During this virtual talk by Dr. Neil Kraus, author, economist, and professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls examines austerity — the perpetual, intentional defunding of public higher education — that has become the default public policy in public higher education. As a result, public colleges and universities find themselves perpetually defending receiving any tax funding at all, and students ultimately pay the price in the form of increased costs. This talk will examine the assumptions and data of the current assault on higher education, including the skills gap and demographic crises, and find no support for either. To get beyond our current predicament, educators need to reclaim the many purposes of higher education based on the explicit recognition that we cannot control the labor market.
Public Resources
USNH-Online Resources
The video and slides from Dr. Kraus’ presentation are restricted to USNH users; login is required.