University Presidents Say Elitism Can’t Be Part of Plans for Future

Georgia State University President Mark Becker says all students will graduate “if we do our job right.”
WASHINGTON — In order to graduate larger portions of the nation’s increasingly diverse and economically challenged students, universities must shun the elitism of the past and adopt new practices that smoothen and enrich the college experience.

Those were some of the key points several university presidents made Tuesday at the New America Foundation during a daylong higher education forum titled “The Next Generation University.”

The presidents said it is paramount for institutional leaders to approach their jobs with the premise that the students admitted to their institutions will graduate.

“Start saying, ‘OK, we’ve got all these students. They won’t all look the same and have the same experience, but we expect them all to graduate,” said Mark Becker, president of Georgia State University, one of several institutions featured in a New America Foundation report, also titled “The Next Generation University.”

Among other things, the report recommends:

· A commitment from high-level organizational leadership “to expanding access, particularly for underserved populations, even in times of state budget cuts.”

· A record of “improving student support, persistence, retention and completion, for students overall and for sub-populations.”