Guiding the American University: Contemporary Challenges and Choices by Peter N. Stearns (review)

Peter Stearns’ most recent book, Guiding the American University: Contemporary Challenges and Choices, provides a succinct overview of the trials and crises faced by higher education today. Stearns, University Professor and Provost Emeritus at George Mason University (GMU), delves into contemporary issues related to shared governance, the spiraling budget and cost crisis, educational quality, academic administration, outdated models of teaching, student services, student success (or lack thereof), and the issues associated with creating a globally relevant university. Stearns includes America’s approximately 3,400 Associates, Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate granting public, private, and for-profit institutions of higher education in his definition of an American university.

Stearns’ introduction, Chapter 1, prefaces the book’s nine topic-focused chapters by describing the polarizing interplay between the crises and opportunities faced by American higher education institutions in the 21st century. Although 62% of the top 100 higher education institutions on the 2014 Shanghai Tao list are located in the United States, Stearns posits that U.S. higher education institutions will fail if they continue operating at a budget deficit and maintaining their low student retention rates.

In each chapter, Stearns discusses a crisis or challenge associated with higher education, provides background and suggestions, and then relates it to his vast experience and tenure at George Mason University. Stearns calls for an “accelerated evolution” rather than a “revolution” (p. 4) and uses the model of GMU to describe what a university is, is not, and what it could be.

Stearns’ calls for postsecondary professionals, both faculty and staff, to “blend data and experience” (p. 6), utilizing proven research to improve and modify existing protocols and practices. Sterns references the research of Clay Christensen (2011), who submits that the necessary new, innovative models will not come from within higher education, but rather outside sources. Regardless, wherever the answer comes from, it is crucial that the question of rising university costs without delivering value must be addressed. A data-driven overhaul of higher education will be required, and although Stearns agrees will not likely come from inside higher education, he does not provide specific recommendations.

In Chapter 2, Stearns provides a history of “public funding” (p. 15), a term used by Stearns to describe federal and state funding, in relation to rising costs and budgets at universities and colleges. Stearns states that although public funding rose in the decades prior to 2000, so had total postsecondary enrollment, hence the per-person budget of public funding has decreased. The author makes the important point that rising tuition was not a reaction to the 2008 recession, although the recession was a contributing factor to escalating costs. Many people blame inflation for the rise in tuition, but Stearns adamantly argues that tuition rose far more than inflation would call for. Later in the chapter, Stearns lists steps that universities could follow as they are reassessing their budget: (1) find new sources of revenue, (2) encourage philanthropy, (3) dialogue with the state to increase state funding, and (4) increase commitment to efficient practices regarding faculty productivity and administrative “bloat” (p. 21). Of utmost importance to Stearns is extensive and open communication among administrators, faculty, staff, and students. He recommends practices put into place by George Mason University of frequent budget forums for faculty, staff, and student senate groups. Stearns set the stage in Chapter Two to address the key priorities of stabilizing budgets and promoting student success in later chapters.

On page 22, Stearns transitions from the cost of universities to the educational product being offered. Specifically, he asks: How can the quality of education be measured, and if the quality is found lacking, how can university faculty be held accountable to their craft? He submits that universities and colleges must be held responsible to provide training, skills, and knowledge to further the education of their educators and, in turn, provide a higher level of educational quality to the students. Sterns does not believe that...