Michael Coomes, Ed.D.
I have had the privilege of knowing, learning from, and working with Dr. Mike Coomes for 2 and a half years now. Mike was my graduate school adviser for the College Student Personnel master’s degree program. The scope of what I learned from Mike is not easily stated because of his years of experience, dedication, and passion for college student development and higher education. He brings to every conversation a fountain of knowledge that informs all those who encounter Mike. It cannot be denied or disputed that Mike is seen as a preeminent scholar and leading figure within the Student Affairs community and that is why I asked him to take part in a Q & A session regarding a varying range of topics. These include: the evolution of higher education, the importance of student involvement, and the use of technology to help in the management and facilitation of all of this.
This is the first part in a two part series, with the second set of questions and answers to be posted within the next few weeks.
· Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am currently an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Higher Education and Student Affairs Department at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). I have been a faculty member at BGSU since 1986. I hold a BA in Education from Western Washington University (Belllingham, WA) and an Ed.D. from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN). Prior to doing my graduate work I was the Director of Financial Aid at St. Martin’s University (Lacey, WA) and Seattle University. I have also taught 7th & 8th grade language arts. My scholarly interests include the history and philosophy of the student affairs profession and the generational characteristics of college students. I am married and the father of two adult children, one a BGSU graduate and the other a current student at BGSU.
· How has higher education changed during the time you’ve been involved in the field?
As someone who tends to take the long-view (befitting a faculty member with an interest in history), I believe in the adage that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” The fundamental aspects of higher education in the United States are relatively timeless and include the quest for knowledge; facilitating the growth, development, and learning of students; and maintaining a place that is an important cultural institution. Having said that, there are changes, including:
(1) The growth of new student populations, most specifically adult learners (students age 23 and above) and students of color. The college campus is much more diverse than it was in 1973 and will become increasingly diverse in the future.
(2) In keeping with its role to respond to changing societal conditions, the curriculum of the university has become more extensive. New areas of inquiry and new majors (e.g., environmental studies, women’s studies, photochemistry, hazardous waste management) abound.
(3) The means of learning have changed. While much teaching is still done through “sage on the stage” pedagogies, new technologies, new philosophies of learning, and new approaches to teaching have made the learning experience deeper and more interesting. From totally on-line universities like the University of Phoenix to blended courses offered at most colleges, students are availing themselves of a wide-range of learning modalities. Perhaps more importantly, a new vision of education has emerged. This vision puts student success at the center of the educational enterprise and is predicated on the belief that constructing knowledge with students in more effective than simply asking students to memorize and regurgitate facts.
(4) Colleges have become less distinctive and more similar. Statewide mandates, federal legal requirements, and accrediting board standards, have forced colleges to adhere to similar sets of expectations. Those expectations have resulted in a homogenization of institutional processes and purposes.
(5) Policy makers at the institutional, state, and federal level have abrogated their responsibility for making college affordable and assessable. In the 1970s, in an attempt to broaden participation in student aid programs to the middle-class, the burden of financing was shifted from public to individual resources. In the past 30 years, this has resulted in a shift from funding education through grants and scholarships to student loans. Coupled with increasing costs (According to the College Entrance Examination Board, since 1979, average, public, 4-year tuition has increased by 222% in constant 2009 dollars. For the same period, private, 4-year tuition has increased by 178%), the redirection of financial aid is making it very difficult (if not impossible) for low- and lower, middle-class students to afford a college education.
· What are some of the challenges facing higher education today?
The obvious one is linked to #5 above—it is the combination of increased cost coupled with decreasing federal, state, and external financial support for higher education. The recent recession has played havoc with all state budgets and that has impacted public college and many private college budgets. Until other revenue streams can be developed, the public college will find it increasingly difficult to meet its social responsibilities.
I also believe that, even though a college education is still a large part of the American dream, we are at a low-point in public support for education in general, and college education in particular. This may be part of a large skepticism about public institutions, but regardless of the reason, that lack of public support is resulting in budgetary tentativeness at the state level—tentativeness that is having deleterious effects on higher education.
· Can technology play a role in alleviating some of those problems?
Many problems can only be solved with the application of technology. However, all new technologies come with unanticipated costs. The advent of the automobile gave people much greater mobility; it opened up new ways of interacting, new ways of doing business, and new forms of recreating. That said, it has also led to environmental degradation, the decline of urban centers, a sense of personal disconnection, and an increase in accidental death rates. In informally doing the cost-benefit analysis of automobile usage, most people would say the benefits outweigh the costs—that doesn’t make the costs disappear, however.
When technology is applied to education, most people think of how computer-mediated environments can make the provision of education more effective and efficient. Frequently, this assumption is grounded in an understanding of student learning that sees learning as the transmission of knowledge from sender to receiver. While computer-mediated learning environments can be much richer than this (I can see a future where SecondLife has morphed into something akin to the Starship Enterprise’s holodeck), as I noted above, we have rethought how students learn best, and computer mediated environments may not be particularly adept at fostering the construction of knowledge. I do not believe the computer (the next generation of technology) will replace bricks and mortar colleges. I believe this for no other reason than colleges play an important maintenance function. The national culture is not prepared to have young adults (i.e., traditional-aged students) on their own nor are most parents inclined to have their children stay at home longer than necessary. Residential colleges provide useful holding areas for young adults to develop a wide-range of personal and inter-personal skills.
· Should technology play a role in alleviating some of those problems?
If it does not, then it is part of the problem.
Tags: Bowling Gree, Bowling Green State University, Evolution of higher education, Mike Coomes, Student Affairs Community, The History of Higher Education