About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100190846283

ISBN-139780190846282

eBay Product ID (ePID)9038252003

Product Key Features

Number of Pages336 Pages, 320 Pages

Publication NameCracks in the Ivory Tower : the Moral Mess of Higher Education

LanguageEnglish

SubjectGeneral, Economics / General, Higher

Publication Year2019

TypeTextbook

AuthorPhillip Magness, Jason Brennan

Subject AreaPolitical Science, Education, Business & Economics

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.2 in

Item Weight20.8 Oz

Item Length6.5 in

Item Width9.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2018-058356

Reviews"Jason Brennan and Phillip Magness have written an insightful work on what is wrong with higher education...I admire the work the authors have done. Anyone involved in higher education should read this book and take seriously its critiques." -- Alexander W. Salter, The Review of Austrian Economics

Dewey Edition23

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal378.001

Table Of Content1. Neither Gremlins nor Poltergeists 2. What the Academics Really Want 3. Why Most Academic Advertising Is Immoral Bullshit 4. On Reading Entrails and Student Evaluations 5. Grades: Communication Breakdown 6. When Moral Language as a Cover for Self-Interest 7. The Gen Ed Hustle 8. Why Universities Produce Too Many PhDs 9. Cheaters, Cheaters Everywhere 10. Three Big Myths about What's Plaguing Higher Ed 11. Answering the Taxpayers

SynopsisCracks in the Ivory Tower systematically shows how individuals-students, professors, and administrators-at contemporary American universities are guided by self-interest rather than ethical beliefs and the many negative effects this has on higher education., Ideally, universities are centers of learning, in which great researchers dispassionately search for truth, no matter how unpopular those truths must be. The marketplace of ideas assures that truth wins out against bias and prejudice. Yet, many people worry that there's rot in the heart of the higher education business. In Cracks in the Ivory Tower, libertarian scholars Jason Brennan and Philip Magness reveal the problems are even worse than anyone suspects. Marshalling an array of data, they systematically show how contemporary American universities fall short of these ideals and how bad incentives make faculty, administrators, and students act unethically. While universities may at times excel at identifying and calling out injustice outside their gates, Brennan and Magness contend that individuals are primarily guided by self-interest at every level. They find that the problems are deep and pervasive: most academic marketing and advertising is semi-fraudulent; colleges and individual departments regularly make promises they do not and cannot keep; and most students cheat a little, while many cheat a lot. Trenchant and wide-ranging, they elucidate the many ways in which faculty and students alike have every incentive to make teaching and learning secondary.In this revealing exposé, Brennan and Magness bring to light many of the ethical problems universities, faculties, and students currently face. In turn, they reshape our understanding of how such high-powered institutions run their business., Academics extol high-minded ideals, such as serving the common good and promoting social justice. Universities aim to be centers of learning that find the best and brightest students, treat them fairly, and equip them with the knowledge they need to lead better lives. But as Jason Brennan and Phillip Magness show in Cracks in the Ivory Tower, American universities fall far short of this ideal. At almost every level, they find that students, professors, and administrators are guided by self-interest rather than ethical concerns. College bureaucratic structures also often incentivize and reward bad behavior, while disincentivizing and even punishing good behavior. Most students, faculty, and administrators are out to serve themselves and pass their costs onto others. The problems are deep and pervasive: most academic marketing and advertising is semi-fraudulent. To justify their own pay raises and higher budgets, administrators hire expensive and unnecessary staff. Faculty exploit students for tuition dollars through gen-ed requirements. Students hardly learn anything and cheating is pervasive. At every level, academics disguise their pursuit of self-interest with high-faluting moral language. Marshaling an array of data, Brennan and Magness expose many of the ethical failings of academia and in turn reshape our understanding of how such high power institutions run their business. Everyone knows academia is dysfunctional. Brennan and Magness show the problems are worse than anyone realized. Academics have only themselves to blame., Academics extol high-minded ideals, such as serving the common good and promoting social justice. Universities aim to be centers of learning that find the best and brightest students, treat them fairly, and equip them with the knowledge they need to lead better lives. But as Jason Brennan and Phillip Magness show in Cracks in the Ivory Tower , American universities fall far short of this ideal. At almost every level, they find that students, professors, and administrators are guided by self-interest rather than ethical concerns. College bureaucratic structures also often incentivize and reward bad behavior, while disincentivizing and even punishing good behavior. Most students, faculty, and administrators are out to serve themselves and pass their costs onto others. The problems are deep and pervasive: most academic marketing and advertising is semi-fraudulent. To justify their own pay raises and higher budgets, administrators hire expensive and unnecessary staff. Faculty exploit students for tuition dollars through gen-ed requirements. Students hardly learn anything and cheating is pervasive. At every level, academics disguise their pursuit of self-interest with high-faluting moral language. Marshaling an array of data, Brennan and Magness expose many of the ethical failings of academia and in turn reshape our understanding of how such high power institutions run their business. Everyone knows academia is dysfunctional. Brennan and Magness show the problems are worse than anyone realized. Academics have only themselves to blame.

LC Classification NumberLB2324.B75 2019