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Higher Education? Dreifus and Hacker Discuss the State and Future of the Academy
Authors Claudia Dreifus and Andrew Hacker critiqued America's colleges and universities in an October 18 discussion at SIPA on their book, Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids — and What We Can Do About It.
Dreifus, a New York Times reporter and SIPA adjunct associate professor, and Hacker, a professor emeritus at Queens College, argued that schools spend too much time and money on research, facilities, and student services, and too little on teaching undergraduates. The rising costs are passed on in tuition bills that now approach $40,000 per year at many schools.
Listen to Claudia Dreifus’ remarks. 
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"One of the things that got us started on this book was the outrageous rise in the cost of a college education," Hacker said. "College tuition has tripled since 1980."
The discussion was moderated by Ester Fuchs, director of SIPA's Urban and Social Policy concentration, and co-sponsored by the Earth Institute, Teachers College and SIPA's International Media, Advocacy and Communications specialization.
The authors argued that students at many top schools do not receive the education they pay for. Elite professors often do little teaching and perform poorly in the classroom. Classes are tailored to faculty interests rather than student needs, and tenured professors are not accountable for student satisfaction, Hacker said.
In contrast, students often say that their favorite professors are adjuncts, who are more animated.
"I know a lot of professors say 'I'm not a performer,' but that is what it takes to a certain extent," Dreifus said.
Universities with lower administrative costs and professors who teach more classes per semester are often a better deal for students, the authors argued. Lesser known schools such as Western Oregon State University deliver a solid education at a minimal cost, Hacker said.
The event was the first in a series of planned conversations with authors of books on social issues, Fuchs said.
"What we want to do with the expansion of the Urban Social Policy concentration is to bring more of the intellectual life of New York City to the Columbia campus," she said.
Tim Shenk, 10/21/2010