Scott Walker Creates Mainstream Education Reform

Although frequently branded as far-Right, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s proposals, at least on the education front, are surprisingly middle-of-the-road, or at least are becoming mainstream.

At least two of them are gaining acceptance in some surprising environs. The February 27, 2015 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education carries a headline which reads, “Republican governors seek big cuts at colleges.”

Nevertheless, such heretical thoughts have gone well beyond the GOP Establishment. At George Washington University, “University President Steven Knapp sent a memo to GW community members on Monday, explaining that 5 percent budget cuts across campus stem from a decrease in graduate enrollment,” Mary Ellen McIntire reported in The GW Hatchet on March 2, 2015. “Knapp wrote that tuition revenue makes up nearly 75 percent of the University’s total revenue, and that graduate and professional enrollment have dropped by about 1,200 students.”

“To make up for those drops, faculty and staff are planning new academic programs and cutting costs in divisions across the University.” McIntire had filed a story on February 23 that showed that University Writing (UW) instructors at GWU are now teaching larger classes in an effort to control costs: “The enrollment cap for each UW section rose to 17 students this spring, allowing the program to offer fewer classes and cut costs, Derek Malone-France, the program’s executive director, said last week.”

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