scholarly journals StateChurch: Bringing Religion to Public Higher Education

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 336
Author(s):  
Musbah Shaheen ◽  
Matthew J. Mayhew ◽  
B. Ashley Staples
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Executive Leaders ◽  
Religious Influence ◽  
Global Citizenry ◽  
The U.S

Religion undeniably impacts life in modern society in numerous ways. In the U.S., discussions about religion in public life often start at the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution as fundamental to the separation of church and state. Public higher education does not necessarily share established associations with any religion, but is not free from religious influence. Although Christian influences are undeniably present on public campuses, educators hesitate to discuss religion and spirituality due in part to a pedestrian understanding of the establishment clause and epistemologies that artificially equate secularism with intellectualism. This paper examines case studies conducted at five public U.S. institutions. Focus groups and interviews highlight what different public campuses are doing to address religious diversity, and how they are succeeding or failing to accommodate the needs of students. Findings indicate that executive leaders’ attitudes towards religious diversity on campus are essential for sustained interfaith efforts, but fell short without bottom-up buy-in. Faculty in particular served as key bottom-up leaders for interfaith motivation on campus with students often feeling most comfortable exploring different worldviews within the classroom. This study provides reasonable and responsible pathways toward helping locate religion within public education, and substantiating interfaith ideas as necessary for an informed and responsible global citizenry.

If Higher Education Is a Right, and Distance Education Is the Answer, Then Who Will Pay?

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
The People ◽  
Cost Efficiencies ◽  
Negative Conclusion ◽  
The U.S

If higher education is a right, and distance education is the avenue for making higher education universally available, then who shall pay? This article asks (1) can state governments in the United States afford to fund this initiative and (2) can public higher education institutions in the U.S. fund this effort through capitalizing on cost-efficiencies of online learning? To answer the first question, data on funding of higher education by states are reviewed and a negative conclusion reached. To answer the second question, research on methods for achieving cost-efficiencies through online learning is reviewed and a cautious positive conclusion is reached, assuming states and institutions are willing to invest in the people and processes, and the time, effort, and will, that makes achieving efficiencies possible.

scholarly journals IF HIGHER EDUCATION IS A RIGHT, AND DISTANCE EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER, THEN WHO WILL PAY?

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
The People ◽  
Cost Efficiencies ◽  
Negative Conclusion ◽  
The U.S

If higher education is a right, and distance education is the avenue for making higher education universally available, then who shall pay? This article asks (1) can state governments in the United States afford to fund this initiative and (2) can public higher education institutions in the U.S. fund this effort through capitalizing on cost-efficiencies of online learning? To answer the first question, data on funding of higher education by states are reviewed and a negative conclusion reached. To answer the second question, research on methods for achieving cost-efficiencies through online learning is reviewed and a cautious positive conclusion is reached, assuming states and institutions are willing to invest in the people and processes, and the time, effort, and will that make achieving efficiencies possible.

scholarly journals What If a State Required Civic Learning for All Students?

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
John D Reiff
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Civic Learning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intellectual Skills ◽  
Democratic Life ◽  
The U.S

his article tells the story of the first state in the U.S. to set the expectation that every undergraduate in public higher education would be involved in civic learning.  In 2012, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education made “Preparing Citizens” one of seven key outcomes of its Vision Project for public higher education.  In 2014, the Board passed a Policy on Civic Learning defining civic learning as “acquisition of the knowledge, the intellectual skills and the applied competencies that citizens need for informed and effective participation in civic and democratic life; it also means acquiring an understanding of the social values that underlie democratic structures and practices” (<a href="http://www.mass.edu/bhe/lib/documents/AAC14-48CivicLearningwithPolicy-RevisedFinalforBHE.pdf">http://www.mass.edu/bhe/lib/documents/AAC14-48CivicLearningwithPolicy-RevisedFinalforBHE.pdf</a>).  First steps toward achieving this goal include<ol><li><p>designing a process to identify and designate on every campus under the Board’s oversight those courses with a substantial focus on civic learning—either with or without civic engagement built into them—and</p></li><li><p>developing a set of rubrics that can be used to assess student learning outcomes in these courses. </p><p>The article presents the complex issues emerging through the first year’s work on these two steps, and sketches action steps to follow.</p></li></ol>

scholarly journals IF HIGHER EDUCATION IS A RIGHT, AND DISTANCE EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER, THEN WHO WILL PAY?

