NAS board of directors member and president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni Anne Neal was this week's guest on the video interview program Inside Academia. She talked about ACTA's efforts to refocus institutions on their primary purpose: good education. She explained why students should not be thought of as customers, and how colleges and universities must take the responsibility for providing a solid general education. They must also take responsbility, when faced with budget cuts, to cut their own costs rather than raise tuition, in order to maintain the public trust and model transparent financial stewardship.
Click on the video below to watch the 20-minute interview.
from InsideAcademia.tv:
Key Take-Aways
- 2:04 – Core curriculum and vast gaps in knowledge (1 min)
- 3:54 – Non-transparency despite billions in federal aid (1 min)
- 5:53 – Fewer than 5% require economics; 20% U.S. history (1 min)
- 8:24 – Basic teaching duties v. campuses as resorts (2 mins)
- 12:42 – Student culture as product of leisurely academic schedule (1 min)
- 15:32 – Trustees: Focus on problem of 6+ year graduation rates (30 secs)
- 17:10 – State aid cuts should result in colleges cutting spending (2 mins)
