Category Archives: Issue Discussion

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UAB Tackles Football: Right Decision for the Wrong Reasons

This week, UAB became the first NCAA FBS (formerly Division IA) university to drop its football program. Despite becoming bowl eligible for the first time in ten years this season, the university administration decided that football was no longer affordable. In a news release, UAB President Ray Watts said that “football is simply not sustainable.” Predictably, the national media picked up on this theme and a series of stories highlighted the escalating costs associated with big time college athletics.  These articles also questioned the viability of football for schools like UAB. Although a compelling storyline, I argue that there is more than meets the eye in the case of UAB. Clearly, the escalating expenses of college sports and football in particular are problematic. As a result, the move to drop football is likely the right one for UAB, but I believe this right decision was made for the wrong reasons.

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Call Me Michael

Original Lyrics by Carly Rae Jepsen.  Adapted by Dr. Harris aka Michael.

 

Even if I don’t know you well

Ask my first name I’ll ask always tell

I went to school for way too long

I have doctorate but that’s okay

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What is the Difference Between an Ed.D. and a Ph.D.?

Like many of my colleagues in higher education programs, I am often asked what is the difference between an Ed.D. and a Ph.D.? As a holder of an Ed.D., yet also a research faculty member, I may get these questions even more. I want to describe the major differences between the degrees (at least on paper). Also, I want to challenge our field to move our rhetoric about the differences more toward reality.

Photo credit: Alan Turkus
The simple answer is that the Ed.D. focuses on practice and application while the Ph.D. prepares for research and theory development.

Unfortunately, in most higher education programs, the reality is that the degrees often differ very little.

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Transition from Elite to Mass Higher Education

I’ve been thinking a great deal lately about the focus of higher education, particularly the hyper-vocational emphasis.  In my History of Higher Education course this week, we discussed whether higher education is a right or privilege.  Moreover, I believe we need to think more about the change that occurred during the transition from elite to mass higher education.  In today’s post, I want to again share a section from my monograph, Understanding Institutional Diversity in American Higher Education, that deals with this transition.

Photo courtesy: Reuters
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Higher Ed Marketing Messages Matter

In today’s environment, colleges and universities must reach out and market their programs.  The higher education landscape is crowded with many different types of institutions and offerings.  Moreover, there has never been a period of more diversity in the types of students pursuing postsecondary opportunities.  The traditional student today is what we used to call the non-traditional student.  Adult students, immigrants, minority students, and first-generation students all attend now more than in the past.  As a result, higher education has increased marketing efforts to reach these students.  However, colleges also must remember that higher education marketing messages matter.

Photo courtesy: InsideHigherEd.com

Brand image is important to companies and higher education institutions.

The social responsibility of higher education means higher ed marketing messages matter more than usual.