Posts published on July 10, 2011

Increasing College Productivity: A Continuing Puzzle

Are Productivity Gains in Higher Education Possible?

Andrew Kelly, The American

Yes, but not until institutions are provided with incentive to pursue them.Here’s a puzzle: leaders are calling on colleges and universities to produce more degrees, but cash-strapped states are cutting higher education spending. What’s the solution? Be careful how you answer-this question has become the most prominent fissure in contemporary debates about higher education reform.

 For Another View see “The (Un)Productivity of American Higher Education: From “Cost Disease” to Cost-Effectiveness,” a recent working paper by WISCAPE Senior Scholar Sara Goldrick-Rab and WISCAPE Faculty Affiliate Douglas Harris