Lowering Higher Education: The Rise of Corporate Universities and the Fall of Liberal Education

Lowering Higher Education will be widely read and discussed thanks to its
insightful, controversial analysis of the major issues facing higher education
today. James E. Côté and Anton L. Allahar put forth excellent arguments on
why the liberal arts education is being lost in the university environment, and
what implications this will have in the long run for students, professors, and
society. By detailing positive examples from around the world and suggestions
for improvement, Côté and Allahar have made a serious advance with Lowering
Higher Education. Gerald Adams, Department of Family Relations, University of Guelph

'In Lowering Higher Education, Professors Côté and Allahar continue their bold critique of the Canadian university system. The sequel to Ivory Tower Blues provides a wide range of new evidence to support the authors' contention that corporatization, credentialism, and dubious edu-technologies are undermining liberal education at the post-secondary level. Public school educators as well as parents will be particularly interested in the book's discussion of how similar trends are affecting Canada's secondary schools, and how teachers are challenging the dysfunctional policies of out-of-touch administrators.' Jon Cowans, secondary school teacher and education writer

'From the misappropriation of the baccalaureate degree to confer status on vocational training programs to the collapse of educational standards driven by misguided government policies, Côté and Allahar systematically explode the self-serving myths propagated by professors, university presidents, and politicians in their increasingly desperate attempts to conserve a post-secondary education system that is failing both our students and the public interest.' David J. Helfand, Columbia University and Quest University Canada

We academics love to expose problems in other institutions, but are more reluctant to do so in our own backyard. Lowering Higher Education offers an unflinching and detailed analysis of grade inflation and student disengagement in Canadian universities. Responding to critics of Ivory Tower Blues, Côté and Allahar elaborate their ideas with new takes on educational technologies, vocational programs, student engagement, and prescriptions for change. Today's universities are not suffering from mere growing pains, they fear, but are drifting from their central mission. This sequel reaffirms liberal ideals in an era of change, and promises to spark a new round of debate on the future of the university. Scott Davies, Ontario Research Chair in Educational Achievement and At-Risk Students, McMaster University