Welcome to Innovate.EDU, a site devoted to innovation in American Higher Education. Readers of my WWC blog will recognize the style and substance of this site. This is a site about innovation and change in colleges and universities. I have imported all of my education posts from WWC, which will continue as a site devoted to exploring the interesting things that happen when innovation and execution collide in large organizations. Higher education is creeping up on 4% of US GDP. It’s the foundation of our economic future, but the discussions that take place in faculty lounges across the nation’s campuses are rarely shared outside the academy. Innovation in education is happening at an accelerating pace, but it seems like it is happening in spite of the institutions that we regard as leaders.
Let’s change that. Let’s have a discussion that everyone can join. This is a place that should get you agitated. I hope you will have an opinion and I really hope that it will be different from mine. We will not be academic although we hope to influence academic institutions. Above all, let’s get lots of idea on the table, because that’s the only way to innovate.
Innovate.EDU 
Here is a question no one has been able to answer… How come scholarships and financial aid are not considered taxable income? On the other hand, why is family that pays full price for a college education not given a tax break? To illustrate my points, at a 27% tax bracket I will need to earn and save $ 254,000 for my child to go to a university costing $ 50,000/year. A professor that teaches at the same university can send their child at no cost and with no tax implications. Asking those in academia to fix the cost of higher education is like asking congress to fix social security. They are not impacted by it so they really don’t care! The protesters on Wall Street should be occupying College Avenue.
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Good question, but your aim is a little off Jeff. The days of free tuition for faculty and staff is over for the most part. Public universities dropped the free tuition practice decades ago. Privates were sued and except for a handful of holdouts also dropped this perk. Professors are also hit in the pocketbook.
But the point of your comment is right on: why isn’t there an “Occupy College Quads? movement. The general public is mainly unaware of how and why college costs are spiraling out of control and what the real value of a college degree is. There are lots of books (including mine) and a ton of newspaper articles that you would think would prompt some action, but the public is really not engaged yet. The last thing we need is a bunch of college professors talking to each other as you point out.
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