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina A. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
The People ◽  
Cost Efficiencies ◽  
Negative Conclusion ◽  
The U.S

If higher education is a right, and distance education is the avenue for making higher education universally available, then who shall pay? This article asks (1) can state governments in the United States afford to fund this initiative and (2) can public higher education institutions in the U.S. fund this effort through capitalizing on cost-efficiencies of online learning? To answer the first question, data on funding of higher education by states are reviewed and a negative conclusion reached. To answer the second question, research on methods for achieving cost-efficiencies through online learning is reviewed and a cautious positive conclusion is reached, assuming states and institutions are willing to invest in the people and processes, and the time, effort, and will that make achieving efficiencies possible.

The U.S. Student Loan Debt Crisis: State Crime or State-Produced Harm?

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
State Crime ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Social Harm ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Loan Debt ◽  
The U.S

The unprecedented US$1.64 trillion level of student loan debt in the United States can be linked to the neoliberal process of privatization of higher education. But is the U.S. student loan debt crisis a state crime? This article examines the social harm student loan debt has caused; proposes an explanation for the shift to debt-financed, commodified public higher education; reveals government disinvestment in public higher education; details the transition of public higher education as a public good to higher education as a commodity financed with debt; and describes Obama administration reforms and De Vos/Trump administration attempts at policy rollback and further privatization. I situate the U.S. student loan debt crisis case in recent debates about crime, social harm, and zemiology.

Religion and Spirituality in Public Higher Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Waggoner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Institution ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Protestant Christianity ◽  
Conscious Attention

The place of religion and spirituality in public higher education in the United States continues to grow due to the evolving interpretation of religion and the Constitution. What began as a singular entity comingling public and private resources and religion is now a public institution with more carefully delineated legal parameters governing the use of public funds for religious purposes. Three themes may be traced throughout the history of religion in US public institutions. First is the accommodation of increasing religious diversity and the concomitant dilution of the exclusive dominance of Protestant Christianity and its associated privilege within the public square generally and public higher education particularly. Second is the conscious attention to religion and, more recently, spirituality, and their respective places in the academic and co-curricular life of public higher education. Third is the continuing evolution of US law relating to the use of public resources by religious groups.

DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF RISKS AND CHALLENGES

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Sergey Anatolievich Vavrenyuk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
National Education ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
National Education System ◽  
Educational Product ◽  
Education Today ◽  
Low Efficiency

The article reveals the economic essence of the current state of higher education in Ukraine. It examines the main problems of state regulation of risks and challenges facing modern education at the stage of reform. The subject of the study is the very system of higher education in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to analyze the state of the modern market of higher education in the country, as well as the features and trends of its development to date in the process of reform. The development of the national education system is shown together with its social and economic problems and challenges, as well as the political conditions that find the direction of the development of education in the country. It was revealed that the main risks in the education system of Ukraine can be considered a decrease in the number of highly skilled professionals, the closure of a number of educational institutions with a reduction in the contingent that lead to financial losses. In addition, among the risks studied, the low efficiency of training technologies and the low-level of graduates’ competence, corruption and low rating indicators in the world educational community are highlighted. The author specifies the existing external risks of the education system in the country and presents possible ways of overcoming them. And also draws the conclusion that the current conditions of the country’s existence and specifically the development of the education sector, the introduction of new models and training programs is a complex process. The reform of higher education today does not have significant results, therefore, it is suggested that the entire education system in Ukraine is integrated and fundamentally reformed, with the aim of overcoming existing discrepancies between the educational product and the needs of society. So, the author says that the modern structure of education should give to ensuring ideal conditions for the functioning and development of the education system, taking into account the needs of modern society and the existing problems in the educational sphere, which should give quality educational services and freedom of choice in education.

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