Rating: 
Summary: The crumbling wall between the university and the market
Review: David Kirp does a superlative job of illustrating the many ways in which universities, indeed all types of higher and further education, are being increasingly exposed to market forces. By the judicious use of case studies based upon educational institutions as diverse as Dickinson College, the University of Chicago, the University of California Berkeley, MIT, the Open University and DeVry University, he shows how the embrace of the market has led some universities astray, some to prosper enormously, and at least one to prosper by giving its "product" away.
Kirp generally provides a balanced view of his subject, although it is evident that he is very concerned about the injury to the "academic commons" to which market forces can lead. In this respect he recognizes the ongoing phenomenon, describes it well and leaves it to his readers to devise an appropriate response.
The book is clearly and engagingly written, and nicely complements Derek Bok's _Universities in the Marketplace_ (2003), which takes a narrower view of the diversity of higher educational institutions while also considering a broader set of functional aspects of the university, for example, athletics. Together Kirp and Bok have left this reader impressed by the power and persistence of market forces and keenly aware that something very valuable will be lost if they dominate higher education completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful
Review: David Kirp's analysis is an insightful discussion of the challenges facing American higher education in the 21st century. His case studies are for the most part interesting and informative. His bottom line is that the old "ivory tower" face of the university (and college) is becoming a thing of the past as financial pressures, skyrocketing tuition, and the pressure to maintain student enrollments is fundamentally changing the face of higher education. Kirp appreciates that business-based marketing is essential to maintaining the solvency of most of America's colleges, yet he rightly laments what happens when marketing overshadows the grand purposes for which the university exists. For those in higher education this is a useful book, although toward the book's end the case studies become a bit repetitive. Also, Kirp's right-minded discussion about the dangers of a purely market-driven higher education ignores an equally dangerous and more insidious threat to the noble purposes of higher education; namely, political correctness.
Rating:
Summary: Goodbye Mr. Chips, Hello "Survivor"?
Review: First things first: anyone who is interested in higher education policy (whether as an academic, investor, administrator, or student) will almost certainly find this book well worth their time. Professor Kirp's well-written case studies provide an insightful look at the changing environment of higher education, where institutions may be increasingly driven to act less like collegial scholars in a marketplace of ideas and more like the half-starved castaways on a bad episode of "Survivor." As the other reviews attest, the book provides an equal measure of readability and rigor; Kirp clearly knows what he's talking about, and he says it skillfully enough that at times you might think you were reading an article in the Atlantic Monthly instead of a book from a noted academic. Any student who finds this book on their assigned reading list should consider themselves lucky. Moreover, some of the most interesting parts of this book come not from the details of the case studies that comprise the bulk of the book, but from the larger implications and the questions they raise. Any good book raises more questions than it answers, and Kirp does not disappoint on this score. After I finished reading "Shakespeare," I was left with a couple of burning questions: If the winners write the history books, how might history look if one day the "winner" of the higher education battles ends up being a for-profit subsidiary of a company like Enron? What are the pros and cons of allowing private companies to gain control over the content of American education? Furthermore, if "producers" of higher education are becoming increasingly sophisticated in marketing their product, how can "consumers" develop the savvy to ensure that they really know what they're buying (and getting what they paid for)? I imagine there are a great many parents of high school seniors, as well as adult professionals looking for a career upgrade, who would want to know how to sort through the big promises and slick brochures much like Kirp's consumer exemplar, Mohammed Ziaee. I very much enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: values
Review: I liked this book as it describes the problems caused by applying business tools to universities along with lots of real world examples from well known schools. Core intellectual liberal arts subjects like history, language and philosophy loose support because they are not as popular and produce less revenue per student than the more vocational subjects like psychology, communications and economics. Kirp points out that while these techniques may have dumbed down the curriculum at some schools they have saved several colleges like NYU from going bankrupt. As an MBA I believe it shows the disadvantage of alphabet soup management techniques that can be disastrous when improperly applied.
Rating:
Summary: values
Review: I liked this book as it describes the problems caused by applying business tools to universities along with lots of real world examples from well known schools. Core intellectual liberal arts subjects like history, language and philosophy loose support because they are not as popular and produce less revenue per student than the more vocational subjects like psychology, communications and economics. Kirp points out that while these techniques may have dumbed down the curriculum at some schools they have saved several colleges like NYU from going bankrupt. As an MBA I believe it shows the disadvantage of alphabet soup management techniques that can be disastrous when improperly applied.
Rating:
Summary: An Insider's view
Review: I'm the President of GGU and have been in higher ed. since 1968... This is the best volume on the challanges and strategies of our industry I have ever read - for me, facing a competitive environment, technical change and the need to focus on mission, this book has been wonderful. The case studies have the feel of an insider's perspective. The authors comments point to the strategic and organizational dilemmas that colleges and university adminstrators face everyday.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging & Rewarding
Review: Kirp's book is a rich, engaging, and rewarding read about the new world order of mission, markets, and money in American higher education. Unlike the blind men of the African parable who touch the elephant and can describe the parts but miss the whole, Kirp provides a thoughtful assessment about the evolving parts and the increasingly protean whole. He skillfully weaves together stories about institutions and events to present the big picture: individual institutions and a complex, increasingly segmented system of higher education, anchored in tradition and also struggling to survive and thrive in a new environment of rising expectations, unprotected markets, and real risk. In an academic world too often marked by sum ergo expertise, Kirp serves as the very well informed, very insightful, and very loyal opposition.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging & Rewarding
Review: Kirp's book is a rich, engaging, and rewarding read about the new world order of mission, markets, and money in American higher education. Unlike the blind men of the African parable who touch the elephant and can describe the parts but miss the whole, Kirp provides a thoughtful assessment about the evolving parts and the increasingly protean whole. He skillfully weaves together stories about institutions and events to present the big picture: individual institutions and a complex, increasingly segmented system of higher education, anchored in tradition and also struggling to survive and thrive in a new environment of rising expectations, unprotected markets, and real risk. In an academic world too often marked by sum ergo expertise, Kirp serves as the very well informed, very insightful, and very loyal opposition.
Rating:
Summary: This should be six stars!
Review: One of the first things you learn in policy schools is: Never wander too far from your data. David Kirp's book is wonderfully rich with original case material and backed up with an impressive set of secondary sources. Don't expect the easy answers you get from one-note oped pieces and think tanks. Well-written and thought-provoking at the same time, the book's weight of evidence is matched by the weight of its argument. For once, the for-profit sector in education is actually assessed rather than dismissed out of hand, and new approaches are brought to the fore--what can we learn from the successful Open University distance learning model of education? What I take away from Kirp and his colleagues is that no flaming angels or social darwinism can direct our way to better post-secondary education. It's got to be done case by case by those whose careers are invested in making colleges and universities the best they can be. Speaking of the cases, I'd be surprised if those who teach or are students in these institutions don't see themselves and their concerns reflected in this book!
Rating:
Summary: One Student's Opinion
Review: This book was an interesting case study review of financial forces that are shaping our universities. While reading I found myself contemplating questions such as "Can schools preserve their heritage of `the disciplines of the mind' while adapting to the competitive pressures of the new millennium?" Kirp has thoroughly investigated the problems and opportunities facing the funding and the recruiting practices of universities today. It was fascinating to learn how courageous and creative leaders were able to turn their institutions around. I would recommend this book to individuals who make decisions regarding the funding and on-going solvency of institutions of higher learning.
|
