EPS 518: Introduction to Debates in Higher Education Policy
Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab
SYLLABUS
Spring 2012
Tuesdays, 2:25-5:00 pm
Social Science 6104
Contact Information, Office Hours, News
211 Education Building (on Bascom)
(608) 265-2141
srab@education.wisc.edu (preferred and fastest way to reach me)
1. Starting February 6, I will hold office hours on Mondays from 1:30-3:30 pm, and by
appointment as needed. There will be some exceptions so if you are ever uncertain if office
hours are being held please check Learn@UW.
2. I expect every student to come and see me during office hours at least once during the
semester.
3. Please watch our Learn @ UW page weekly for important news and class updates.
Course Description
In this course you will learn to think critically about debates in contemporary higher
education policy. Our discussions will explore the tensions between key policy goals such
as quality, equity, and efficiency, and the results (including unintended consequences) of
those tensions. We will also examine the research brought to bear on policy debates, and
how it is used—or not used—to shape policy agendas.
By the end of this class, you should be able to read and think critically about an array of
higher education policies, communicate effectively about your thinking on higher
education policy issues with others, and carefully analyze higher education policies and
convey your thinking clearly in writing.
Feedback
I welcome your input. If you have comments or suggestions about the class, how it’s going,
or how it might be improved, please provide these to me—do not wait until the end of the
semester when it’s too late to make adjustments. I want to hear your thoughts and I will
take them seriously.
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Requirements and Grading
A. Pop Quizzes. You are required to read all assigned readings in advance of each class and
to ensure you prepare, I will occasionally administer a pop quiz. The content will be recallbased (trends, basic ideas) rather than about your interpretations of readings. Do not
panic—you need not read every word of every reading to pass the quizzes—but you must
at least have skimmed them all. Your lowest grade on a pop quiz will be dropped in the
calculation of your final grade (so if you miss a class and get a 0 for that quiz then that will
be the grade dropped). I reserve the right to switch to Learn @UW quizzes instead of inclass quizzes, if I deem appropriate. (10% of final grade, scaled 0-10)
B. Outside Talks. There are many opportunities on and around campus to attend events
relevant to higher education policy issues (broadly construed). I list several below, and will
notify you of more throughout the term. Feel free to also notify me of opportunities and
ask if they are appropriate. I ask that you attend two, and write a memo (2-3 pages)
describing your reactions and analyzing what you learned. Your memo should provide
clear evidence that you attended the talk, as opposed to hearing about it from someone
else, and it should attempt to relate what you heard to the material we are discussed in
class. After you attend, please place your papers in the appropriate Dropbox on our
Learn@UW site. It is your responsibility to identify and attend the talks within the
constraints of your schedule. (10% of final grade, graded pass/fail).
February 8, 2012, 4:00-6:30 pm, 1255 H.F. DeLuca Forum, Wisconsin Institutes for
Discovery. New Perspectives in Social Policy Seminar Series. “A Biology of Misfortune:
How Social Stratification, Sensitivity and Stress Diminish Early Health and
Development.” Thomas W. Boyce, University of British Columbia.
February 9, 2012, 12:15-1:30 pm, 8417 Sewell Social Sciences. “Equilibrium
Tuition, Applications, Admissions and Enrollment in the College Market.” Chao Fu,
University of Wisconsin–Madison.
February 21, 2012, 7:00 pm, MMoca Lecture Hall, Overture Center. Hosted by
Wisconsin Academy (free). “The Future of Public Higher Education.” Gary Rhoades,
University of Arizona.
February 22, 2012, 7:00 pm, 1100 Grainger. “Preferential Admissions at UW: Equal
Opportunity or Unfair Discrimination?” Daniel M. Hausman, University of
Wisconsin–Madison.
March 1, 2012, 12:15-1:30 pm, 8417 Sewell Social Sciences. “Trends in the Impact
of Anti-Poverty Programs in the United States.” Robert Moffitt, Johns Hopkins
University.
