北大教育论坛-American Higher Education and the Great Recession

　　摘要: One might postulate that the decisions made today and in reaction to the "Great Recession" by nations will likely speed up global shifts in the race to develop human capital, with the US probably losing some ground. The Obama administration's first stimulus package helped mitigate large state budget cuts to public services in 2009-10 and to support expanded enrollments largely at the community college level. But it was not enough to avoid having universities and colleges lay off faculty and staff, reduce salaries and benefits, often eliminating course offerings that slow student progress towards a degree, or making sizable reductions in access in states such as California. States have very limited ability to borrow funds for operating costs, making the federal government the last resort. In short, how state budgets go, so goes US higher education; whereas most national systems of higher education financing is tied to national budgets with an ability to borrow . Without the stimulus funding, the impact on access and maintaining the health of America's public universities and colleges would have been even more devastating. But that money has been largely spent and states like California are drastically cutting their operating budgets in the current 2011 fiscal year (Oct 2010-Sept 2011). Many public colleges and universities face another major round of budget cuts - possibly a cut of over $1 billion for the University of California system alone. There is the prospect that higher education degree production rates in the US will dip in the near term, particularly in states like California that have substantially reduced access to higher education even as enrollment demand has gone up. My presentation will discuss the Obama administration higher education policies and current budget battles, and the scale of current budget cuts on state higher education systems.

　　John Aubrey Douglass: 加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校历史学博士（1992），研究型大学学生经验联盟（(SERU)发起者。现任伯克利高等教育研究中心“公共政策与高等教育”高级研究员、伯克利政府研究所合聘研究员、伯克利拉美研究中心合聘研究员。研究领域包括比较高等教育（入学与公平问题的国际比较、高等教育国际化，等等）、高等教育史、高等教育的国家体系、研究型大学在经济竞争力中的作用、国际科技政策体制。

　　主要论著有Globalization’s Muse: Universities and Higher Education Systems in a Changing world（2009，主编）、The Conditions for Admission: Access, Equity, and the Social Contract of Public Universities（2007）、The California Idea and American Higher Education: 1850 to the 1960 Master Plan     

　　时间：2011年4月19日（周二）4:00 -5:30

　　地点：教育学院103教室

　　主持：马万华教授