New American University model

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The New American University model is a model created by Arizona State University (ASU) 16th President Michael M. Crow to change admissions and teaching methods at American universities in order to widen access to higher education. [1] It was first adopted by ASU after being implemented in 2014 by the ASU Charter, and was introduced in Crow's 2015 book "Designing the New American University," in which the model was supported by former President Bill Clinton and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. [2] [3] Crow stated he first conceived of the idea after moving from his position as vice-provost at Columbia University to ASU because he believed that universities were no longer fulfilling their social obligations in passing on higher education through their own admissions to be more selective. The move is widely credited with boosting ASU's acceptance rate and increasing class size, helping it become one of the largest public universities in the United States by enrollment.

Contents

Principles

The principles of the New American University have been used to develop the ASU charter. The charter states: "ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves." [4] Crow summarizes this as:

  1. "An academic platform committed to discovery and knowledge production, as with the standard model, linking pedagogy with research" [5]
  2. "Broad accessibility to students from highly diverse demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds" [5]
  3. "Through its breadth of activities and functions, an institutional commitment to maximizing societal impact commensurate with the scale of enrollment demand and the needs of our nation." [5]

Criticism

The model, though, has been criticized for decreasing the value of education, moving many in-person classes to online, and decrease the value of academic positions such as tenure, as tenured professors are often less favored than adjunct and part-time instructors. [2] Inside Higher Ed also criticized that the initiative increases the commercialization and corporatization of education, claiming that "Arizona State is indistinguishable from Amazon." [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona State University</span> Public university in Tempe, Arizona, US

Arizona State University is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is now one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the United States. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" founded in the late 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed, but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century, then state universities in the late 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California</span> Public university system in California

The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, the system is composed of its ten campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, along with numerous research centers and academic abroad centers. The system is the state's land-grant university. Major publications generally rank most UC campuses as being among the best universities in the world. In 1900, UC was one of the founders of the Association of American Universities and since the 1970s seven of its campuses, in addition to Berkeley, have been admitted to the association. Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and San Diego are considered Public Ivies, making California the state with the most universities in the nation to hold the title. UC campuses have large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every academic discipline, with UC faculty and researchers having won 71 Nobel Prizes as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Phoenix</span> American for-profit university

University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree levels. It is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has an open enrollment admissions policy for many undergraduate programs. The school is owned by Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona State University West campus</span> Public university in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Research university</span> University committed to research as a central part of its mission

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Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus is a public research university in Phoenix, Arizona. It is one of five campuses of Arizona State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higher education in the United States</span> Education beyond high school

In the United States, higher education is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. It is also referred to as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 on the International ISCED 2011 scale. It is delivered at 3,931 Title IV degree-granting institutions, known as colleges or universities. These may be public or private universities, research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or for-profit colleges. U.S. higher education is loosely regulated by the government and by several third-party organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Big Horn College</span> Tribal college in Crow Agency, Montana, U.S.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael M. Crow</span> American university president (born 1955)

Michael M. Crow is an American academic and architect. He is the 16th and current president of Arizona State University, having succeeded Lattie F. Coor on July 1, 2002. During his tenure at ASU, he is credited with creating the New American University model.

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The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU is the largest of the 17 independent school units at Arizona State University. Students majoring in The college make up 31 percent of all Tempe campus students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunderbird School of Global Management</span> Management school of Arizona State University

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Thomas Joseph Kane is an American education economist who currently holds the position of Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has performed research on education policy, labour economics and econometrics. During Bill Clinton's first term as U.S. President, Kane served on the Council of Economic Advisers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Shangraw</span> American businessman

R.F. “Rick” Shangraw Jr. was named president of Cintana Education on May 1, 2020. Previously, he served as chief executive officer of ASU Enterprise Partners from 2016 to 2019. He was chief executive officer of the ASU Foundation for A New American University from 2011 to July 1, 2017, after being appointed to the position by the Arizona State University Foundation board of directors on Oct. 31, 2011 succeeding Johnnie Ray. Previously, Shangraw worked in both the private and public sectors after beginning his career as an assistant professor at Syracuse University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry K. Newburn</span> American educator and university president (1906–1974)

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References

  1. "ASU Charter, Mission and Goals | New American University". newamericanuniversity.asu.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  2. 1 2 3 "ASU Is the "New American University" - It's Terrifying | Inside Higher Ed". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  3. Crow, Michael M.; Dabars, William B. (15 March 2015). Project MUSE - Designing the New American University (1st ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   9781421417240 . Retrieved 2021-01-27.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. "ASU Mission & Goals | Office of the President". president.asu.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  5. 1 2 3 Crow, Michael M.; Dabars, William B. (1970-01-01). "A New Model for the American Research University". Issues in Science and Technology. Retrieved 2021-01-27.