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From the Bulletin of the A.C.C.C. Issue Number 6 (May 1995)
HOW OUTSIDE LEFTIST CONTROL OUR COLLEGES
by
Most people think our colleges are in control of leftist because professors are liberals. Professors are more liberal than the public, but they are usually not the problem.
The problem is a combination of (1) leftist-controlled accreditation agencies, and (2) political control of colleges. Let me explain.
Like all of our once great institutions, the accreditation agencies have gradually come under control of the left. Their agenda today is not education but (1) cultural diversity, (2) globalization.
Political Control of Colleges
It's the Arkansas legislature that is turning our colleges over to the radical left. For example, they voted to force all 12 Arkansas VoTech schools to become accredited.
In other words, the legislature imposed the values of liberal outsiders on our colleges.
One Example
At Arkansas Tech (ATU), where I teach, the accreditation agency that affects my department is the American Association of Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB).
AACSB's number one requirement for "curriculum content" is to adopt the following "perspectives" : (1) ethical and global issues, (2) social and political forces, and (3) diversity.
To become accredited, AACSB uses the word "perspective." It means that professors should teach their students to see the business world through the eyes of globalization and diversity.
Assessment
The legislature and the accreditation agencies are forcing ATU and all our colleges to begin assessment.
Assessment gives administrators and outsiders, such as the AACSB, control over what is taught.
For example, every test a business professor gives will be kept on file. They will be "assessed" [examined] to see if they contained material on globalization and diversity.
Destroy Their Power Base
It does little good to fight this on campus. The legislature has made accreditation and assessment the law.
The federal and state governments have already destroyed our public schools. Now they are destroying our public colleges.
Until we have a political revolution that rejects the accreditation agencies and other leftist institutions, the disaster will continue.