After the State of the Union and State of the State addresses, it was fairly obvious the condition of higher education was not political leaders' greatest concern. In fact, they hardly mentioned it at all, and that was just days prior to Congress passing the largest-ever cut to student loan funding.
However, the Commission for the Future of Higher Education cares about what universities are up to - it just isn't interested in what the universities or students actually want.
The federal commission has proposed standardized testing of college students to measure a school's progress and hold universities accountable for sufficiently educating students. But according to several Ball State University officials - and students - there is no need for this kind of assessment.
Professors and administrators stress that Ball State is a diverse educational institute, with many fields of study offered. To do across-the-board testing would minimize the importance of that diversity and emphasize general knowledge over specific career-related skill building.
With all standardized testing, priority can shift from what best educates a student to what causes the school to earn the highest and most impressive score. But that's not what college is about.
High school attendance is required, and it's dictated by housing districts rather than by personal choice - plus high schools are predominantly funded by taxpayer dollars. Universities, in direct contrast, are a choice, not a requirement, and that choice is more personal than "standard" - not to mention that universities derive a large portion of their funding from student tuition and private donation. These are two contrasting educational environments - with different formats, goals and methods - so subjecting universities to the practice of high-school-style standardized testing seems inappropriate. And few college students would appreciate the suggestion that they still haven't academically progressed past the point of 10th-grade + testing.
Universities have the obligation to train and teach their students for future endeavors. Assessment of a university's educational fortitude can be measured in rising enrollment, cost of tuition, competition among faculty and national spotlight achievements - the trappings of academia.
Fortunately, Ball State leaders largely do not support this proposal. Hopefully that will help keep the idea from coming to fruition, but the best way to keep bad ideas from becoming bad realities is voicing your concerns.
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