The prostitution of higher education.

• Author: Kreychte, Gerald F.
• Position: Column

AS THE NUMBER-CRUNCHERS report, college enrollments never have been greater. The message sent out is loud and clear: To get ahead, one needs more education. Old-timers may applaud this in the belief that students are subject to the same curricula and stringent requirements that were the rule in their day. What they don't realize is the institutions of higher learning have changed radically, making John Cardinal Newman's classic, The Idea of a University, an anachronism. Today, Americans experience a clear-cut case of academic prostitution. Grounds for this charge are detailed in The Fall of the Ivory Tower, a book by George Roche, president of Hillsdale College.

It is not just that colleges and universities have changed--all institutions are subject to that inexorable law. It is the kind of change in academe that should be the burning concern. In many instances, the worth of a Ph.D. probably is that of a former Master's degree; the latter, equivalent to a Bachelor of Arts; while a B.A. may be likened to an Associate of Arts degree.

Political agenda courses such as black, Hispanic, and women studies are in, as are those exploring homosexuality or promoting self-esteem. Since low or failing grades hardly contribute to the latter, they have become a vanishing species. For nearly 25 years, prestigious Stanford University virtually has banned "F" grades. (Only recently have faculty members voted to rescind this policy.) In many places, "C" grades now subtly indicate failure without a penalty. Even these have become scarce.

Because of the push for enrolling (and graduating) minority students, a plethora of remedial courses has come upon the college scene. Originally non-credit prerequisites, they now, under pressure of bias charges, frequently award credits. As a result, minorities endlessly find themselves playing "catch-up." Often, those who can't meet regular entrance requirements receive a recommendation that they take a few courses in that college's summer program on a probationary basis. This euphemistically is known as a "bridge program." Such courses, taught by part-time instructors, win "A's" (since the part-timers know which side their bread is buttered on) and thus "qualify" the wannabes.

Since the tumultuous 1960s, things have not been the same on campus. Students currently are the empowered ones, as they grade their faculty and vote on tenure and promotion boards as well as faculty pay raises. They successfully insist on new major...