China Higher Education: A PSA Translation

This is a first attempt to apply the PSA model to Chinese higher education (HE). As with all translations, there is room for revision to achieve greater accuracy and precision. Further, the current western model dominates our conception of how HE is provided and gives central place to higher education institutions (HEIs) in the form of colleges and universities. The PSA model does not and so such preconceptions must be set aside in order to appreciate the translation.

PSA - 2 Infographics and 1 Video

These infographics help explain how the PSA model connects the core interested parties in higher education - students and academics. HEIs can remain a part of the equation, but they assume the role of vendors, providing services and facilities as required by students and academics. This means universities and colleges are electives, as they always have been in the provision of higher education. The video offers a quick shot of the PSA model. Together they are meant to aid in the conceptualization of this viable alternative to the HEI model we all now labour and suffer under.

From Scarlet Adjunct to Professional Academic

I recently read a piece by Sara Tatyana Bernstein on the Inside Higher Education site, entitled, “Portrait of a Budget Cut.” (January 15, 2018) It describes her experience with the instability and lose of employment common to the current higher education institution (HEI) model for higher education (HE), especially for adjuncts of which she is a Scarlet A member.

Bernstein’s piece identifies several personal pain points that the PSA model can address:

By the Numbers - Key Data for the PSA Model

I have been updating some of the numbers that support the PSA model. I decided to post my calculation document in raw form. The numbers speak for themselves, but I’ll provide a little elaboration.

 All calculations are based on 2015 data for the public sector of US higher education (HE) and are given in averages and full time equivalent (FTE) measures, unless otherwise stated. The data sources are the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the College Board (CB). Calculations do not include weighting for 2-year vs. 4-year institutions or undergraduate vs. graduate level of study.

PSA: Man + Machine + Model

In their bestselling book, The Second Machine Age (2MA), MIT Professors Brynjolfsson and McAfee, invite “more novel and radical ideas – more ‘out-of-the-box thinking’ – to deal with the consequences of technological progress.” (pg.245-246)

We’re interested I hearing which ideas you like best, and others you would like to suggest. Contact us at www.SecondMachineAge.com to share your insights. (pg.247)

Here is my offering, from an area of interest to me – the global crisis in higher education.