Spreading Myths About Universities

     The recent strike at the University of Manitoba provoked several
myths about universities that continue to be spread by people who are
either misguided or deliberately devious ("Academia too slow to react"
October 19). 

The Myth of Poor Teaching

     One myth is that teaching has suffered at universities.  As someone
who has taught in three universities of differing sizes and in different
provinces, I must say that I have never witnessed any widespread disregard
for teaching among university professors even at research-oriented
institutions.  Rather I have seen many dedicated faculty committed to
providing excellent instruction despite rapidly diminishing resources and
increasing animosity from government. 

     That universities prize teaching in ways that are seldom seen in
other professional services is clearly demonstrated by the practice of
course evaluations and by the results of such evaluations. 

     Every year I and other faculty members are rated by every student
that we teach on numerous qualities of instruction, including: being well
prepared and organized, giving clear explanations, being enthusiastic and
interesting, helping students develop skills, encouraging participation,
providing helpful feedback on evaluations, being available for
consultation, and treating students with respect.  No other profession or
occupation goes to such lengths to assess the quality of their services. 

     The results of such evaluations clearly contradict the myth that poor
teaching is rampant in universities.  Last spring the overall average
rating of 585 classes at the University of Winnipeg was 3.88 on a
five-point rating scale where 1=Unsatisfactory, 2=Satisfactory, 3=Good,
4=Very Good, and 5=Excellent.  The average rating was therefore near the
Very Good mark and very few classes would have fallen below a Good rating
of 3. 

     The success of university instruction could also be demonstrated by
the high levels of satisfaction shown by graduates, by university and
national awards for teaching, by university centers for the improvement of
teaching, and by the unsurpassed employment and salary statistics for
University graduates, even compared to supposedly job-oriented programs of
Community Colleges. 

The Myth of Stagnation

     A second myth often alleged about universities is that they are
static and resistant to beneficial changes.  It is difficult to imagine
many people making this claim who have spent much time (i.e., more than
the few years necessary to obtain an undergraduate degree) in
universities. 

     Universities are constantly evolving and changing.  What I teach my
students today in Psychology classes bears little resemblance to what I
was taught 30 years ago as an undergraduate.  In many ways undergraduates
today learn far more sophisticated skills than I ever learned as a
student, perhaps even including much that I learned in graduate school. 
Students today are taught more because I and other academics continued to
study and learn after graduation and we pass that learning on to our
students. 

     One clear example of the innovativeness and far-sightedness of
universities is the much acclaimed Internet.  Although only belatedly
accepted by business and the wider community, the Internet was conceived,
nurtured, and used for over a decade by academics like myself in
universities and research institutes.  Without that initial foresight and
commitment by academics, there would be no Internet today for business to
capitalize on. 

     Despite their intrinsic innovativeness, universities do tend to
change in a thoughtful and gradual manner (i.e., they evolve). 
Universities change gradually not because of inherent resistance to change
but because history has demonstrated the value and fragility of so much
that happens within universities (e.g., basic and curiosity-driven
research, knowledge for knowledge sake, critical evaluation of ideas). 
Universities must protect these long-valued practices while incorporating
the best of what is new and rejecting what is faddish or impetuously
motivated by short-term considerations. 

     Because these and other myths about universities are perpetrated by
mistaken or malicious individuals, it is important that students and
citizens examine critically ideas spread by anyone with a possible agenda
other than the well-being of students and society (including perhaps
myself).  Such critical evaluation is particularly important when myths
about universities are wrongly believed by such influential people as the
President of the University of Manitoba Students' Union and the government
appointees to boards and commissions related to higher education in
Manitoba.  Acting on such wrongly-held beliefs could do irreparable harm
to Manitoba's universities and to all our futures. 

Jim Clark
University of Winnipeg