Public higher education is at a tipping point in the United States. It is an essential public good that is suffering from an unprecedented erosion of public support, with potentially devastating consequences for our students and our economy.
Last week I spoke at the 2016 World Academic Summit, and I wish my message then and now was not so grim. The question is: Will we pass the tipping point, or can we still avoid it? Can we, after years of neglect, protect our public universities before they are irreversibly damaged?
There is a great deal at stake. The vast majority of the college students in our country attend public colleges and universities. Out of 17 million undergraduate students in American higher education today, eight in 10 are matriculating at a public institution.
