Is there a “crisis in higher education” as outlined by the recent article, “Faulty Towers” in The Nation? Apparently there are reading lists on the matter. The authors’ of “Higher Education’s Toughest Test” think that there is an “education bubble” akin to the housing bubble in that the cost of a degree is becoming ever more costly while the “cost of learning” is declining and students are over-leveraged. They think that this bad news might not be all bad as it could force higher ed to “re-think their product offerings and tuition.”

While “Faulty Towers” conclude that tenure track professors need to use their tenured voices to save the profession, a new book, The Faculty Lounges, argues for the end of the tenure system and claims it makes higher education too expensive but its review prior to publication is already generating critique of its simplistic conclusions and predictable views.

Some of this bad, sad and maddening news can be countered by some powerful and inspirational collaborations happening at UMB and at other higher ed universities. Of course there are actually too many to list here. But, hearing that there is a “new opportunity for universities and colleges to advance the New England economy and at the same time help address environmental concerns” by launching the next revolution in New England seems pretty exciting and beneficial to society. Governor Patrick weighed in on the subject and says that our Massachusetts public universities are an “engine for opportunity” and started The Vision Project, which hopes to make that true in Massachusetts. Another recent example is the higher ed consortium to help higher ed in Haiti.

So higher education is facing the challenges. But, back to the crisis. There is a “Universities in Crisis” blog that documents the global crisis that it is. After that, I was particularly interested to read the essay by Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley entitled, “A New Vision of the Public University” where he puts forth the need for a reflexive university that “engages with publics” after attending the South African Stakeholder Summit on Higher Education Transformation held in April, 2010.