Is American Higher Education Better than the Rest?

Hunter Hammond

According to Christopher J. Lucas, author of American Higher Education: A History, Second Edition, at one point in our nation's history we possessed a unique opportunity. Lucas quotes David Robson (author of College Founding in the New Republic) to say, "had funds expended on higher education been concentrated in a select few institutions, it has been argued, the United States soon would have developed a system of education unsurpassed by any other in the world." In other words, it has been debated that America could be even more of a giant (in academia) than it already is. The question now becomes, (in the status quo) is American Higher Education better than the rest? Can other cultures' systems of learning compete with our own?

Given the current state of the economy, this question is more pressing and meaningful than ever. According to Thomas J. Tierney (director of eBay), America used to hold an understood position of power. Tierney evaluates this based off of a solely economic aspect, which falls within his realm of expertise, and correlates the economic condition of the country to our higher education. Empirically, the scattering of local colleges has paid homage to the phrase "more is better;" however, as of late the new outlook on American Higher Education is that fewer colleges releasing higher quality students would better serve our current economic plight. This vantage from Tierney constitutes an answer to our question. American Higher Education is not better than the rest; we are being out competed!

In response to being outcompeted, a grant foundation (Lumina), as well as the federal government, have set initiatives to increase the level of high-quality college degrees by a certain margin and by a certain date. These initiatives are testaments to the real fears we are now living with: American Higher Education is in jeopardy. The Lumina Foundation has been cited stating that expansion of the college system could cause more harm than good. Specifically, expansion cannot occur if dilution of the system occurs along with it. This means that institutions of higher learning must be of a high caliber. This evidence stands in direct confirmation of the quote from David Robson. This is important because we are now living in a time where our "more is better" mind frame is not able to help us; on the contrary, it is hurting us.

Our higher education system has served us well in the past. We have made leaps and bounds as a country; however, can our old system survive? The answer is no.. In the status quo, American Higher Education is not better than the rest. Given consideration to the current economic state, Robson and Lucas were correct in their assumption that a more focused system would be more effective. However, this does not mean our current system is bad; it merely needs to be reinvigorated.