak from a common place of understanding. The author does a great job of framing issues as neutrally as possible without compromising thoughtful analysis. The book is great both for its content as well as its example of clear academic writing.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Exploration
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a very good exploration of the problems facing higher education and the trends which may transform it. It is factually based and doesn't posit a lot of solutions or theories on its own, but it's very readable and a good grounding.
2 people found this helpful
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Morley Winograd
5.0 out of 5 stars Answers All Your Questions About College Today
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
One of the nation's keenest observers of higher education answers all of your questions about the crisis in America's colleges in this well written, well documented and comprehensive book. It provides a foundational understanding of the crisis for anyone interested in addressing the challenge.
Morley Winograd
President and CEO
Campaign for Free College Tuition
4 people found this helpful
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joseph hamilton
3.0 out of 5 stars Great... But missing a few points
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book was an excellent read for information and research purposes but when the author spoke about the decrease in student population, the author could have sighted stats on crime, social unrest, liberal indoctrination, and anti male feminists dogma that has had a dramatic effect on the decline on men that's dropping out of traditional institutions.
One person found this helpful
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university prof
5.0 out of 5 stars This book tells it like it is far beyond the understanding and experience of ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015
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This book tells it like it is far beyond the understanding and experience of a single person who is actually engaged in higher education. It is time higher education begins anew to care about the lives of their students/graduates rather than the legacies and the monuments they build for themselves.
One person found this helpful
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Edgar J. Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2017
Verified Purchase
A must have if you are studying higher education.
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Dr. KB
4.0 out of 5 stars The changing headwinds in higher education require leaders to consider new dynamics required
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is helpful for administrators, board members, staff and faculty to consider in coming to terms with the radical changes that are being pressured on operations of higher education institutions. Some of the ideas are worthy of beginning conversations among constituents to seek pathways to continued success.
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Sophia
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
NICE!
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