petersuberThe American Association of University Professors (#AAUP) and American Federation of Teachers (#AFT) just released a joint "Blueprint for Strengthening and Transforming Higher Education."
https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2026/Higher_Ed_Vision_and_Policy_Platform_326.pdf
Also see the summary by their two presidents.
https://www.highereddive.com/news/higher-education-must-be-rebuilt-to-restore-public-trust-heres-how/821031/
The blueprint calls for "transforming" higher ed, and the summary calls for "rebuilding" and "overhauling" it.
My take is that the blueprint conservatively restates ideals for higher ed long and widely held by academics themselves -- like me. Insofar as there's an argument here for transforming, rebuilding, and overhauling, it looks like this: The ideals need no revision. In fact, don't touch them. We've fallen short of living up to them, mostly through defunding and cost-shifting to students and their families.
I deeply wish to see us restore slashed funding, relieve student debt, and create fair pay and job security for professors. That might even deserve to be called transforming, rebuilding, and overhauling.
But is it enough to restore public trust? Is it true that the ideals need no revision? Do we need little or no transformation beyond economic transformation to respond to recent trends and current politics? Some of the harmful economic decisions (about tuition and pay) were forced by external circumstances, and some were not. But beyond those that were not, does the academy itself bear any responsibility for the current loss of trust?
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