The journal article considers the ramifications of for-profit open admissions on the concepts of the public and civic good. In the discussion, civic good pertains to the education of current or future citizens who will contribute as individuals within a society in leadership roles. Public good relates to the communal whole that either directly or indirectly benefit from the products of an institution. In short, civic good is for direct, private, individual benefit, whereas public good is for the benefit of all.
Open admissions is a non-selective version of collegiate admissions popularized by community colleges and widely employed in the for-profit sector. These admissions standards create a challenging educational environment, compounded by exceptionally high tuition, the reliance on practitioner or part-time faculty, and centralized curriculum construction, and contribute to poor graduation numbers. All of these factors damage the productive outcomes (the students) of the universities and hinder the maintenance of the public and civic good.
Michael Perini's work stems from a variety of projects he completed in the MAIS and DA programs, primarily under the supervision of Dr. Jamie Lester.
February 13, 2013