March 29-30, 2012, EPS Conference on public higher education. More info TBA
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C. Memo on UW Task Force or Other Legislature Hearing. You will watch one of a selection
of hearings (I will provide a list under Content on Learn @ UW) and write a 5 page memo
describing your reactions and observations, and linking those to class discussions and
readings. Due March 27. (20% of final grade, scaled 0-10).
D. Policy Paper. This is the central task of the class. You will pick one of the three main
debates we will focus on this semester (see the readings list for these) and write a detailed
policy paper that takes a position on a related issue. Your paper should clearly delineate
the rationale for your position, grounded in factual (rather than anecdotal evidence), and
include citations and references. You should also discuss the stance of those who might
disagree with you, and explain why you take the position you do. For undergraduates, this
paper should be 18-20 pages long, 12 pts Times New Roman, double-spaced, excluding
references and tables. For graduate students, it should be 25-30 pages. You will submit
both a draft and a final paper. You must give me the topic of your paper by February 14, in
a one-paragraph summary submitted to the Dropbox. The draft is due April 10. Your grade
on the final paper will depend heavily on your response to my feedback after the draft. The
final paper is due May 18. The draft will comprise 20% of your final grade, and the final
paper will comprise 40% (each graded on a scale of 0-100).
To summarize the grading rubric:
Pop Quizzes= 10%
Response Papers to Talks= 10%
Memo = 20%
Draft Policy Paper= 20%
Final Policy Paper= 40%
*** Graduate Students: In addition to regular class attendance, I also ask that you meet with
me 2 times during the semester for a separate discussion session. I will schedule these
with you by conferring via Doodle. ***
Class Website
We have a Learn@UW webpage, which can be accessed through MyUW. Become familiar
with our page, as I will use it to post announcements, all readings, and your grades.
You should submit all assignments via Dropbox on Learn@UW. Please submit all
assignments as PDF files—I grade them on my iPad and will return comments that way.
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Recommendations for Reading and Class Discussion
1. Approach the readings in the order listed in the syllabus for each week. I’ve ordered
them to flow from one another. You are responsible for reading them all.
2. Read all pieces with a critical eye—they often represent competing viewpoints and may
be of varying levels of quality.
3. You are expected to retrieve and read all articles in advance of class—so start early, and
anticipate some technical glitches when downloading. You will not be excused from a
discussion or pop quiz simply because you obtain a reading.
4. Learn to read efficiently. Make your goal to read the articles for the main ideas and
arguments, rather than to memorize every word. Take notes on the articles, and bring
those to class.
5. Since they rarely lead to productive group discussions, I have little tolerance for class
discussions or papers in which participants rely solely on emotion or personal anecdote
to make points. I want to hear what you think, and urge you to ground your
contributions in empirical evidence whenever possible. For example, cite a reading or a
statistic or make an observation grounded in something we can relate to. While your
own personal views are important and valuable, they do not create much basis for an
academic discussion.
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SCHEDULE AND READINGS
January 24
Introduction to the class and each other. Discussion of syllabus and course goals.
Educational Opportunity in the United States
January 31
Bullock, H. F. (2008). Justifying inequality: A social psychological analysis of beliefs about
poverty and the poor. In A. C. Lin & D. R. Harris (Eds.), The colors of poverty: Why racial and
ethnic disparities exist (pp. 52-75). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Duncan, G. J., & Murnane, R. J. (2011). Introduction: The American dream, then and now. In
G. J. Duncan & R. J. Murnane (Eds.), Whither opportunity: Rising inequality, schools, and
children's life chances (pp. 3-26). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Farkas, G. (2008). How educational inequality develops. In A. C. Lin & D. R. Harris (Eds.),
The colors of poverty: Why racial and ethnic disparities exist (pp. 105-134). New York:
Russell Sage Foundation.
Phillips, M. (2011). Ethnic and social class disparities in academic skills: Their origins and
consequences. In L. M. Stulberg & S. L. Weinberg (Eds.), Diversity in American
higher education: Toward a more comprehensive approach (pp. 7-24). London: Routledge.
