POL 294 - Spring-Term Topics in Public Policy

FDR: SS2
Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring 2015

This course is designed to give students additional expertise and awareness of discrete policy challenges in the United States. Students learn to explain current policy systems, including political institutions and political behavior by political actors. Students also formulate policy evaluations acknowledging the strengths and the weaknesses in the policy system. (SS2)

Spring 2015 topic:

POL 294: Spring Term Topic in Public Policy: College Conundrums: Issues in American Higher Education (4). This public policy seminar taught by a former senior vice president at the College Board and a former provost at W&L introduces students to some of the critical and controversial issues in contemporary American higher education including: the high cost (and price) of college; the challenge in developing fair and equitable admissions policies; the role of elite institutions in providing access and opportunities for social mobility; a comparison of key higher education policies and practices in the United States and Europe; the relationship between the traditional liberal arts and the preparation for careers; the accurate measurement of institutional success for colleges and universities (including ratings and rankings); and the future of higher education in American society. Course materials include scholarly and popular works, including blogs, and students also become familiar with quantitative analysis using external databases. (SS2) Strong, Higginbotham. Spring 2015