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FACULTY ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO NUMBER 103 FAUW Forum NOV/DEC 2000 “LEARNING TECHNOLOGY” AND DIGITAL DISTANCE EDUCATION: THE FUTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY? holding a monopoly on education. Management Sciences and Digital education can break this Associate Director, Learning monopoly and make knowledge Innovation and Technology, available to people at a fraction of Teaching Resources and Continuing the cost of tuition fees. North's Education (TRACE). Given the article, which is posted on the busy time of year, a significant WWW, is reproduced in this issue. fraction of the invitees expressed much interest in the issue yet In a commentary written for the politely declined to accept the Notices of the American invitation at this time. We are very Mathematical Society, Steven grateful to Prof. Carey and four Kranz, a mathematics professor at DTA recipients for accepting the Washington University, St. Louis, invitation. Their commentaries This issue of the Forum is devoted warns us of the "dangerous trend" in appear in this issue. to "Learning Technology" and its attempting to replace (mathematics) role in higher education, featuring instructors with "Learning We hope that these articles will three articles as well as Technology" software B a trend that stimulate further discussion and commentaries from invited UW has grown from the introduction, debate on the issue of "Learning faculty members. and subsequent rationalization, of Technology" and higher education. calculators in mathematics Readers are encouraged to submit Gary North, author of "The Coming education. Prof. Krantz' article, their opinions for publication. Breakdown of the Academic "Imminent Danger B From a Cartel," takes the extreme view that Distance," is reprinted in this issue. "Digital Distance Education" is the future of higher education, removing Jan Narveson, of UW's Department the need for lecturers in the of Philosophy, has written "In Inside this issue: classroom. North sees universities as Defence of Stick-in-the-Mud Editorial 2 Teaching" as a commentary to the articles by North and Krantz. Prof. Narveson defends the role of the Coming Breakdown of 3 Academic Cartel HAGEY LECTURE university professor as classroom Renowned author and historian lecturer yet also acknowledges the Imminent Danger B 6 Michael Ignatieff will present this values of Internet resources. In his From a Distance year’s Hagey Lecture on Wednes- report, Jan also refers to the commentary, "Teaching is Like In Defence of Stick-in- 7 day, January 24, 2001 at 8:00 p.m. the-Mud Teaching in the UW Humanities Theatre. The Making Love," by Clifford Orwin, title of Dr. Ignatieff's lecture is Dept. of Political Science, UW Faculty Respond 9 “Human Rights and the Rights of University of Toronto (National States: Are They on a Collision Post, Sept. 6, 2000). Book Review 12 Course?” He will also deliver a The Forum sent invitations to forty student colloquium entitled “Putting Hagey Lecture 14 recipients of UW's Distinguished Cruelty First” on January 25 at Teacher Award to comment on the 10:00 a.m. in MC 5158. See Page 14 Pension & Benefits 15 articles by North, Krantz and for more information. Narveson. An invitation was also President’s Message 16 sent to Prof. Tom Carey, Dept. of Page 1 EDITORIAL The Forum thanks Jan Narveson for providing the revise in the attitudes towards any truths accepted stimulus that resulted in this special issue on Learning at present. This readiness to revise is not Technology. Jan originally discovered Gary North's tantamount to relativism. It does not mean that article in "e-space" and sent me a short commentary. any proposition is just as true as any other After I sent him the articles by Profs. Krantz and Orwin, proposition or that the truth of a proposition is he expanded his report and supported the idea of dependent on the social position or political circulating the three articles for responses. orientation of the person asserting or accepting it. Learning Technology, Canada Research Chairs, the Are universities accomplishing this task? Many at UW "Galactic Intelligence Report" on "Truth": special themes argue "Yes," pointing to a number of "indicators" such as covered in past three issues of the Forum, with so many "reputation" and high employment of our graduates. They more to address. With the many challenges facing UW at argue that we simply need to build upon our past this time, why not also use the Forum to engage in a accomplishments in straightforward ways. Others counter critical, open examination of where we B the university B with "No", arguing that the academic quality of are, what we have accomplished and the direction in university degrees, including that of our own, has which we should proceed? decreased dramatically over the past few years and that reputation alone may not