Leadership and Courage in Times of Change

• In Event: Pathways to Change: CUNY Reshapes Academic Policy

Abstract

The Pathways initiative was born to address two practices that negatively affected the progress of students at CUNY: the longstanding problem that students starting at a community college had in getting many of their credits counted toward a baccalaureate degree and the excessive number of core courses required by some campuses leaving little opportunity for students to explore the richness of the overall curriculum.

A fundamental question is why these practices were allowed to continue for so long. It is not that faculty were unaware that they created fundamental problems. Various times over several decades there were attempts to "fix" the curriculum, honest attempts but no gold ring. The answers span everything from legitimate academic counter views held by many to outright resistance to change over concerns for self-preservation. The latter I believe caused the most noise.

So it was not a surprise that battle lines were drawn. The union joined with the faculty senate and filed two lawsuits, and demonstrations against Pathways became common. Yet the Board of Trustees and the courts were not persuaded by the strum and drang, believing that the administration and the groups of faculty involved who shaped the plan needed their support and followed proper governance. In the end the trustees unanimously approved the plan and the road to implementing the policy began.

So why Pathways and what are the takeaways from the experience? The why is straightforward; we like to think of CUNY as an integrated system but the experience of too many students belies the moniker. In fact a catalyst for starting to think about reform were the commentaries heard from students who were impeded from making progress to their degrees because of homegrown policies and traditions of behavior at some campuses. And the ones particularly impacted were those at most risk. Overlay other factors like cost and you have the perfect receipt for dropping out without a degree.

But the experience of Pathways has broader implications for the future of public higher education. At the state level, Medicaid, pensions, criminal justice and infrastructure expenditures, are competing for limited dollars. More and more states are tightening their grip on higher education with students filling the gaps with increasing tuition costs. All the more reason to get students to graduate on time and with a degree that is valued. Governance will play a big role in navigation through the treacherous waters that inevitably will require changes to practice. Pathways has taught us leadership matters and so does bold actions by a governing board.

Author

• Matthew Goldstein, The City University of New York