Hacker, A., & Dreifus, C.  Higher education?: How colleges are wasting our money and failing our kids—and what we can do about it. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-8050-8734-5. Pages: 288.

It’s no secret that a higher education degree in the United States is very costly; in fact, it is one of the most expensive ‘purchases’ an American student and their family will make in their lifetimes. However, American sociologist Andrew Hacker and New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus argue that the American way of higher education, of viewing higher education as an ‘investment’ instead of a public good, has not translated into good educational value. Hacker and Dreyfus seek to raise big questions on the need for reform in American higher education, most specifically surrounding the core questions of a university’s educational mission. The authors also point to some possible answers, profiling the American institutions they see as operating in progressive and cost-effective ways.

Higher Education?