Shapiro, T. M. (2004). “Getting a decent middle-class American education": Pursuing
advantage in schools. In The hidden cost of being African American: How wealth perpetuates
inequality (pp. 155-182). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Policies, Politics, and Statistics
February 7
DesJardins, S. L. (2001). Understanding and using efficiency and equity criteria in the study
of higher education policy. In J. C. Smart & W. G. Tierney (Eds.), Higher education: Handbook
of theory and research, Vol. XVII (pp. 173-220). Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Huff, D. (1993). How to talk back to a statistic. In How to Lie with Statistics (pp. 124-144).
New York: Norton.
Schneider, M. (2010). The politics of higher education. In K. Carey & M. Schneider (Eds.),
Accountability in American higher education (pp. 251-272). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Stein, S. J. (2004). Policy as cultural construct. In The culture of educational policy (pp. 125). New York: Teachers College Press.
Troy, T. (2012, Winter). Devaluing the think tank. National Affairs. Retrieved from
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/devaluing-the-think-tank
Debate 1: What are the Purposes of Public Higher Education?
February 14: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives
Assignment Due: Submit a paragraph describing the topic of your policy paper today.
Douglass, J. A. (2007). Conditions for admission: Access, equity, and the social contract of
public universities (pp. 3-45). Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Geiger, R. L. (2010). Postmortem for the current era: Change in American higher education,
1980-2010 (Working Paper No. 5). State College, PA: Center for the Study of Higher
Education, Pennsylvania State University.
Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2008). The Race between education and technology (pp. 11-43, 247323). Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
February 21: Extending Opportunity—Who Goes to College? Who Finishes?
Attewell, P., Heil, S., & Reisel, L. (2011). Competing explanations of undergraduate
noncompletion. American Educational Research Journal, 48(3), 536-559.
Attewell, P., & Lavin, D. E. (2012). The other 75%: College education beyond the elite. In E.
C. Lagemann & H. Lewis (Eds.), What is college for? The public purpose of higher education
(pp. 86-103). New York: Teachers College Press.
Bailey, M. J., & Dynarski, S. M. (2011). Inequality in postsecondary education.
In G. J. Duncan & R. J. Murnane (Eds.), Whither opportunity: Rising inequality, schools, and
children's life chances (pp. 117-132). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Bowen, W. G., Chingos, M. M., & McPherson, M. S. (2009). Finishing college at public
universities. In Crossing the finish line: Completing college at America's public universities
(pp. 32-56). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Toby, J. (2010). Goofing off at college. In The lowering of higher education in America: Why
financial aid should be based on student performance (pp. 89-120). Santa Barbara, CA:
Praeger.
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February 28: Economic, Social, and Educational Returns to College Degrees
Arum, R., & Roksa, J. (2011). Limited learning on college campuses. Society, 48(3), 203-207.
Attewell, P. (2011). Riddle remains in academically adrift. Society, 48(3), 225-226.
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010). Help wanted: Projections of jobs and economic
requirements through 2018. Washington, DC: Center on Education and the Workforce,
Georgetown University.
Hout, M. (2011). Social and economic returns to college education in the United States.
Annual Review of Sociology, 37.
Steedle, J. (2010). On the foundations of standardized assessment of college outcomes and
estimating value added. In K. Carey & M. Schneider (Eds.), Accountability in American higher
education (pp. 7-32). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Debate 2: How Should Public Higher Education Governed and Financed?
March 6: What College Costs—And Why
Archibald, R. B., & Feldman, D. H. (2011, January-February). Are plush dorms and fancy
food plans important drivers of college costs? Change, 43(1), 31-37.
Jones, D., & Wellman, J. (2010, May-June). Breaking bad habits: Navigating the financial
crisis. Change, 42(3), 6-13.
Harris, D. N., & Goldrick-Rab, S. (2012). The (un)productivity of American higher education:
From "cost disease" to cost-effectiveness (La Follette School Working Paper No. 2010-023).
Madison, WI: La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin. (Just skim this
one)
Newfield, C. (2008). The costs of accounting. In Unmaking the public university: The fortyyear assault on the middle class (pp. 159-172). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Riley, N. S. (2011). Following the money. In The faculty lounges and other reasons why you
won’t get the college education you paid for (pp. 143-170). Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
Taylor, M. C. (2010). Education bubble. In Crisis on campus: A bold plan for reforming our
colleges and universities (pp. 84-111). New York: Random House.
