Feb. 9, 2005
An Urgent Agenda
The Association of American Colleges and Universities, having announced its new campaign, “Liberal Education and America’s Promise” barely two weeks ago, was pleased that Inside Higher Ed told readers about it, but somewhat surprised when one of those readers immediately attacked both the initiative and AAC&U’s 1,000 college and university members.
Professor KC Johnson of Brooklyn College asserts that our campaign, contrary to our own statements about it, is a “stealth” effort to dumb down the curriculum, deprive working class students of their liberal arts birthright, and indoctrinate these same students by telling them what to think and believe about the world around them.
Arresting charges — especially for an initiative subtitled “Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes to College.” But we think Inside Higher Ed readers can decide for themselves whether AAC&U is working to strengthen the quality of student learning in college or weaken it. Liberal Education and America’s Promise is described in detail on our Web site. The same Web site also provides open access to our recent reports “Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College,”