As much as we think we know about the modern university, very little has been said about what it's like to work there. Instead of the high-wage, high-profit world of knowledge work, most campus employees—including the vast majority of faculty—really work in the low-wage, low-profit sphere of the service economy. Tenure-track positions are at an all-time low, with adjuncts and graduate students teaching the majority of courses. This super-exploited corps of disposable workers commonly earn fewer than $16,000 annually, without benefits, teaching as many as eight classes per year. Even undergraduates are being exploited as a low-cost, disposable workforce.
Marc Bousquet, a major figure in the academic labor movement, exposes the seamy underbelly of higher education—a world where faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates work long hours for fast-food wages. Assessing the costs of higher educations corporatization on faculty and students at every level, How the University Works is urgent reading for anyone interested in the fate of the university.
ALSO OF INTEREST
Author interview with Cary Nelson
Author Blog on The Chronicle of Higher Education
Call to Arms for Academic Labor—Review by Inside Higher Ed
Jim McLean is known as golf's complete teacher, and his golf schools--at The Doral Resort in Miami; PGA West in Palm Springs; Grand Traverse in Michigan; Legend Trail Golf Club in Scotsdale; Royal Links in Las Vegas; Mariner's Point in San Francisco; and Deer Creek in Toronto--have been rated the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Blending McLean's expert advice with over two hundred photographs detailing the syllabus of his exceptionally popular teaching facilities, Golf School is the must-have instructional for the tens of thousands of McLean's graduates and an irresistible and affordable golf bible for all those who dream of one day breaking eighty.
Golf School is for every level of play. High handicappers and beginners can all benefit from McLean's detailed study of the fundamentals of golf--grip, stance, posture, aim, and alignment. Low handicappers will be drawn to the author's advice on the mental game, course management, and how to become a "player"--someone capable of firing rounds in the sixties. In addition to the basics and the more advanced elements of the game, McLean shares his secrets for attaining consistency on the links with pre- and post-round practice tips and homework assignments designed to complete between rounds.
No other golf instructor has brought the golf school experience to the written page. For the first time, golfers will be able to attend a golf school tuition-free with one of the greatest living teachers from the comfort of their own backyards..
Price: $97.64
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In the summer of 2005, Maya Frost and her husband decided to sell everything and leave their suburban American lifestyle behind. The unusual part: they had four teenage daughters. While living abroad and shepherding their kids through high school and college, the Frosts stumbled upon a number of affordable, accessible, and stunningly advantageous strategies that any student can use to leap ahead of those on the traditional track.
This conspiratorial how-to handbook illustrates how blending meaningful study abroad with personalized learning gives students extraordinary opportunities to reach new heights. Readers will laugh out loud at the lunacy of the current college prep mind-set and celebrate the creative, low-cost options that are catapulting grinning students into the global economy without a penny of debt.
Packed with myth-busting facts, insider insights, astonishing success stories, and poignant tales from the daughters themselves, this inspiring romp is essential reading for anyone ready to say, “Good-bye, old school. Hello, bold school.”
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the structure, legality, and policy implications of tuition tax credit policies At a time when these tax credit policies are becoming a major form of American school choice, this book offers insights into both the strengths and weakness of the approach..
Price: $24.45
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America's colleges and universities are the best in the world. They are also the most expensiveTuition has risen faster than the rate of inflation for the past thirty years. There is no indication that this trend will abate.
Ronald G. Ehrenberg explores the causes of this tuition inflation, drawing on his many years as a teacher and researcher of the economics of higher education and as a senior administrator at Cornell University. Using incidents and examples from his own experience, he discusses a wide range of topics including endowment policies, admissions and financial aid policies, the funding of research, tenure and the end of mandatory retirement, information technology, libraries and distance learning, student housing, and intercollegiate athletics.
He shows that colleges and universities, having multiple, relatively independent constituencies, suffer from ineffective central control of their costs. And in a fascinating analysis of their response to the ratings published by magazines such as U.S. News & World Report, he shows how they engage in a dysfunctional competition for students.
In the short run, colleges and universities have little need to worry about rising tuitions, since the number of qualified students applying for entrance is rising even faster. But in the long run, it is not at all clear that the increases can be sustained. Ehrenberg concludes by proposing a set of policies to slow the institutions' rising tuitions without damaging their quality.
From the search for meaning to creating your own credentials, Self-University is a liberating, life-centering experience.
From the text:
The caterpillar is condemned to crawl, but the butterfly has the potential to soar above with an all-inclusive view of the world. As humans we complete our caterpillar stage when we reach mature physical growth. If we are to soar like the butterflies, we must do so through the development of our minds.$Q$ Charles D. Hayes.
Price: $14.95
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Whether it's college and graduate school or nursery and private school, the costs of education are a major challenge to families. This practical and reassuring guide presents the facts, tools, and strategies for saving, investing, and managing taxes to address this challenge, regardless of your financial circumstances. Starting with a dose of reality on what education really might cost, Kristof leads you through the options:
• 529 plans • Coverdale Education Savings Accounts (Educational IRAs) • UGMAs (Uniform Gifts to Minors Act accounts) • IDAs (Individual Development Accounts) for low-income families • Financial Aid • Student Loans • Private and Public Scholarships
The book includes work sheets and a handy section to help you calculate your needs and plan for the future..
Price: $1.49
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Updated to include changes in financial aid as a result of landmark new legislation passed in fall 2007, Peterson's Paying for College, provides parents and students with straight, easy-to-understand answers to the most frequently asked questions about financial aid. While most competitive books make unrealistic promises that they'll help you go to college for free, this book takes a more practical approach, recognizing that most American families will have to navigate the financial aid process and pay for college in some way. As college costs continue to rise and borrowing becomes more difficult for many families, this book is particularly timely..
Price: $8.75
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