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March 13: Who Governs and Who Pays
Guest Lecture: Steve DesJardins, University of Michigan
Cheslock, J. J., & Hughes, R. P. (2011). Differences across states in higher education finance
policy. Journal of Education Finance, 36(4), 369-393.
Johnstone, D. B. (2011). Financing higher education: Who should pay? In P. G. Altbach & R.
O. Berdahl (Eds.), American higher education in the twenty-first century: Social, political, and
economic challenges (2nd ed., pp. 316-340). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
McGuinness, A. (2011). States and higher education: A national perspective (PowerPoint
slides). Madison, WI: Wisconsin State Legislature.
McLendon, M. K., Mokher, C. G., & Doyle, W. (2009). Privileging public research universities:
An empirical analysis of the distribution of state appropriations across research and nonresearch universities. Journal of Education Finance, 34(4), 372-401.
Tandberg, D. A. (2010). Politics, interest groups and state funding of public higher
education. Research in Higher Education, 51(5), 416-450.
March 20: Financial Aid—How It Works and What it Achieves
Bettinger, E. (2011, February). Financial aid: A blunt instrument for increasing degree
attainment. Unpublished paper presented at American Enterprise Institute Conference,
Washington, DC.
Bowen, W. G., Chingos, M. M., & McPherson, M. S. (2009). Financial aid and pricing on a
national level. In Crossing the finish line: Completing college at America's public universities
(pp. 149-165). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Goldrick-Rab, S., Harris, D. N., Kelchen, R., & Benson, J. (2012). Conditional cash transfers
and college persistence: Evidence from a randomized need-based grant program. Madison,
WI: University of Wisconsin.
Toby, J. (2010). How a change in public policy can improve American college education. In
The lowering of higher education in America: Why financial aid should be based on student
performance (pp. 175-202). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
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March 27: State Support, Tuition, and Privatization
Assignment Due: Submit memo on legislative hearing today.
Hemelt, S. W., & Marcotte, D. E. (2011). The impact of tuition increases on enrollment at
public colleges and universities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33(4), 435-457.
Ikenberry, S. O. (2009). Privatizing the public research university. In C. C. Morphew & P. D.
Eckel (Eds.), Privatization of the public research university: Perspectives from across the
academy (pp. 1-6). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Lebaeu, Y., Stumpf, R., Brown, R., & Abrahão, M. (2012). Who shall pay for the public good?
Comparative trends in the funding crisis of public higher education. Compare, 42(1), 137157.
McLendon, M. K., Hearn, J. C., & Hammond, R. G. (2011). Pricing the flagships: The political
economy of tuition setting at public research universities. Unpublished paper, North Carolina
State University, Raleigh, NC.
McLendon, M. K., & Mokher, C. G. (2009). The origins and growth of state policies that
privatize public higher education. In C. Morphew and P. Eckel (Ed.). Privatization of the
Public Research University (pp. 7-32). Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
***April 3—Spring Break***
April 10: The Biggest “Threat?” For-Profit Higher Education
Assignment Due: Submit draft of policy paper today.
Bennett, D. L., Lucchesi, A. R., & Vedder, R. K. (2010). For profit higher education: Growth,
innovation, and regulation (Policy Paper). Washington, DC: Center for College Affordability
and Productivity.
Deming, D. J., Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2011). The for-profit postsecondary school sector:
Nimble critters or agile predators? (NBER Working Paper No. 17710). Cambridge, MA:
National Bureau of Economic Research.
Fox Garrity, B. K., Garrison, M. J., & Fiedler, R. C. (2010). Access for whom, access to what?
The role of the “disadvantaged student” market in the rise of for-profit higher education in
the United States. The Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies 8(1), 203-244.
Newfield, C. (2008). The problem with privatization. In Unmaking the public university: The
forty-year assault on the middle class (pp. 173-194). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
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Debate 3: What Should Determine Admissions to Public Higher Education?
