HEIK seminar: University of California – Challenges to mass education in the US

By Marielk. We are pleased to share yet another session from the HEIK academic seminar series in the field of higher education, with both invited international speakers and members of the research group HEIK (Higher Education: Institutional dynamics and Knowledge cultures) here at the University of Oslo. This lecture was recorded in March 2013 and features Prof. Steven Brint (University of California Riverside) who examines the challenges of mass education in the US.
Abstract for the session: Mass access combined with declining requirements and student utilitarianism has led to increases in the size of academically disengaged undergraduate student populations in the United States. This paper presents a method for conceptualizing and measuring these populations. It measures the size and characteristics of academically disengaged populations in a major public research university system, the University of California, and it discusses approaches that can be useful as means to re-engage these students in academic life. The paper briefly discusses the likely implications of mass online higher education within the current context of undergraduate student life. Read more...