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Most Professors Agree: the Economics of Higher Education in America Are UncertainProfessors are increasingly concerned about unsustainable challenges and issues that are calling into question the economics of higher education, according to a new survey of 1,956 current professors. The annual survey was conducted by Top Hat, provider of the leading cloud-based teaching platform for higher education. The 3rd annual 2018 Professor Pulse Survey polled nearly 2,000 higher education professors in North America and uncovered their insights and opinions on the state of higher education, the value of the university experience, and their everyday teaching and career challenges. Key findings include the following: The ROI of higher education is increasingly being questioned.
Educators are concerned about the country's educational infrastructure.
Educators are worried about student affordability, classroom engagement, and student apathy.
Despite the growing challenges, professors remain determined to find innovative solutions to enable active learning and improve student success.
"Changes to the educational infrastructure are continually dominating headlines with proposed federal budget cuts, rising financial costs of higher education, and decreasing student enrollment, among other unsustainable changes," said Mike Silagadze, co-founder and CEO, Top Hat. "At the same time, college and university professors are increasingly challenged to foster active learning and support student success inside and outside the classroom - and they wouldn't have it any other way. They love what they do, and as an industry, we need to empower them with everything they need to make their job easier and achieve real results for their students." "As an educator, I'm constantly striving to provide students with the most effective and engaging learning experience," said Dr. William Condee, professor of theater, Ohio University. "We need to find affordable and innovative ways to improve student outcomes. Improving quality and keeping higher education affordable is vital to our democracy." "The greatest payoff of higher education is a smart citizenry," said Professor Jacques Berlinerblau, director of the Center for Jewish Civilization at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. "It's creating an informed electorate, people with critical-thinking skills, people with empathy, people who can understand and relate to people who are not like themselves, people who can argue civilly and change their minds as often as they change the minds of others." Resources
Research Methodology The 2018 Professor Pulse Survey is sponsored by Top Hat. The survey was conducted between May 12, 2018 and July 20, 2018. The 1,956 respondents currently teach at colleges and universities across North America. Fifty-eight (58) per cent identified as full-time faculty and 31 per cent as part-time or adjunct faculty. About Top Hat Top Hat's interactive, cloud-based teaching platform enables professors to engage students inside and outside the classroom with compelling content, tools and activities. Millions of students at 750 leading North American colleges and universities use the Top Hat teaching platform. To learn more, visit https://tophat.com.
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