April 17: CLASS CANCELLED DUE TO AERA
April 24: The Meaning of Merit and Affirmative Action—Rationales and Effects (Part 1)
NOTE: On this day class starts at 330 pm and runs until 715pm. Please check email
before coming to class to ensure my flight is on time. Feel free to bring dinner along.
Cornwell, C., Mustard, D. B., & Van Parys, J. (2011). The new SAT and academic performance
at a public flagship university. In J. A. Soares (Ed.), SAT wars: The case for test-optional
college admissions (pp. 127-136). New York: Teachers College Press.
Fullinwider, R. K., & Lichtenberg, J. (2004). Demystifying merit. In Leveling the playing field:
Justice, politics, and college admissions (pp 17-38). Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
Espenshade, T. J., & Radford, A. W. (2009). What counts in being admitted? In No longer
separate, not yet equal: Race and class in elite college admission and campus life (pp. 62129). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Walton, G et al. (2011). “A brief social belonging intervention improves academic and
health outcomes of minority students.” Science.
Schmidt, P. (2010). A history of legacy preferences and privilege. In R. D. Kahlenberg (Ed.),
Affirmative action for the rich: Legacy preferences in college admissions (pp. 33-43). New
York: The Century Foundation.
Bowen, W. G., & Bok, D. (2000). The shape of the river: Long-term consequences of
considering race in college and university admissions (pp. 1-52, 275-290). Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.
Fischer, M. J., & Massey, D. S. (2006). The effects of affirmative action in higher education.
Social Science Research, 36, 531-549.
Massey, D. S., & Mooney, M. (2007). The effects of America’s three affirmative action
programs on academic performance. Social Problems, 54(1), 99-117.
Walton, G. et al. (Forthcoming). Affirmative Meritocracy. Social Issues and Policy Review.
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May 1: Affirmative Action—Rationales and Effects (Part 2) and Affirmative Action—
Legal and Political Issues
NOTE: On this day class starts at 230 pm and runs until 630pm.
Shapiro, T. M. (2004). The cost of being black and the advantage of being white. In The
hidden cost of being African American: How wealth perpetuates inequality (pp. 42-59).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Moses, M. S. (2002). Affirmative action. In Embracing race: Why we need race-conscious
education policy (pp. 106-152). New York: Teachers College Press.
Ancheta, A. N. (2005). From strict scrutiny to educational scrutiny. In G. Orfield, P. Marin, &
C. L. Horn (Eds.), Higher education and the color line: College access, racial equity, and social
change (pp. 175-196). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Darity, W. J., Deshpande, A., & Weisskopf, T. (2011). Who is eligible? Should affirmative
action be group- or class-based? American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 70(1), 238268.
Espenshade, T. J., & Radford, A. W. (2009). Do we still need affirmative action? In No longer
separate, not yet equal: Race and class in elite college admission and campus life (pp. 339377). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Katznelson, I. (2005). Johnson’s ambitions, Powell’s principles: Thoughts on renewing
affirmative action. In When affirmative action was white: An untold history of racial
inequality in twentieth-century America (pp 142-172). New York: Norton.
Stulberg, L. M., & Chen, A. S. (2011). A long view on "diversity": A century of American
college admissions debates. In L. M. Stulberg & S. L. Weinberg (Eds.), Diversity in American
higher education: Toward a more comprehensive approach (pp. 51-62). London: Routledge.
May 8: What’s Next for Public Higher Education?
Crow, M. (2010, September-October). Differentiating America's colleges and
universities. Change, 42(5), 36-41.
Murray, C. (2011). Abolishing the SAT. In J. A. Soares (Ed.), SAT wars: The case for testoptional college admissions (pp. 69-84). New York: Teachers College Press.
Taylor, M. C. (2010). Walls to webs. In Crisis on campus: A bold plan for reforming our
colleges and universities (pp. 139-179). New York: Random House.
Weissberg, R. (2011). Is American higher education all that bad? Society, 48(3), 220-224.
Wood, P. (2011). The higher education bubble. Society, 48(3), 208-212.
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Policy Paper due by 5:00 pm on May 18.
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