AAUP President Releases Statement on Obama Higher Ed Proposal, Sign the Petition for Faculty Inclusion! 

Last week, President Obama released a higher education reform proposal, citing the goals of making college more affordable and reining in student debt.   While the AAUP applauded the President for raising these concerns – ones that we share – AAUP President Rudy Fichtenbaum called the plan “little more than a version of the failed policy of ‘No Child Left Behind’ brought to higher education.”  

In his statement, Fichtenbaum distinguished between the “costs” and the “prices” of higher education, highlighting that while costsin higher education are growing rapidly, they are not growing as quickly as tuition prices.  The growing tuition prices have been driven by drastic declines in state support, as well as massive growth in administrative spending.  The President’s plan fails to acknowledge these root problems.  While President Obama promised to consult with colleges and universities in rolling out his plan, Fichtenbaum noted that means communicating with university presidents and not the faculty.  As a result, a White House petition was initiated to ask the President to consult with college and university faculty about higher education reform. The petition requires 100,000 signers in order for the White House to respond. Please click on the link, sign the petition, and share widely via e-mail and social media.