be enough to meet the needs of Let me direct your attention to a monograph that could the future. What is the verdict here? possibly assist us in this exercise, namely, The Academic Ethic: The Report of a Study Group of the International If we are not accomplishing the above task, then what is Council on the Future of the University, by E. Shils preventing us? Lack of funding? A deteriorating public (University of Chicago Press, 1983, 104 pages). The educational system? Lack of respect from government, Ethic presents a refreshingly clear, "undeconstructed" business and a society obsessed with consumerism and view of the university and its mission; the role of the wealth? These qualify as obstacles but, in fairness, does academic as teacher and researcher; the obligations of the the all the fault lie "out there"? After all, many of our academic to her/his discipline, to the university, to the government and business leaders have university degrees, students and to society; the role of administration and its do they not? And who teaches those who teach our relationship to faculty. teachers? The final paragraph of Chapter I of the Ethic may contain some hints on where to look for answers: The first few sections of Chapter I, "An Inherent Commitment," will remind Forum readers of the Universities would never have achieved the status lamentations of the Galactic Observers, Netti and Avkon, which they are accorded in civilised societies if as well as some terrestrial ones (F. F. Centore): they had not demonstrated that they sought, acquired and presented reliable knowledge. Universities have a distinctive task. It is the Universities have passed through many methodological discovery and the teaching of vicissitudes and one of the main reasons why, truths about serious and important things. Part of from time to time, their status has declined and the task is to enhance the students' understanding responsible parts of their societies have turned and to train them in the attitudes and methods of against them has been their negligence or critical assessment and testing of their beliefs so indolence in the pursuit of truth by the best-known that they can make what they believe as free from methods and by the best, currently possible, error as possible. The discovery and transmission assessment of received and transmitted of truth is the distinctive task of the academic knowledge. profession. That truth has a value in itself, apart from any use to which it is put, is a postulate In other words, have we, the university, been true to the of the activities of the university. It begins with mission? Or have we departed from the path, for example the assumption that truth is better than error. running to those who would accept us and fund us, marketing ourselves and tailoring our "truths" to the The ascertainment of any truth is a difficult perceived needs of our "consumers" in these "new matter; the truth must be re-ascertained times"? If this be the case, then is there a Faustian price incessantly. These truths are changed to be paid? The Forum awaits your replies. continuously by new discoveries which may indeed be defined as the revision in the light of ERV new observations and analyses of propositions previously held to be true. For these reasons, there must be elements of tentativeness and readiness to Page 2 From http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north8.html THE COMING BREAKDOWN OF THE ACADEMIC CARTEL Gary North Higher education in the United States is a cartel. It is rarely discussed in these terms, but that is what it has Recall that the chief goal of a cartel is to keep out price- been throughout most of the 20th century. competitive interlopers. In a document titled, HEA 98 B Summary of Accreditation Provisions, we read the A cartel is an association of producers that jointly estab- following: lishes certain output criteria for membership. The goal of the cartel is for all of its members to obtain net revenues The President today signed into law the Higher above what would be possible if there were open Education Amendments of 1998 (HEA 98), as competition, especially price competition. Members Public Law 105-244. The new law reauthorizes restrict output in order to gain high revenues per unit for five years the Higher Education Act, the basic sold. The cartel's members raise their prices. framework for federal policies in higher education that includes the massive federal programs of A cartel faces competition from members who cheat and student financial assistance. The new law retains from non-members who enter the market. This is why current programs, provides some modest new cartels that do not obtain protection from the State in initiatives, lowers borrowing costs to our students restricting entry into a market eventually break down. and authorizes small improvements in program Without State intervention, newcomers attract consumers funding.