ABSTRACT
A 2005 Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television documentary in the USA titled Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk, presented ample evidence that Americans do not know enough about the outcomes of higher education, but that it is convenient for all involved (faculty, students, parents, alumni, legislators, donors, and the taxpaying public) to pretend that high-quality teaching and learning are occurring. In a book by the same name (Hersh & Merrow, 2005), Schneider (2005) highlights the problem:
Americans are increasingly cynical about their public institutions and public leaders. But their skepticism does not extend to the content of a higher education. Most students-and the public as a whole-assume without question that whatever students choose to study in college, they will learn what they need to know for today’s competitive and complex environment. But in practice, college figures in the public imagination as something of a magical mystery tour. It is important to be admitted; it is also important to graduate with a degree. But what one does in between, what students actually learn in college, is largely unknown and largely unchallenged (p. 62).
